Latest / Ducks Unlimited Podcast / Early Season Turkey Talk: Weather, Tactics & Stories from the Spring Woods (Ep 759)

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Early Season Turkey Talk: Weather, Tactics & Stories from the Spring Woods (Ep 759) · Ducks Unlimited Podcast

• 0:08
  Matt Harrison: Imagine him outside of water on a dirt road with some With some old clouds. Oh. With some old clouds strap on boots that he can cinch down and get going. So
• 0:17
  Trent Camden: it's a soccer game. Last time I went with him, I I was pretty much jogging the whole time to his walk.
• 0:26
  VO: Can we do a mic check, please? Everybody, welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. I'm your host, doctor Mike Brasher. I'm your host, Katie Burke. I'm your host, doctor Jerad Henson. And I'm your host, Matt Harrison. Welcome to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, the only podcast about all things waterfowl. From hunting insights to science based discussions about ducks, geese, and issues affecting waterfowl and wetlands conservation in North America. The DU Podcast, sponsored by Purina Pro Plan, the official performance dog food of Ducks Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan, always advancing. Also proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're winding down with your best friend or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.
• 1:31
  Matt Harrison: Hey, everybody, and welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. I'm your host, Harrison. And today, we are gonna be talking about turkeys. And I have joining with me today on the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, my brother Mike and also good friend Trent Camden. Michael and Trent, how are y'all doing on this fine, fine day we have today?
• 1:54
  Doing good. It's gorgeous. It is. I wish we were actually out chasing turkeys right now, but we're gonna talk a little bit about the season so far. It hadn't been open but a couple days here in Mississippi, but I believe that we have all actually gotten to spend a little bit of time chasing some turkeys already with opening season of being Saturday.
• 2:15
  It's been it's been good some days. It's been bad some days, and kinda crazy how the weather has already been. I mean, we've had opening day was absolutely beautiful, then Sunday was crazy, and then yesterday was freezing. I mean, we've had it all, but I wanna talk a little bit about kinda the hunts that we've had so far. And, Trent, I know that you've been successful already with the with the turkey.
• 2:42
  So why don't you talk a little bit about kind of the success you've had so far and kinda kinda what you've seen in the turkey woods?
• 2:48
  Trent Camden: No. That yeah. We've killed killed two bird or been a part of two birds. Took a youth hunting on Friday, and we got lucky. And we got we got on one and killed them.
• 2:59
  And then Saturday, I was able to kill one myself. But I would say that I think the turkeys are a little bit ahead of schedule from where they normally are this time of the year. I don't know if it's the warm weather or what the deal is, but they seem to not be as fucked up and they were gobbling pretty hard both days. Sunday was a little bit slower. I think everybody would probably agree with that.
• 3:25
  No. Yeah, it's been good so far.
• 3:30
  Matt Harrison: No doubt. Michael, you've gotten to go a good bit too in where we hunt compared to Trent. We're a couple hours away, but he he does a good bit of turkey hunting in the state of Mississippi as well as me and Michael. But, Michael, I know that we've gotten to hunt a little bit together, but also we haven't hunted every day together. What is what is kinda something that you've seen?
• 3:49
  I know that opening day, you actually called up a bird for somebody that had never killed one. So what what kinda have you seen also with it being open for a couple days now?
• 4:01
  Michael Harrison: Yeah. No. I've been fortunate enough. I thank the Lord have gotten to hunt every single morning, and it's it's been it's been kinda weird from the previous years, and I I can kinda attest to what Trent said. I feel like they're a little ahead of schedule, and it's been a while since I remember the woods being this green this early. And it may be just the area that we're in in South Mississippi, but it feels like everything's much greener. So I'm not sure if things just feel like they're a little ahead of schedule, but we have not got into a group. Whereas normally, you know, the first week of season or whatever, normally, you get it you get one goblin, there's good chance there's two or maybe even three.
• 4:46
  And the hunts that I've been on, even opening day, it was a single gobbler with three hands. And then yours the other day, Matt, I mean, you yours was with another, but
• 5:01
  Matt Harrison: A small group. It wasn't a big group at all.
• 5:03
  Michael Harrison: Yeah. And it was with a hen. So, like, it it's just I'm not sure. And it may be just the area that we're in as well, but Yep. I really haven't heard many gobbles.
