1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,640 Speaker 1: First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 1: Tony Peterson. 6 00:00:20,360 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Foundation's podcast, which has brought 7 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 2: to you by First Light. I'm your host, Tony Peterson, 8 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 2: and today's episode is all about turkeys and what we 9 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,080 Speaker 2: believe about them that will keep us from killing a 10 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 2: limb hager this spring. We're still in Turkey Week here 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 2: at Meat Eater, and we're celebrating America's favorite game bird 12 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 2: and I'd even consider it America's favorite bird. So take that, 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 2: you stupid ass balld eagles with your scavenging and fish eating. 14 00:00:47,800 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 2: You may have heard already, but if not, First Light 15 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 2: has a new turkey kit out in a pattern called 16 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 2: Darkwater that is ideal for a whole lot of different 17 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 2: turkey hunting scenarios, and i'd guess might look awful appealing 18 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 2: to someone my Southern turkey hunting brothers and sisters. You'll 19 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 2: also probably hear that we are running a Turkey Week 20 00:01:05,480 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 2: sweepstakes where you can win a Texas turkey hunt in 21 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,479 Speaker 2: the spring of twenty seven for three people. Now, if 22 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 2: you've never hunted rios, trust me, this one's gonna be 23 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 2: a lot of fun. They're beautiful, they gobble their heads 24 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 2: off all day, and they can be a hell of 25 00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:22,520 Speaker 2: a lot more fun than easterns now. If you win, 26 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 2: you'll also get a prize pack worth over thirteen grand, 27 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 2: which has a ton of killer hunting gear in Well, 28 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 2: how do you win? You go to the mediater dot 29 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 2: com and you buy some stuff and the more you spend, 30 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 2: the more entries get dumped into the bucket, and someone 31 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 2: is gonna win, So why not you? All Right, enough 32 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,000 Speaker 2: of that, As I said, I'm talking turkeys again today, 33 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 2: and I'm going to address some of the myths and 34 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 2: beliefs that we just need to forget about because all 35 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 2: they do is hold us back. These exist in all 36 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 2: types of outdoor pursuits and are prevalent in the turkey 37 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 2: hunting space because a lot of our turkey hunting advice 38 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 2: as well kind of old and outdated. If you struggle 39 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:06,360 Speaker 2: filling your spring tags or just want to reframe how 40 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,560 Speaker 2: you view your turkey hunts, listen up right now, because 41 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 2: I'm going to drop some good old fashioned, realistic advice 42 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 2: into the conversation about how to hunt turkeys today. When 43 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 2: I drew my first turkey tag thirty two years ago, 44 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 2: we didn't have pop up blinds yet. We didn't have 45 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,920 Speaker 2: ultra realistic decoys. We didn't have trail cameras or you know, 46 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 2: super turkey loads that come in a box of five 47 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 2: for about the price you pay for a kidney on 48 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 2: the black market. It was a truly different world then, 49 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 2: and in pretty much the same way that turkey hunting 50 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 2: gear has evolved, so have our turkey hunting tactics and strategies. Now. 51 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:42,679 Speaker 2: Before I actually hunted turkeys, I read a lot of 52 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 2: field and stream articles about hunting turkeys. I read a 53 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 2: lot of turkey hunting advice, and I heard that advice 54 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 2: slip from the ether into my father's brain, where it 55 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 2: eventually became spoken words that all kind of said the 56 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 2: same thing. And that thing was more than anything, that 57 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 2: the old wild turkey was no louch. Now, some of 58 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 2: those old writers really had a flare for the extravagant. 59 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 2: I didn't realize how far some outdoor writers would really 60 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 2: take that until one time, one of them did a 61 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 2: story on me, and to wrap up the article just 62 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 2: made up a conversation that tied a nice bow on 63 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 2: the piece but never happened. And that was one of 64 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 2: those moments that I think about often because it shifted 65 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 2: my worldview. Now, if you had read any of the 66 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,840 Speaker 2: old timers in their turkey wisdom, you would have not 67 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,840 Speaker 2: only read that your average Tom is basically the mensa 68 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 2: member of the Avian world, but also that he doesn't 69 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: want to hear a lot of turkey calls. The typical 70 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 2: advice you'd read, or you would have read or it 71 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 2: would have heard, simply like this, yelp three times and 72 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 2: then shut up. Then wait without moving for at least 