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I haven't been turkey hunting as long as a lot of you fellas on here being i am much younger than most. I've killed at least one bird a year since i was 12 years old. Every single one has been called in by myself to dance around the decoys and it will never get old.. I also wasn't a huge fan of the reaping method when I first heard about it but i tried it this year and was successful my first ever attempt...will i do this all the time no I wont I think it is a great last resort for killing a gobbler 4th season....Until then ill watch them dance in the DSDs :61:
 
Although I've done it a little over the last 2 years (never have tried it in Iowa) and will probably do it again someday, I dislike it overall. Like others have said, it doesn't take much skill. But that's about par for the course these days with anything. Everyone wants to be awesome at whatever, but they don't want to learn and earn it. They want their photos and video right now so they can post them all over hell and brag to people they don't even know.

Find the right bird(s) and they come on a string. Someone said it's not that easy. Well, it ain't hard. Stay behind the decoy/fan, use the terrain, you don't even gotta get very close to them from what I've seen. Once they see the fan, that's too close to their hens and they're ready fight. Mid-day it's about the only good high percentage option in some places and situations. Kill them off the roost or going to roost, or they walk around with their harem all day long. All these guide services advertising how many birds they're killing each spring, what a joke. One guy with a reaper decoy that knows what he's doing half ass could kill all those birds himself as many birds are around in some places and all the ground the guides have. Most of the ones I'm speaking of are reaping very high percent of their kills. I couldn't imagine going on a guided turkey hunt and the guide saying 'Ok there he is, get to that tree, put the fan up, then shoot him when he gets in range'.

Doug, you seem to hunt the same spot every year and do well. How much skill does that take? Not knocking it, just asking. Over the course of a few springs, you know where birds generally roost and then also spend the rest of the morning. You sit in a blind with a shotgun in a comfy chair and wait. You mentioned good calling too, how much of that do you think plays into your success when the birds are going to be there anyway and see your DSD look-a-like decoys? I'd guess very little.

I can't stand hunting out of a blind with a gun. Love propping myself up against a tree with a bird going apeshit 75 yards away in the tree. Lug the blind around bowhunting for obvious reasons. I hunt about a half a dozen spots, one in particular is pretty consistent so of course I hunt it quite a bit. It does get hunted by a half dozen other guys so that doesn't help. Haven't seen or heard a bird there this year, even before season. Killed a bird on a piece that I started hunting in 2007 and don't believe I've killed a bird there in 5 or 6 years. Hit it here and there, sometimes there's a bird or 2 around and sometimes there isn't.

If I don't turkey hunt like you, I'm doing it wrong. If you don't hunt like me, you're doing it wrong. We all have opinions and just like assholes, they all stink. Good luck to anyone still holding a tag or 2 these last few days.
 
In close I'm willing to bet that more birds are being harvested in this state since this method. To the point where the state should be keeping tabs if harvested birds are reaped or not. I Don't like it.
I'd even take it another step. I'd be curious to see how many birds are killed by reaping vs any of the other ways combined. I'd imagine more are being killed by reaping because there's so many rookie newbies hunting vs guys that do have a clue of what they're doing once they enter the turkey woods.
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
Doug, you seem to hunt the same spot every year and do well. How much skill does that take? Not knocking it, just asking. Over the course of a few springs, you know where birds generally roost and then also spend the rest of the morning. You sit in a blind with a shotgun in a comfy chair and wait. You mentioned good calling too, how much of that do you think plays into your success when the birds are going to be there anyway and see your DSD look-a-like decoys? I'd guess very little.

I can't stand hunting out of a blind with a gun. Love propping myself up against a tree with a bird going apeshit 75 yards away in the tree. Lug the blind around bowhunting for obvious reasons. I hunt about a half a dozen spots, one in particular is pretty consistent so of course I hunt it quite a bit. It does get hunted by a half dozen other guys so that doesn't help. Haven't seen or heard a bird there this year, even before season. Killed a bird on a piece that I started hunting in 2007 and don't believe I've killed a bird there in 5 or 6 years. Hit it here and there, sometimes there's a bird or 2 around and sometimes there isn't.

