37 turkeys in my backyards

Jumpem

Lifer
Sep 21, 2000
10,757
3
81
1
2
3
4
5
6

just a friendly tip (pre-empting more of the I got a 403 error posts): you can't click these links directly; you'll have to drag or cut&paste the links into your browser. -DrPizza
 

rudeguy

Lifer
Dec 27, 2001
47,351
14
61
Originally posted by: slsmnaz
Originally posted by: rudeguy
I never understood why people say that turkey hunting is so hard.

because it is hard

I have to dodge ~20 of them on most days. They like to hang out in the middle of our road.
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
8
0
Originally posted by: rudeguy
Originally posted by: slsmnaz
Originally posted by: rudeguy
I never understood why people say that turkey hunting is so hard.

because it is hard

I have to dodge ~20 of them on most days. They like to hang out in the middle of our road.

They're probably referring to actual hunting with a gun. I don't think playing turkey bowling with your car counts. :p
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,601
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Originally posted by: buck
Bad ASS!

Do you hunt? Why not shoot them?

Because even if he did hunt, turkeys are not in season. And (at least last time I was aware), Turkeys Unlimited or one of the other groups of turkey enthusiasts offers a $100 reward to anyone turning in someone who shoots a turkey out of season. There are plenty of hunters who strongly frown upon people taking game illegally.

As far as hunting them, yes, they are very difficult to hunt. They have *incredible* eyesight. They have great sense of hearing, and you're limited to a shotgun with a lethal range of about 30 yards for turkey. (or a bow, with perhaps a little more range.) They can run much faster than a human can run (25mph), and fly up to 50mph. An ethical hunter (the vast majority of hunters) will not simply shoot to wound an animal; an ethical hunter will shoot to kill the animal. This means a close shot (30 yards) to the head/neck area. If you don't kill it immediately, it's going to be gone (and later die.) The woods are big, that flock of turkeys will stick close together. Shooting over bait is illegal. You have to figure out where the flock is - they'll see you and disappear long before you see them in the woods. Then, you have to manage to be in the right place. If you're lucky, you can get close enough to the flock (during fall season) and break up the flock. About 10 minutes later, they're anxious to get together & you can call in stragglers who are still separated from the main flock. During the spring, it's illegal to shoot hens (or rather, it's only legal to shoot turkeys with male characteristics; sometimes, although very infrequently, it's legitimate to mistake a hen for a male). You have to take advantage of the mating instinct to call in toms. However, they are often very wary & won't come within shooting range. And, if they're already with hens, you can forget it. Sneak up on a turkey? Yeah, right!

OP, nice flock. I only glanced at a couple of the pics (thanks to the drag & drop), but looks like a group of hens and jakes. Feeding them? (Which I'm fairly certain is legal in NY; it's illegal to feed deer though.) If you toss out a pound or two of cracked or kernal corn each day, you'll get to enjoy seeing them all winter long. Cracked corn is pretty cheap if you have a feed store nearby; should be around $12-14 for a 100 pounds. Double check on the legality of course.
 

tasmanian

Diamond Member
Dec 22, 2006
3,811
1
0
Originally posted by: Don66
Originally posted by: BUTCH1
All I get is "forbidden", links broken...

+1

My guess is the site doesn't allow hotlinks. So you can drag and drop the link in Firefox into your address bar or copy and paste it.
 

Rufus12

Golden Member
Jan 14, 2006
1,447
0
0
www.flickr.com
My friends and I were driving the other day, and some wild turkeys attacked the car. We ended up having to run one of them over to escape.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,380
8,509
126
Originally posted by: Rufus12
My friends and I were driving the other day, and some wild turkeys attacked the car. We ended up having to run one of them over to escape.

IT'S COMING RIGHT FOR US!
 

wwswimming

Banned
Jan 21, 2006
3,695
1
0
what would you feed them if you wanted to make them fall asleep ?

preparatory to the head-chopping & butchering routine.
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
Originally posted by: tasmanian
Originally posted by: Don66
Originally posted by: BUTCH1
All I get is "forbidden", links broken...

+1

My guess is the site doesn't allow hotlinks. So you can drag and drop the link in Firefox into your address bar or copy and paste it.

OK, thanks, it worked. Nice birds, now I'm hungry!..
 

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Cool. We have turkeys here, but usually only about 10 or so. Just saw them yesterday in my yard and said hi to them. I don't mind them so much, as they are better than the deer that try to eat everything. I think the deer are practically residents of our neighborhood because some guy keeps feeding them. Not good, because of the potential for car accidents, which are obviously bad for both the deer and the people driving the cars.

 

IGBT

Lifer
Jul 16, 2001
17,962
140
106
Originally posted by: moshquerade
domestic turkey tastes so much better than wild turkey.


..wild turkeys are great bug and snake killers. I've seen em tear into rattle snakes and devour them in short order. Because of what they eat their meat is dark with a strong flavor. Farm turkeys are a diffrent breed and fed oats and grains which results in a lighter milder tasting bird. If you want to get rid of rattle snakes encourage wild turkyes to hang around.