• 5:14
  So that also makes me think that they're with hens kinda by themselves with the hen because, I mean, once they're on the ground, I mean, we're hunting till 10:11 o'clock, and we're still not hearing more than five, six gobbles a morning once they're on the ground. And that that's just odd to me this early.
• 5:32
  Matt Harrison: It is. It is. And like you said, you know, of course, this time of year, whenever they're hand up, they're they're not extremely, extremely vocal, and sometimes you do get on some that are, like like you said. You know, it just depends because some people, whatever area you hunt, it may be that it's just the opposite. They may have been so fired up every day that you've been, and they've been in big wads.
• 5:53
  But all three of us with our hunts are are very, very similar. The birds that we have got on have just not been extremely vocal. You know? I know that one of the birds I got on, I heard him one time. He never gobbled the rest of the the morning that I was on him.
• 6:10
  Never found out which way he slipped off to, but, you know, he wasn't vocal at all. And so it's it's been it's been interesting to say the least, but, you know, I I think some of that too is the weather that we've had. Right? You know, I don't feel like they've kinda gotten in a groove yet. You know, like I said, Friday, we went out and just listened, and it was probably one of the prettiest mornings I've ever been out in the woods.
• 6:34
  It was just everything was alive. I don't know if I've heard that many turkeys, you know, gobbling in a long time, and, you know, they were just tearing the woods down. Saturday was kind of the same way, and then, you know, then Sunday, we had the major major wind here. Even had, I think, some tornadoes touched down, tore some stuff up. And then, you know, then Monday, like I said, just 28 degrees where we were.
• 6:58
  I mean, it felt like I was getting ready to go duck hunting. And then today, things are warming back up a little bit. And so I think some of that is because of weather that we've had. These birds just can't quite get, you know, in a rhythm yet.
• 7:13
  Trent Camden: What'd y'all notice this morning? Did y'all go this morning, both of y'all?
• 7:16
  Michael Harrison: Yeah. So I actually went to an area that I had heard them previously, and I did not even hear a bird. And on my way out, probably about 800 yards from where I was listening, I ended up getting on a bird that gobbled a couple times. So I sat down on him about a 100 yards from him, and I thought he was going the opposite direction, so I made a big loop. And if I had just sat there, I'd have been fine, and he ended up going back directly where I was sitting.
• 7:48
  So then I turned around and got a loop back to where he was and got him about 30 yards and had his head right in front of me, and I was about to pull a trigger, and he went in the strut, and it was a Jake. He had a man gobble, though. I ain't gonna lie.
• 8:02
  Trent Camden: I told you about that Jake on Sunday we called up, and he he came in there drumming. Mean, drowned for probably fifteen minutes. I mean, just nonstop, and he was gobbling like a grown turkey.
• 8:14
  Matt Harrison: So, Trent, give us give us a rundown of how it went down. You said that you were able to take a youth and you had a successful hunt. Give us a rundown of that hunt.
• 8:23
  Trent Camden: I answered that. I actually have some. The place that we lease, They're starting to log, like, the best bottom that's in it. You know? And and I started on there's a grab main gravel road that splits the property up, and so I I didn't even wanna go over there because I figured it pushed all the turkeys out.
• 8:41
  And I stepped out of my truck about 06:30, and they were already sawing trees down. And I was standing on that road. I knew not to go over there, and I'm standing on this other road listening on you know, off this other ridge, and I hear a turkey. I mean, I I swear this turkey, I mean, I pinned it on on Onyx, and, it was about right where I'd pinned them at. It was 776 yards from And I like how I heard it.
• 9:09
  But, anyway, I heard, you know, I could make enough out that it was a gobble and everything. So, anyway, we went. I had this kid with me and all. He got a, he got a pretty exciting on him, and, you know, we ended up walking about five or six miles because I didn't know where he was. We pailed off through a thicket to get down there.
• 9:28
  And, anyway, we, we were able to we were able to get get it done, but, it was fun for sure. But I yeah. I mean, look. I could I could see him I could see them cutting trees down. I mean, they weren't 200 yards from us where where we killed the and then I went back in there the next day because I there was more than one turkey in there I knew.
• 9:48
  And, I mean, it it took till about, you know, I I think I shot him at probably, like, 10:30, but, I mean, all morning, he he must when he flew down, like y'all said, when they kinda quit gobbling, they got some hands with him. And then he came in drumming at, you know, 10:00, and and I ended up shooting him. But I that was right there in the same spot by where they're cutting trees. I can't believe it. That spurts out of there.
