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Got me thinking today in the woods?(boy, the big racked bucks are being really tough this year )
Here I sit on the ground back against a big Hemlock.
Suddenly movement coming from the right side.Two large adult hens coming up the rise walking slowly,necks stretched about 40ft away from me.(The way they moved and interacted reminded of the two small raptors in the kitchen part of the movie--Jurasac Park)
The definitely were primary scouts----I didn't twitch,wearing a breakup leaf pattern orange jacket.
They with me right in plain sight in next to them didn't even notice me???
Then the one hen did a soft yelp followed by the other lead hen.Slowly about 50 birds appeared and every single one walked right on past me??????????
So, now I say-----------------why the camo??????????
Wonder how hunters survived before the invention of camo, scent blocking soap and clothing, tactical flashlites, or anything "TACTICAL'? I once bought a tiny bottle of scent, and after realizing that i just payed hard earned cash for a bottle of pee I was ready to use the gun on myself.
Probly woulda been different if you moved. Turkeys can see VERY well, theyre stupid as all get out but IF they see you its over. Probly thought you were just a orange thing and no orange thing ever messed with it before. They cant smell either and thats a big help for us.
True we didn't have camo in the old days but most earth tone clothes blend right in too, even Red/black plaid blends in in fall, Buckskin & fur sure did & people used face paint. Truly I think camo has been part of hunting for a very long time.
On another note I was in a tree stand in upstate NY one fall, in an orange suit, bright orange from ankle to neck. Maybe 8' off the ground. Had about 20 turkeys come in from behind me, the flock actually split around my tree. I sat perfectly still until the last one went by & then tried to get a pic & they spotted me immediately. I got pictures but doubt I coulda got a shot off, they freaked out pretty good. & stuck around to regroup but gave me a wide berth. I'm fairly convinced the didn't know what I was, just that it was time to leave.
Nother time I was bow-hunting in full cammo, maybe 20' up a tree right on a chain link fence. Theres a hole in it 20 yards away where the deer come from a place I cant hunt into one I can. So I'm watching these turkeys coming from a good 70 yards away along my side of the fence. When they got to the hole one of the birds drifted thru without noticing and kept coming in with the rest but on the other side of the fence.
The lead bird saw me after a couple more yards & moved off to my left, that would be east leading the rest away from the fence & the weird thing in the tree. The bird on the other side of the fence had an anxiety attack, she would give a couple clucks & the others responded until they crested the next hill & I couldn't hear them anymore. All the while the bird under me, which never looked up once, ran back & forth along the fence. After 15 minutes it started getting dark & eventually the hen flew up & roosted in an oak over there. The dang thing never thought of going back to the hole or even thought of flying over a 7' fence, but it did remember it could fly up & roost.
Isn't it funny, now that Turkey season just recently ended how they work it (now their dumb)
Boy when season for them is on(THEIR SMART)
Isn't that kinda how it is though ??????
I have a book here somewhere about turkey hunting and one of the chapters was written by a fellow in Florida that I am sure is dead now . Anyway he hunted the Osceola variety of turkey whish "is supposed to be" more skittish etc . Oh and this guy was a call maker of some reknown back in the 1980's .
Anyway he claimed that later in life he always wore a yellow poncho type thing and hunted out of ground blinds and still killed plenty turkey .
Wish I could remmember the guys name , but I vividly remmmeber a picture of him in the book sitting there in his ground blind with his yellow rain poncho or jacket on waiting for a turkey and then another picture of him holding what looked to be an Osceola with a beard of about 8 or 9 inches .
Whether you need camo or not is not the relevant point . It's what your mind believes works . If you believe something helps you then it does regardless of whether it's the true reality or not . Because "if you believe" it works then it makes you try harder shall we say . And if you put forth more effort then typically you have a bit more success .
I found the book a bit ago and the guys name was "Tom Gaskin's" formerly of Gaskin's Turkey calls somewhere in Florida . Seems he believed in a ground blind with several layers of palmetto fronds in front of him rather then a single layer .