73 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:49,320 Speaker 2: forty five minutes before you yelp three times again. Now 74 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 2: I'm not saying create three series of yelps, but three 75 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 2: actual yelps. They would then say that a Tom could 76 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 2: hear a cotton ball dropped on a foam mattress from 77 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 2: a half a mile away, and he can pinpoint if 78 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: the exact location a sound originated from, like he has 79 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 2: some supernatural auditory GPS system. So when I first started 80 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 2: turkey hunting, I tried to follow that advice, but mostly 81 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:12,000 Speaker 2: only did when I was hunting with my dad, who 82 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 2: was more of an adherent to those things than I was. 83 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 2: I was way too easily bored to suffer through no 84 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 2: turkey calling while turkey hunting. So when I got to 85 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 2: hunt on my own at fifteen, I was both terrified 86 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 2: to call and excited to totally control all the calling. 87 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 2: And what I found was that you can call more 88 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 2: than three yelps in an hour, and sometimes Tom's and 89 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,799 Speaker 2: Jakes will come in, hence two. Being a contrarian at heart, 90 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 2: I decided it would be a good idea to see 91 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 2: how far I could take the whole calling thing. And 92 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 2: now I believe something that you don't hear very often. 93 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 2: I don't think you can overcall. Now there's a caveat here. 94 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 2: It's that you absolutely can overcall. If you are not 95 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:52,680 Speaker 2: very good at turkey calling, if you don't understand what 96 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 2: you are saying and don't understand how to add emotion 97 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 2: to your calling sequences, you're much better off, following the 98 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:01,360 Speaker 2: advice from the nineteen fifth fifties, if you know how 99 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:04,920 Speaker 2: to call and are confident in your calling, all you're 100 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 2: doing is making the sounds that turkeys make in a 101 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,800 Speaker 2: way in which they might make them. And you know 102 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 2: what else I believe about that sometimes they need a 103 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 2: lot of calling to commit. I believe this about deer too, 104 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 2: although not very many people believe me when I say that. 105 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 2: I truly think the snort wheeze is the best call 106 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 2: out there, but only if you understand that it might 107 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 2: take a whole lot of them to get a positive 108 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,360 Speaker 2: reaction out of a deer, and most people seem too 109 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 2: scared to try that. The same thing happens with turkeys. 110 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 2: But I can tell you one thing. This fella calls 111 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 2: a lot. If I have a bird coming in on 112 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 2: a string, I just work him with maybe an average 113 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 2: amount of turkey talk, but not so much that it's 114 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 2: just stupid. But if I have a bird that is 115 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,559 Speaker 2: hung up, he's going to get a lot of chatter 116 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 2: from me. And if I don't have any birds calling 117 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,160 Speaker 2: and I'm sitting at the bottom of the dead sea, 118 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 2: I call a lot because I want to make something happen. 119 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 2: I've watched turkeys cross fields in a matter of a 120 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 2: few minutes, where you know the distance might be a 121 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 2: quarter of a mile or a half a mile. I 122 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 2: think about that a lot when I don't have much 123 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 2: going on, because at any moment a gobbler could walk 124 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 2: from far away to close enough to get a response 125 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 2: out of him. And if that's the case, I want 126 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 2: to get a response out of him. I also think 127 00:06:16,360 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 2: you can take some birds, especially when it's just kind 128 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 2: of dead due to the weather or seasonal timing, and 129 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 2: make them excited. You can activate them through calling, but 130 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: you won't do that by yelping one soft sequence and 131 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 2: then just shutting up. It's not going to cut it. 132 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 2: They need to be riled up, and a good caller 133 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 2: can do that, and a good caller can try that 134 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 2: all day long. Now, this flies in the advice that 135 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 2: you're supposed to just kind of match what the turkeys 136 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 2: are actually trying to say around you and what they're doing. 