• 10:10
  Matt Harrison: You know? Wow. That is crazy. And and, Michael, you you also had a successful hunt Saturday morning. You gotta take somebody, and they were able to kill their first turkey.
• 10:20
  But not only was it a first turkey, it was an absolute stud. Hammer. One, give us the story. And then two, tell us how long the beard was and how long the spurs were because it was an absolute man.
• 10:35
  Michael Harrison: So I ended up taking well, actually, I went with a good friend of ours is a Hemp's Hemp Robertson and his wife, Ashley. Neither one them are just huge turkey hunters, but they enjoy it. And so they actually asked me to go with them with a piece of property that they've got down around Hattiesburg, Mississippi. And I'd never been on the property before, so I was going in blind, and I was basically just going in there and was going off what Hemp was telling me. So we go in, and we set up.
• 11:07
  And mind you, I've never been on this place, so we're sitting they got a box stand, and and the guy that owns this piece of property, he takes care of his stuff. Like, it is immaculate. Like, you can see roughly, I would say, probably a 100 yards through the pines. I mean, it almost looks like he cuts it with a mower. The man the man takes care of his place.
• 11:29
  So so we go in, and I'm I really don't know where we're gonna sit. So he's got a box stand that's about seven foot off the ground, and there's just a little bit of just bushes around it that he couldn't get with his bush hogs. So we literally sit a foot, maybe three feet from this box stand, and we're sitting there, and there's three food plots. It's almost kinda like a turkey foot. We got one facing due north, east, and due south.
• 11:58
  So we're facing east, and about 07:00 no. It was actually 06:57. We were sitting there, and we hadn't heard of a gobbling. And I and I I will hoot, but I don't normally hoot unless, I mean, we really haven't heard nothing and we're fixing to try something else. So anyway, so I hooted.
• 12:18
  I didn't hear it, but Ashley said, hey. He gobbled. I said, are you sure? She was like, yeah. He's right there.
• 12:24
  So we sit there, and so we're sitting there, and probably think about eight minutes later, I yelled real soft, and boom, he hit, and he was probably a 150 yards from us. And I was like, wow. So he really did hear one. So we're sitting there, and to our left, a hen flies down probably 70 yards from us, and I didn't even know that the bird was there. So this is seven zero seven now, that bird flies down, and I call her up, and she comes up to probably 15 yards of me, and the gobbler has not gobbled at all at this point after after the seven zero seven point.
• 13:01
  So anyway, the hen leaves and goes north, because this bird is east of us. So anyway, the bird goes down north, mills around in the woods, and anyway, so she starts coming back to me because, I mean, I'm calling about every probably five to ten minutes. So anyway, she comes back out of the woods, and this is about probably 07:30, 07:40. So she comes out, and then she turns around and goes back in to the woods out of sight. And so we sit there, and it's it's about 08:00, haven't heard him since 07:07, and we're sitting there, and there's a cutover on the north side of the property probably 800 yards from us.
• 13:41
  And I said, man, I bet he's in that cutover. Because it was a crisp morning. It was pretty it was gorgeous, but it was kinda cool, and I said, I bet you he is on the sun side sun side of that cutover strutting. So we go to sit up, and my buddy, Hamp, puts his hand down and sits up, and he said, he is right there. And I said, where?
• 14:02
  And he said, he is right there, 80 yards. I said, there's no way. So anyway, so I kinda sit up a little bit, and I don't know how we never saw this bird, but about 80 yards, he is over there. He's actually on top of that hen. So no telling how long he had been there.
• 14:20
  And, anyway, so I start calling again, and that hen comes out, and then another hen comes out. And I'm like, okay. So there's two hens. Like I said, about 08:00, and then he ended up coming out in the food plot, and I called that hen probably, I don't know, eight, ten yards from us again, and he followed her all the way up to about, I would say, probably 30 yards. And Ashley was like, can I shoot him?
• 14:46
  I said, give him a second. Let me let me try to get him out of strut, because I mean, this bird is walking on this food plot in a strut. I was shaking, and I wasn't even shooting. Remind me, this bird has not gobbled since 07:07. Anyway, so I cut to try to make this bird come out of strut, and he gobbles right in front of her, and she's never killed a bird.