Last edited by 6pt-sika on Tue Nov 29, 2011 6:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Parkers , Mannlicher Schoenauer’s , 6.5mm's and my family in the Philippines !
I have turkeys all over me when I'm deer hunting with the orange on. Usually several times a season. I woke from a nap last year and they were about ten feet away feeding all around me. I was able to get my camera out and take some pics and a video.
Now, when it's time to kill the birds, it is a whole different story. I have been trying to kill one with my bow for years. Our archery tags here are for deer and turkey. I don't specifically hunt for the birds but keep an eye out when bow hunting for deer. It never fails, when one gets in range, the slightest movement spooks them. I usually have camo head to toe when bow hunting. Maybe I should get one of those blaze orange jumpsuits and see what happens.
Kevin
Madman, Did you ever catch up to those trespassers on your place?
Mac in Mo wrote:I have turkeys all over me when I'm deer hunting with the orange on. Usually several times a season. I woke from a nap last year and they were about ten feet away feeding all around me. I was able to get my camera out and take some pics and a video.
Now, when it's time to kill the birds, it is a whole different story. I have been trying to kill one with my bow for years. Our archery tags here are for deer and turkey. I don't specifically hunt for the birds but keep an eye out when bow hunting for deer. It never fails, when one gets in range, the slightest movement spooks them. I usually have camo head to toe when bow hunting. Maybe I should get one of those blaze orange jumpsuits and see what happens.
Kevin
Madman, Did you ever catch up to those trespassers on your place?
Kevin,
Nope!
Think I am getting close to having it under control.
I think what was going on was while just recently moving back(full time)here the word is getting out that (that big mean guy) is back
My focus this year is to go out random times and look and even setup at different locations.
I am passing on smaller bucks and don't shoot the doe's so we will see if I can get a 150+ class buck or not???
It's tough(the wind this year has caused me fits)not any one steady direction???
And with all the gorges/benches/updrafts ground hunting for the big guys is being a real challenge.(that's good)
Worst case---------------is no worst case,cause spending time outside scoring one or not----I win!
Leverdude wrote:Probly woulda been different if you moved. Turkeys can see VERY well, theyre stupid as all get out but IF they see you its over. Probly thought you were just a orange thing and no orange thing ever messed with it before. They cant smell either and thats a big help for us.
True we didn't have camo in the old days but most earth tone clothes blend right in too, even Red/black plaid blends in in fall, Buckskin & fur sure did & people used face paint. Truly I think camo has been part of hunting for a very long time.
This is all true, but you forgot to mention that the DNR has game animal classes during the off seasons to educate the game as to when their season is open...that is why you can not find them during that time frame. The Turkeys and Deer know when their season is on.
The range that I use is located against a large, wooded ridge and is about 140 acres. There are several ranges (shotgun, pistol, archery, etc) located on the same property and separated by wooded areas. It's not unusual for the Range Officer to call a cease fire so the turkeys can stroll across the range, sometimes within a few yards. Now these are not domesticated turkeys nor are they fed. But they have lost their fear of humans. I can believe they can't hear well because gunfire doesn't seem to bother them.
As 6pt-sika said Tom Gaskins was one of the most famous turkey hunters around here. He began making his simple little box turkey call after he got out of the service in WWII. He was from Palmdale, Fla near Fisheating Creek where he ran the Cypress knee museum for years. He has passed on now but his son, Tom, Jr. still makes and sells the calls. At one time you could buy them from Cabelas. Tom Jr. now lives in Venus, Fl just north of Palmdale on hwy 27.
Tom never would wear camo, he said it was an easy way for some city slicker who shoots at movement in the bushes to shoot you in the face. He wore plaid shirts, khaki pants and went barefoot.
If you're gonna be stupid ya gotta be tough-
Isiah 55:8&9
It's easier to fool people than it is to convince them they have been fooled.
[quote]. . . bought a tiny bottle of scent, and after realizing that i just payed hard earned cash for a bottle of pee I was ready to use the gun on myself. [quote]
Gotta put trash out for collection in big plastic bags where I live. Feel the same way when I spend $20 for a box of bags to throw away.
)
I was ready to use the gun on myself. 