137 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 2: But what the actual turkeys often do is not call 138 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:53,359 Speaker 2: very much anywhere near us. On a typical day, we 139 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 2: call like crazy when they are on the roost, and 140 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 2: then a little bit afterwards, and then maybe not hardly 141 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 2: call throughout the rest of the day. Thanks, and speaking 142 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 2: of rus, there is another belief that kind of needs 143 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 2: to die or needs to be explained much better. You 144 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:12,440 Speaker 2: have probably heard the saying roosted ain't roasted. Well, It's true. 145 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 2: It wasn't that long ago though, when there was a 146 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 2: high level of importance placed on roosting a tom. After all, 147 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 2: if you know where he's going to sleep, you know 148 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 2: where he's going to wake up. And if you know 149 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:25,240 Speaker 2: where he's going to wake up and you can be 150 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 2: fairly close to him, you know, it stands to reason 151 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,440 Speaker 2: that you have higher odds of calling him in. In 152 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 2: my experience, most of the time roosted definitely isn't roasted. 153 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,920 Speaker 2: It takes the right bird. And I'll tell you who 154 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 2: that is. It's the loaner tom. You know, probably the 155 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 2: two year old that weighs twenty one pounds and has 156 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 2: a nine inch beard. If we want to get real specific, 157 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:48,560 Speaker 2: If that bird spends the night all by himself, he 158 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 2: is ripe for the picking in the morning. But a 159 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 2: tom roosted with some hens, he's a different story. A 160 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,600 Speaker 2: tom roosted with three of his buddies, different story. A 161 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 2: tom roosted where he can hear other turkeys. Besides, you 162 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 2: total toss up, but mostly you'll lose to the real birds. 163 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 2: Roosting the right bird is super fun. Roosting most birds 164 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 2: and expecting to be tagged out when the sun is 165 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,720 Speaker 2: just resting on the eastern horizon. It's just not how 166 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 2: it's mostly going to shake out. This might sound crazy, 167 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 2: but if I had to pick a time frame to 168 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 2: kill birds, you know, mostly it would be in the 169 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,920 Speaker 2: late afternoon for a variety of reasons, and throughout a 170 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,439 Speaker 2: lot of the season there's just such a nice cruising 171 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:34,839 Speaker 2: window late in the day that the birds become super 172 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 2: receptive during and it's such a different game to get 173 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:41,040 Speaker 2: one to answer then now during the earliest part, you know, 174 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,520 Speaker 2: to the middle part of the season. I also really 175 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,200 Speaker 2: liked the lunch hour shift. The problem with that is 176 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 2: that a lot of the film turkey content you are 177 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 2: likely to see is filmed in places with a lot 178 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 2: of unpressured birds, in settings that allow them to film 179 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:56,320 Speaker 2: gobblers strutting their way across green fields for a couple 180 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 2: one hundred yards in the early morning sunlight. But if 181 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,199 Speaker 2: you hunt pressure birds or you just have limited time, 182 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,840 Speaker 2: the most gobbling you'll hear will be off the roost. 183 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 2: But the best gobbling you'll hear in regards to callable 184 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,800 Speaker 2: birds will either be in the middle of the day 185 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 2: or when they start to stage up to go to 186 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 2: the roost. This is something bow hunting turkeys taught me 187 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:18,880 Speaker 2: because I did so many all day sits when I 188 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 2: first started out. The truth about turkeys is they often 189 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 2: have a pretty strict schedule in the morning for several hours, 190 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 2: and if you can get where they want to be, 191 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,480 Speaker 2: you're gonna win. But if not, your chances to work 192 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 2: birds often really improves later in the day when that 193 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,200 Speaker 2: schedule opens up. This is often tied to the hens nesting, 194 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:41,959 Speaker 2: but also I think to gobblers who know they can 195 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 2: do better than strut behind four other strutters who are 196 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 2: all obsessed with a handful of hens, and who are 197 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 2: going to stick it out all day. Now there is 198 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 2: the question of when you get a gobbler with an eyesight, 199 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:04,960 Speaker 2: which brings up another belief that I have to address, 200 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,960 Speaker 2: and it involves decoys. A hell of a lot of 201 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 2: people will tell you straight to your face that you 202 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:14,120 Speaker 2: don't need expensive ultra realistic decoys, and you know what, 203 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 2: they're probably wrong. Now, look, we own Dave Smith decoys 204 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 2: and all that, so take that how you want to. 205 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 2: But nothing changed my turkey game quite like running their decoys, 206 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 2: which I bought long before I had any association with them. 207 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 2: I think there are a couple of reasons for this. 208 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 2: The first is that while yes, you