• 15:05
  Like, I mean, it literally could not have been any more perfect. And then I cut again, he gobbles again, and whenever he gobbled that second time right after he tucked back up, and I said, just shoot him. And she shot and dropped him. And I I said, sit here, sit here. So I took I got up and I just took off, and I ran to it.
• 15:24
  And I knew it was her first bird, so I was like, maybe they're gonna mount this. So a lot of people just step on them, step on their head or whatever, you know, when they're flopping all that. But I found if you're going to try to mount one, that's not the thing to do because it will beat the bird to death. So I actually grabbed both his wings and tucked him and sat on him, similar to like a horse. Like, I tucked it, made sure that bird wasn't going anywhere.
• 15:47
  So anyway, so I'm sitting there and I turn around and I look, this sunglasses got daggers on him. And this bird ended up with an inch and a half, an inch and seven no, inch and seven sixteenth spur, and a 10 and a quarter beard as a first bird. I mean, it it it could not have gone any better.
• 16:07
  Matt Harrison: That's unbelievable. And not only that, Michael has a really, really, really cool video. It was crisp that morning too. You know, it wasn't freezing, but it was a good cool morning. He's got a video of that bird coming in.
• 16:20
  The sun's kinda, you know, coming up behind it, full strut. It gobbles, and the, you know, the smoke's coming out of his his his mouth. It is an extremely cool video to watch, to say the least. But one thing I wanna ask y'all, and we'll start with you with you, Trent. Let's say you have a morning like we did this morning.
• 16:44
  Right? It was around 30, I think, three degrees, 34 degrees. They were calling for some sun where we were at, but not a whole lot. It was gloomy actually right at daylight. Birds were not talking.
• 16:58
  I want both of y'all to tell me, what what do y'all do on mornings like that where, you know, the woods just aren't aren't alive? It's not your typical just beautiful spring morning. You know, is it something where you do just go and sit up where you think there's some turkeys at, or is it something where you're gonna walk and walk and walk until you do hear something, or is it something that you go sit in a food plot, a hard wood bottle? What is kinda something that you tend to do on a morning that you're not hearing anything and, you know, it's cold and it's just not that typical spring morning, what are some tips and tactics that y'all like to do to to help your odds?
• 17:37
  Trent Camden: Yeah, man. I the only way if they're if they're not god willing, it's I mean, I I don't personally, don't like just walking around through you know? I mean, if if they're not gobbling at what what that, I don't just like walking through the woods and doing just because, you know, not a lot of cover right now. I mean, they bust you real easy. And so a lot of times, I I just I just watch foods or if I know that they like to go to a food plot or whatever, and I'll kinda just set up and want and, you know, patience is patience kills, Sit there, and I'll just do some, you know, soft calling every 20 or 30 minutes and and just see what happens.
• 18:18
  But, I mean, it's it's tough when they don't wanna communicate with you. You know? It's it'll make you think there's not a turkey in the world on days like that. And, you know, you know, dang good and well, there's, you know, at least four of them up in there. But you sure you'll be you'll be throwing your hats, saying I'm getting out of this place.
• 18:42
  It's no good. We've all been there.
• 18:44
  Matt Harrison: All been there. Yeah. Michael, what about you? What are things you like to do on mornings like we had this morning?
• 18:50
  Michael Harrison: To be honest with you, it a lot of it plays into the factor if I'd hunted in that area the day before, you know, but just say that you're a weekend guy and it's Saturday morning, you haven't been able to go all week, and it's gonna be a 35 degree weather. And, I mean, you know, I like to go to somewhere with the ridge normally. Like, if it's somewhere that I have not listened, I have not hunted, I get on on x, and I kinda just play factors really. So, like, okay, if I get on this point and it's calm, like, know I can hear, like Trent was saying, six, eight hundred yards, you know, or something similar to that. But, like, if it's later in the morning, 08:00, six, 07:30, you haven't heard anything, and it's gonna be about a thirty five morning, I honestly like going to a food plot that the sun is gonna be hitting.