If I don't turkey hunt like you, I'm doing it wrong. If you don't hunt like me, you're doing it wrong. We all have opinions and just like assholes, they all stink. Good luck to anyone still holding a tag or 2 these last few days.
You have me pretty pegged. We generally get the birds we need off the same 3 properties(I don't scout just hunt). 4th season can be a free for all though as to where to go. But youth season is the same field maybe different corner every year on public land. 3rd season 3 day guy trip is the same private spot in southern Iowa (17 for 18 on that piece). 4th season I'm starting to settle into a local property that has treated me good past two years with tricky toms(I had to get out of the tent and in the woods to call them in). The roosts for me very year to year and can day to day as well.

Your right its not to hard to hunt how I do. I like hunting out of a tent because I can hunt in the open fields. If I can't see a quarter mile I'm kinda bummed. The hard part is lugging all the crap out at 5 in the morning for a mile in a daze with little sleep after a few little debbie doughnuts and a few marlboros. But its worth it because I can get away with murder in that tent. Kick back and have discussions with family...heck its like duckhunting. Also turkeys for the most part don't care about the tent if placed correctly and you get a front row seat to strutting and drumming without the worry of getting pegged. But to get to the point of where Im at, I've logged lots of miles, screwed up some birds, and crossed off quite a few shit spots that I would never hunt again. I use to run and gun like crazy years ago. I have way better success sitting tight now. I still think the skill is in choosing the spot you hunt and I still think calling is #1. For instance most places we hunt the prarie grass or last years corn stubble is just as tall as the decoys and a lot of times they won't see the decoys till they get to hundred yards or less after coaxing them that far with the calls. The southern iowa spot they use field tops as travel routes. I refuse to hilltop hunt a blind because its silouetted against the sky thus I use the call to get them to go where they don't normally. Also on public I'm calling them to prairie grass vs the alfalfa field on private next door that they would normally go to. I could go on and on with the benefits of the call but I would start to sound like a know it all. Which I dont know it all...I'm just a turkey hunting nerd who learns new stuff every year and puts it in his think tank. I put a lot of thought and effort in this sport to shoot for success nearly everytime out where the next guys mantality is to try to sneak up on a bird behind a fan. Its not wrong, just way different then my hunting history/mindset.
 
Doug if you like hunting from a blind try taking your bow sometime. It can be humbling to say the least. I've had both my bow and gun in the bind at the same time before depending when and where I'm hunting.
 
Discussion starter · #31 ·
Bow has been weighing heavy the past couple years. Just nervous of crippling a tom that I can kill the crap out of with a shotgun. I think 2018 will be the year I try.

How do bowtags for turkeys work? Are they good from season 1-4. As in if I buy a tag for season 1 can I use it till the end of season 4? Or are they the same as gun?

Also lets say I score 1st season with a bow. Can I go to town and buy another tag to hunt the next day? Or is like gun and I have to wait till 4th for the 2nd tag?
 
Bow has been weighing heavy the past couple years. Just nervous of crippling a tom that I can kill the crap out of with a shotgun. I think 2018 will be the year I try.

How do bowtags for turkeys work? Are they good from season 1-4. As in if I buy a tag for season 1 can I use it till the end of season 4? Or are they the same as gun?

Also lets say I score 1st season with a bow. Can I go to town and buy another tag to hunt the next day? Or is like gun and I have to wait till 4th for the 2nd tag?
They're good for seasons 1-4. You can buy 2 bow tags or 1 bow tag and 1 season 4 tag. It is legal to fill both tags on the same day. If you don't feel like going all in on the bow thing just get the tags you normaly get and have both the gun and bow in the blind. If you have an easy shot shoot the bow. If not use the gun. If you make a bad shot with the bow clean it up with the gun.
 
May want to compare the harvest to the number of licenses sold. Weather might have influenced the count too, both number of licenses sold vs. harvest.
Hard to figure it from county to county. Except Grundy county that almost always gets just one. I wonder if it is the same hunter that gets the one. Anyone know?
 
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