could run a 209 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,559 Speaker 2: cheap foam decoy and get a bird into shotgun range 210 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 2: and maybe even bow range, your odds are significantly lower 211 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 2: than they would be with ultra realistic decoys that convey 212 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 2: some sort of turkey body language. I believe that with 213 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,560 Speaker 2: all of my turkey hunting heart, and while it stings 214 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:53,559 Speaker 2: to spend like one hundred and seventy five bucks on 215 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 2: a single decoy, it doesn't sting that much to have 216 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 2: birds really commit to your spread and put on a show. 217 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 2: And I'm convinced that a lot of the people who 218 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:05,560 Speaker 2: say that they don't need high end decoys say this 219 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 2: for a couple reasons. Either they're hunting where the birds 220 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 2: are just unpressured and kind of dumb, which you can 221 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 2: still find in some places for sure, but more likely 222 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 2: it stems from a somewhat frugal mindset that isn't restricted 223 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 2: to decoys. I've run into this my whole life in 224 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,679 Speaker 2: the outdoor industry, and it's weird how often someone will 225 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 2: say something like this two hundred dollars product is no 226 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 2: different from a twenty dollars product in the same category, 227 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:32,600 Speaker 2: yet they are almost always dead wrong. That's not to 228 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 2: say that you can't get by with the cheaper stuff, 229 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:38,839 Speaker 2: but it generally doesn't work as well and often doesn't 230 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,280 Speaker 2: last as long. The thing about this is that if 231 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:44,280 Speaker 2: you only shotgun hunt, and you do as much sneaking 232 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 2: around trying to bushwhack a bird as anything, decoy choice 233 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,839 Speaker 2: is probably secondary. Now, if you need them in your 234 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 2: spread because you're bow hunting, or you're not comfortable running 235 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 2: and gunning, or you have somebody else along, or you 236 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 2: hunt a small property and can't really go anywhere, or 237 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 2: you're just really dealing with pressured birds, there's no debate 238 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,319 Speaker 2: in my mind that quality decoys are worth the cost. 239 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 2: Take that for however you want to. But I put 240 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:11,319 Speaker 2: good money on a bet that says quality decoys will 241 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 2: elicit more positive responses out of real birds than cheapis will. Now, 242 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,080 Speaker 2: before you think I'm some elitist hunting snob, which is 243 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:21,600 Speaker 2: what this one guy in Minnesota called me when I 244 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 2: wrote an article where I said I didn't think illegal 245 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 2: baiting was very cool, I'll say this about turkeys. You 246 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 2: can shoot them with about any shotgun and if you 247 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:33,560 Speaker 2: have any idea what you're doing, they're going to be 248 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 2: super dead. The tricked out turkey guns paired with red 249 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 2: dot sites and full of tungsten turkey loads are gobbler 250 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 2: whacking machines, But so is the old Remington eight seventy 251 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 2: with three inch fives that has been patterned correctly. The 252 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:49,720 Speaker 2: deal with turkeys and shooting them with a shotgun is 253 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 2: that you have to know what loads your shotgun throws 254 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 2: really well and how far they'll throw them accurately. That's 255 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 2: kind of it in the old Peterson household, between my 256 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 2: daughters and I and the last six years, we've killed 257 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,199 Speaker 2: a bunch of toms with four tens, a couple twenty gauges, 258 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 2: and several different twelve gauges, not to mention all the 259 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 2: bobirds other than a few oopsies when my daughters were little, 260 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 2: and I'm positive wasn't the gun or the shot shells fault. 261 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 2: The birds that have crossed the magical effective range mark 262 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 2: have mostly ended up with their beaks in the dirt. Look, 263 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 2: it's fun to play with that stuff, and i'd certainly 264 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 2: never encourage someone to hunt with a weapon they didn't 265 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 2: have confidence in. But you can definitely go overboard with 266 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 2: this stuff, and if you have enough patience to let 267 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 2: the birds get into really good range, they rarely get away. Now, 268 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 2: I will say this about shotgun loads. I'm a really 269 00:13:39,920 --> 00:13:42,679 Speaker 2: big fan of something that isn't led, but I'm also 270 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 2: not opposed to shooting them with lead. Seeing the penetration 271 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,800 Speaker 2: performance and how they pattern kind of won me over 272 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 2: with the tungsten and bismuth loads, and for a while 273 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,960 Speaker 2: I thought that's what I'd always shoot. It turns out 274 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 2: all