• 19:52
  For some reason, I don't know what it is, they like to get her from my experience, I'm I'm no veteran by any means, but from my experience, I've noticed that they like to get on the sun side of a big open area. Number one, they're able to be seen. So the other day, me and Matthew was actually with me, and this bird had been hammering in this cutover, and we could not see him, could not see him. And I finally picked him out by accident. There is a pile of trees, basically pulpwood that they have left in this cutover that they were not gonna get, and this bird is standing on top of this pulpwood, 10 foot off the ground, full strut.
• 20:39
  And I'm like, no wonder I can't see this sucker. I'm looking on the ground. And he but he is in the sun on top of this pile, and he was wanting to be seen. And there's a shade side of this, and he is not on it. He is on this sun's side.
• 20:56
  And I think that a lot of that plays into factor. Now if it had been a 90 degree day, I honestly think he would have been on the shade side of that. I don't think he'd be out there baking, but I think weather has a lot to do with it. I think on cool, crisp mornings, go to an area that's getting a lot of sun, and then later in the day later in the year when it's hot, I'm gonna try to get in a bottom that's as cool as it can get, and there's no wind in it. And I think I think I think that right there plays into a factor if it's an area that I haven't heard one in and haven't hunted it in five days.
• 21:33
  Trent Camden: Yeah. I agree with that. I like that sunshine. For sure.
• 21:46
  VO: Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast sponsored by Purina Pro Plan and Bird Dog Whiskey after these messages.
• 22:02
  Matt Harrison: As Michael mentioned, we're not turkey biologists, and we're we haven't been around the game for fifty years, but we have spent a good time chasing turkeys, and, you know, we've seen stuff, but I'll never forget whenever Michael made that point right there. Whenever I first remember him kinda figuring that out as we were hunting in Florida, chasing some Osceolas, and it was hot. Let me tell you. I mean, it felt like it was a 150 degrees, just burning up. And we ended up getting on these two turkeys and, you know, you could literally see every move that they made, the way they were acting, everything revolved around the shape.
• 22:43
  Like, was unbelievable how they made sure that they stayed, you know, in areas that were a little bit cooler. And again, you know, maybe it was just by coincidence that that happened that way. I would love to actually ask a biologist, you know, the reasoning behind that and and find out a little bit more of the science behind those types of decisions whenever it's, you know, sunny and warm or cool and, you know, warm. But it it's it's neat to to kinda see how they act different in different scenarios like Michael said. It was one of the craziest things I've ever seen whenever that turkey was just I mean, he was up on, you know, a pile and just full you know, he was out there strutting, and it was crazy to see, but it was really cool.
• 23:27
  And, you know, the more you're out there and the more you learn, it's it's interesting to see how they act and why they act the way they do. It's it's a never ending game. Like Trent said, some days it leaves you slamming your hat down on the ground, but then other days, you feel like the best whenever your hunt lasts fifteen seconds. But then some days you well, I think the saying is some days you get the turkey, and some days you are the turkey. I feel that wholeheartedly.
• 23:55
  Trent Camden: I think I feel like a turkey more than I get one.
• 23:58
  Matt Harrison: I think we all do. I think we all do for sure. What do y'all think numbers wise this year? Do you think it was a good hatch? Do do you see you know, I know that Michael has already mentioned that he caught up a couple of Jake's.
• 24:13
  Have you been getting some on camera? You know, do you feel like it was a year that we're gonna see good numbers or not?
• 24:20
  Trent Camden: Yeah. I think we had a a decent hatch in the part of Mississippi that I'm hunting at. I'm seeing, you know, pretty decent amount of Jake's. But, you know, it's interesting over here in Louisiana where I live. The turkey population suffered for a long time, but, I mean, it has exploded.
• 24:42
  It is lot of turkeys. You know? We've had several good hatches over here, which is odd. You know? But I guess with the weather that we've had, you know, it's just been drier weather at the right time.
• 24:53
  So it's it's really helped them thrive. So I'm pretty excited about that. But I also think Mississippi, I I think that we did have a better hats this year than we have in the past, you know, two or three years, I ain't wanna Mhmm.
• 25:07
  Michael Harrison: And I'm saying I'm
• 25:08
  Trent Camden: saying I'm saying more jakes for sure.
• 25:11
  Michael Harrison: I'm also seeing a lot of hens this year. Like, I don't know that it's just because they busted up maybe or but, like, literally, every single day that I've hunted this year, I've seen at least one hen, maybe two hens, like and it's
• 25:25
  Trent Camden: I've seen more hens than I've seen longbeards.
• 25:27
  Michael Harrison: Yeah. And normally, I mean, I don't run into just a bunch of hens, but I mean and these are different areas. So
• 25:34
  Matt Harrison: yeah. Yeah. That that is a good point. Even yesterday, I yipped up a hen, and she's right by herself. I figured, you know, there was gonna be a gobbler with her, but nope.
• 25:46
  She was right by herself. And then a little later in the morning, we went and checked another spot too, and sure enough, in the road was another hand. I mean, it it does seem to be that there's a good bit of hands, but also that, you know, some of them are already by themselves, which is crazy. And, again, it may be by coincidence. It may be that they got busted out of the group or spooked and, you know, you never know the exact reason why, but a lot of the tendencies do lean that way.
• 26:13
  Trent Camden: Yeah. Yeah. I can. Keep saying that to you, and I've told you all that the last couple days about not being flocked up. But then I'll like, I got a picture on one of my cameras last night of three long beards and a Jake on his Wow.
• 26:28
  Altogether.
• 26:29
  Michael Harrison: You know?
• 26:29
  Trent Camden: But but then but that's the only picture I've got. I've been having my camera out there for a month, they just passed in front of it. But but, you know, Saturday, when I killed that turkey, I mean, he was by himself, and they didn't have any hens with him. There's one hen that kinda was meandering out in front of them, and she left, you know, almost like she was going to nest or something. You know?
• 26:49
  I mean, I I don't it's the weirdest thing. It's kinda like we're caught in between right now. I'm real sure what to make of it yet. But
• 26:59
  Matt Harrison: Typically speaking, this time of year, when they are grouped up and, you know, those goblers, whenever they fly down, they're they're getting with hens early and other goblers as well and sometimes running with jakes. What are things y'all like to do? Because as a turkey hunter, it's one of the most challenging probably it probably is the hardest thing to do is it's almost impossible. I'm not saying it is, but it is very, very hard to call a gobbler, you know, off of a pack of especially hens or if it's just a group. It's it's challenging.
• 27:31
  And a lot of times, you know, your best bet is if you can yip up the hens, they'll follow. You know? Like Michael mentioned, that's what they did on their hunt, and I've seen that as well. If you can yip up the hen, you're a lot of times in good luck. But what are some things y'all like to do early season?
• 27:49
  Is it just where it's, you know, a waiting game? And and, you know, we're gonna have some listeners that have turkey hunted for for forty years, and they may be like, this is common sense stuff. But then we may also have, you know, some listeners that are just getting into turkey hunting, and it's it's like me and Mike were talking about the other day. You know, when we first got into it, we had nobody to show us. We would go out there.
• 28:09
  If we didn't hear a gobble, we went to the house. Right?
• 28:12
  Trent Camden: Yeah. I'm like, man,
• 28:13
  Matt Harrison: there's no turkeys here, but, you know, the more you do it, you know, you learn that it may be a morning that it they get fired up at 10:00. It may be where they break off the hens at 10:30, eleven, twelve, whatever it might be. But what are things y'all like to do? We know patience is is one, but is it to where you really like to try to go get major in front of the group? Is it where you just trail them, stay with them, and then you know that that gobbler's gonna break back off, or do you like to stay exactly where you were whenever you first called to him because you know he's gonna come back looking for you?
• 28:43
  What are some things that you like to do this early in the year when a lot of times, not every time, but a lot of times they are grouped up into bigger groups?
• 28:51
  Trent Camden: Yeah. I like to I mean, it really just depends. You know? I mean, it depends on where you're at, where I'm at, you know, what what kind of cover I've got. You know?
• 29:02
  But, I mean, I if I think that they're headed in a direction
• 29:06
  Michael Harrison: because normally, I mean, even
• 29:07
  Trent Camden: when they're flocked up, they will gobble, you know, before they fly down. And once they fly down, I mean, they might gobble once or twice, and you can kind of, you know, key in on the direction. I mean, if I can get in front of them, that's that's what I try to do. If I can make a big loop on them without them busting there or whatever, I I like to get in front of them. You know?
• 29:27
  But it it's tough, I mean, to kill them whenever they're in a big fight, it's it's aggravating sometimes, you know, because they they don't like you know, they're not gonna come to you, like you said, hardly. I mean, so if I can't get in front of them, then my next deal is I'm gonna try to get a hand fired up and and drag her into me and, you know, let her take pull the gobbler with her. So that's that's kinda what I like to do.