it took was China to put a stranglehold on 275 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 2: tungsten and the price per shell the sky rocket before 276 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 2: I realize that I am a pay up to a 277 00:14:03,160 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 2: point kind of fella, and then I'm back to shooting lead. 278 00:14:06,600 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 2: Your mileage may vary, but the truth is just about 279 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 2: any scatter gun we'll get the job done just fine. 280 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 2: Just make sure you send a few loads down range 281 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,079 Speaker 2: at paper turkey targets first, so that you not only 282 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 2: know that's true, but you know how far away that 283 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,160 Speaker 2: will stay true. And while a lot of people don't 284 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 2: do this, I recommend turkey hunters carry a range finder 285 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 2: if they have one, especially newer turkey hunters or anyone 286 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,280 Speaker 2: traveling to a new environment to turkey hunt. A gobbler 287 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 2: strutting in at sixty yards can look awful big, and 288 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 2: awful tempting, and might seem a hell of a lot 289 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 2: closer to some hunter who is I don't know, used 290 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 2: to setting up in the big woods, and then they 291 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,840 Speaker 2: suddenly get to chase longbeards on the prairie or out 292 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 2: in the sand hills. But if that gun is good 293 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 2: to forty and not much more, you might find yourself 294 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 2: watching a bird fly away or worse kind of limp 295 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,280 Speaker 2: run off, and then you'll realize that all you needed 296 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 2: to do was wait another twenty second until he actually 297 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 2: got into range. Now, I guess i'll wrap this one 298 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 2: up with this last train of thought here. I don't 299 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 2: know how many of you have trailed a wounded turkey, 300 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 2: whether it was a shotgun hit or a bow hit, 301 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 2: but I can tell you one thing. I've trailed a 302 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 2: lot of them, And two things I've noticed that are 303 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 2: very consistent are that wild turkeys can bleed a hell 304 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 2: of a lot and not be laying stone dead anywhere 305 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 2: near you, And that a wounded bird is a bird 306 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 2: that can hide in ways we can hardly imagine they 307 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:33,040 Speaker 2: understand how to pancake themselves into the grass or in 308 00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 2: an open alfalfa field in a way that is so 309 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,520 Speaker 2: easy to overlook. It's almost shocking when you figure out 310 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 2: what you've done wrong. If they can get into the timber, 311 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,640 Speaker 2: they get a lot harder to locate. But if you 312 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 2: are on a blood trail, you got to use your binoculars. 313 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 2: You got to glass everything, because they are so good 314 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 2: at tucking into dead falls and getting under cedar trees 315 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 2: and just disappearing into the forest floor. They'll also often 316 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 2: crawl off and get sick to the point where you 317 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 2: might have thought you saw a lightly wounded bird leaving, 318 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,680 Speaker 2: but that bird is out there dying and you might 319 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 2: not know it. That's the last belief I want to address. 320 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 2: If you hit one, play it like a wounded deer 321 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 2: for real. They are tough as nails, but they also 322 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 2: sometimes just run off for a couple hundred yards and 323 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 2: then hole up and either die or get sick enough 324 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 2: where you can get up on them again. And whether 325 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 2: they fly or run after the shot, don't believe they 326 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 2: are fine simply because they can fly or run. They 327 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 2: often get through the escape on adrenaline and then they 328 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 2: do what they need to in order to hide, and 329 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 2: when they do, it's almost always an education on turkey behavior. 330 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 2: And on that note, that's it for this week. Next week, 331 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 2: I'm going to get back to talking about white tails, 332 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:52,240 Speaker 2: so don't forget to tune in. All right, that's it 333 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 2: for this episode. Like I said in the beginning, like 334 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,560 Speaker 2: I said with yesterday's episode, it is Turkey Week here 335 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 2: at meat Eater. Head to the meat check it out. 336 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,080 Speaker 2: We are celebrating turkeys in a whole bunch of different ways. 337 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 2: While you're there, you might find some good deals. You 338 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,199 Speaker 2: might find some other podcasts you want to listen to. 339 00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 2: You might see a turkey film get dropped. Lots of 340 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 2: content shows up on the medeater dot com every single day. 341 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:18,159 Speaker 2: Go check it out, Go check out Turkey Week, and 342 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 2: as always, thank you so much for all of your support.