• 29:58
  Michael Harrison: I I was talking to a guy that's probably killed a couple of 100 turkeys, and I don't mean that lightly. Like, I mean, this guy, he travels, he hunts, he'll probably hunt six, eight states a year. And I asked him I literally asked him the same thing, and some of the people are probably fixing to say this guy's a joke. But he said in March, you crawl them, April, you call them. So pretty good say.
• 30:24
  So but no. I mean, I'm gonna be honest with you. If, like Trent said, in front of them, that would be number one. I mean, if you can get in front of them and just shut up, I mean, that that's 100% number one. The second one I've I've I would say is get and this is gonna sound bad because you can bust them so fast, but get as close as you can.
• 30:47
  Because if you're whereas like in April, you know, you hear one gobble 400 yards, 300 yards from me, you're gonna sit there for ten, fifteen minutes before he gobbles again because that's something that may be on the way, like, you just don't know.
• 31:00
  Trent Camden: I see.
• 31:01
  Michael Harrison: But right now, if I hear one gobble, I'll sit there till he gobbles again. If he gobbles again, I'm going to try to get as close as I can using the terrain and and all that, you know, without busting him, of course. Whereas in April, a couple weeks from now or whatever, I may sit there another four or five more gobbles because there's a good chance that some gun is gonna break at some point. Yeah. But, like, right now, if one gobbles, I'm gonna give him one more.
• 31:32
  If he hadn't moved, I'm gonna try to get within a 120 of him. And I mean, if it's really, really hilly, I'm even gonna get close try to get closer to that because they hear stuff in the woods all day long walking. So sound, it does matter. I'm not saying go through there, drag your feet, the whole nine, but you can get pretty close sound wise, like, through walking. If they can't see you, if you know he's a 100 yards on the backside of a ridge, you can get closer Because, I mean, they hear squirrels running through the woods.
• 32:05
  I mean and if you sit there long enough on a bird, you're gonna hear stuff running around you, and you're like, he's coming. Well, that's a squirrel, or it's something else running across the ground. So they hear sounds, so you can definitely get closer than you think you can by sound, but, Si, you're cooked. I think I think
• 32:24
  Matt Harrison: Michael learned that the hard way yesterday.
• 32:26
  Trent Camden: Yeah. I did. That's what it sounds like.
• 32:29
  Michael Harrison: The one the one PTSD. The one on the brush pile. So I'm going, he can see. But, I mean, I'm not lying.
• 32:38
  Matt Harrison: Look. I gotta give this story real quick. So as we mentioned earlier, the bird that we saw out in the middle of a cutover that was, you know, half strutting, you know, he was actually by himself, right by himself because we watched him for a while, and he he had moved from where we originally, you know, first saw him a little bit, and he was by himself. We could see around him, and he was plain as day just out there, you know, blowed up. And we watched him for a while.
• 33:05
  We'd call here and there. Nothing. I mean and we I'm glassing him. Right? He's probably 250 yards away just on this log, just perched up and nothing.
• 33:15
  He wasn't budging, wasn't gobbling, wasn't doing nothing. So it ended up getting this was later in the day, like, around, you know, late. And so, anyway, Michael, we we were gonna have to leave pretty soon, and Michael's like, look, I'm just gonna try to do a big loop, get in front of him, because he we we knew the way he was coming from and where he was going. And so Michael gets in this bottom, and I'm I'm staying back, and I've I've got a beat on him as far as, you know, glassing goes. I'm I'm watching him, making sure I'm barely even blinking so I don't miss where he goes or anything like that.
• 33:49
  And Michael's a good I mean, he's a ways away on the bottom side of a ridge. I don't even know how he saw him. Anyway, Michael gets going, a big old loop. Next thing I know, that sucker's hopping off that log faster than I've ever seen sprint in the other direction. And Michael, we're on the phone together, Michael's like, how in the world did he see that?
• 34:11
  I don't know, but he sure enough did because he is running about a two four forty around that log.
• 34:17
  Michael Harrison: And he And there ain't no way he hurt me.
• 34:19
  Matt Harrison: He was gone.
• 34:19
  Michael Harrison: There's no way he hurt me. Yeah. Way.
• 34:21
  Trent Camden: That's a good thing. A turkey can't smell.
• 34:23
  Michael Harrison: Oh, yeah. You wouldn't kill him.
• 34:24
  Matt Harrison: It wouldn't ever kill
• 34:25
  Trent Camden: him. But
• 34:27
  Matt Harrison: no. That those are those are good points. And, you know, and again, again, every turkey is different now. You do have some that do a lot of the same exact things, but you could be in some scenarios. Like, I saw a video the other day.
• 34:39
  It was unbelievable. And I don't know if the turkey was sick. I don't know if he was blind. I don't I don't know. But the the guy I knew, he had posted a video on social media.
• 34:48
  He had already, you know, tagged his bird. Anyway, this other gobbler, as they're standing up, he just runs right through the middle of them. I'm talking about, like, they're not even there. You know, just comes running right up and right past them, never flies off. He's just kinda wobbling through there, you know, and, again, something may be wrong with them.
• 35:06
  And and then some mornings, like I said yes a couple days ago whenever I killed mine or yesterday that, you know, everything works out perfect. It's perfect. He flies down. You shoot him. You know, you get in front of him.
• 35:17
  They come right up. You can yap him up from 300 yards, and some days, nothing goes right. If you move one finger, they start putting fly off. So, you know, there's different scenarios, different different stories to every bird. So, you know, what we talk about is just from personal experience.
• 35:33
  We're not saying we're are right on everything or wrong on everything, but from the from the time we've spent outdoors is what we've gathered. But, you know, I'm sure we'll spook a lot more, hopefully kill some more, but, you know, it's all part of learning is what makes it fun.
• 35:49
  Trent Camden: Well, win that mic, we'll bust another one.
• 35:52
  Matt Harrison: Hey, Will. As tall tall and lanky and goofy as he is, I'm sure he'll bust.
• 35:57
  Trent Camden: And I'll tell you what. I've found him with Michael a few times. He's he's tough to keep
• 36:02
  Matt Harrison: up with in the woods. You ought to see him, you you know, we've both seen him chase a duck in
• 36:07
  Trent Camden: Oh my god. High deep water,
• 36:09
  Matt Harrison: and it's almost like he walks on water.
• 36:11
  Trent Camden: He's faster than my dog.
• 36:13
  Matt Harrison: Imagine him outside the water on a dirt road with some With some old clouds on. With some own clouds, strap on boots that he can cinch down and get going. So I'm not joking.
• 36:23
  Trent Camden: Last time I went with him, I, I was pretty much jogging the whole time to his walk.
• 36:29
  Michael Harrison: So, Trent, that bird last year, that me and you set up on, and then we made a loop on him, and he ended up on the ridge, man, you sat on
• 36:35
  Trent Camden: Yeah.
• 36:36
  Michael Harrison: That that's the bird Matthew killed.
• 36:38
  Trent Camden: Oh, okay. Well, he told yeah. He told me he was hunting. That ridge, anyway. I thought that was the same Yeah.
• 36:43
  Michael Harrison: I can't say the same bird, but that same ridge.
• 36:45
  Trent Camden: Yeah. That's right. That's a good spot there.
• 36:47
  Michael Harrison: It's real gorgeous.
• 36:49
  Matt Harrison: It is. It is. Well, Trent and Michael, thank you both so much for taking time out of your day to hop on Ducks Unlimited Podcast, to talk turkey hunting. I could sit here the rest of the day and tell stories and talk about it because this is my I better not say favorite time of the year, but favorite time of the year. The the trees are budding.
• 37:08
  The weather's nice. The birds are singing. The fish are biting the whole night. It's a great time of year. So if you're just getting into turkey hunting, keep after them.
• 37:17
  If you've been doing it a long time and you are the turkey master, you keep after them too. And we're gonna keep keep learning and do our best to to enjoy the outdoors and enjoy our time while out in the turkey woods. But we also wanna thank our podcast producer, mister Chris Isaac, for making this happen, and also want to thank our podcast listeners for tuning in to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. Thank you all so very much, and God bless.
• 37:48
  VO: Thank you for listening to the DU Podcast sponsored by Purina Pro Plan, the official performance dog food of Ducks Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan, always advancing. Also proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're winding down with your best friend or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.
• 38:10
  Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show and visit ducks.org/dupodcast. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited. Until next time, stay tuned to the Ducks.