Tradition

[Machias]

Probably going to get a little bloodied over this, but I have some pretty strong feelings on this subject so...here goes.  I grew up hunting turkeys in the great turkey state of Missouri.  There is some pretty firm traditions in the deep south and the midwest concerning turkey hunting traditions and ethics.  I have watched the last few years as the great sport of turkey hunting is spreading and really taking hold here in the NW, something I'm very happy about.  But being this sport of turkey hunting is new and many of todays turkey hunters did not grow up hunting turkeys there is no real traditions and "brotherhood imposed" ethics on how to harvest a turkey.  Where I grew up there were rules of engagement and to break those rules meant you would receive scorn and disaproval from the guys I grew up wanting to emulate.  Ambushing or sneaking up on turkeys was akin to shooting into a bunched up covey of quail or a rooster pheasent on the ground.  Not illegal at all, but certainly frowned upon.  Unless you were a kid on his first turkey hunt, shooting jakes was deeply frowned upon.  It was all about the battle of calling in a longbeard into, for sure, killing range, then you would have the real and deep statisfaction of knowing you did battle with a cagy old bird.  That was one of my complaints about giving a free turkey tag with the small game lic.  Make it $5  or whatever, but make folks learn about what turkey hunting is and is not.  It shouldn't just be about notching a tag and killing a gobbler any ol way.  I'm sure guys will say hey if it's legal don't worry about it.  But we all know there are certain things that we should condone and certain things we should say hay congrats on your harvest, BUT next time it would be much better to do it this way.     

[jackelope]

i don't think there's anything wrong with what you said.  good stuff.

i killed a jake my first year turkey hunting out here, which was 4 years ago or so. decided at that point not to shoot any more jakes. could have shot one sunday, but didn't for 2 reasons...1 it was a jake, 2 we kind of walked up on him in the road. i want to call in a gobbling longbeard and kill him at 15 yards right before he opens up a can of woopass on my deke.

[rasbo]

traditions or just plain old ethics..ya either have them or ya don't.I'm with you some things we can but shouldn't do..

[Machias]

I don't want to say it's bad ethics, back home it would be considered that, but up here there has been no traditions passed down through several generations, so saying someone snuck up and killed a gobbler here in the Inland NW is bad ethics is a bit harsh, how would they know any difference?  It would just be good if the great traditions of turkey hunting started to creep into the NW and I see the only way that happening is if we make folks aware. 

[Diehard0123]

good points, I have passed on several gobblers because I felt it was not an ethical shot. 

[WCTaxidermy]

Great points Machias.  I don't know why you would get beat up over those statements.  Over the years, I find myself getting more enjoyment over seeing a youngster, or a first time hunter I take out who is enjoying the outdoors and the thrill of the hunt, than me filling my Turkey tag or limiting out on Ducks.  You made some great points.  John

[Ridgeratt]

Bravo Machias!!!
 You did leave out a few other pet peeves such as shooting a roosted bird, Wells Fargoing a bird out of a driveway from the pickup window and then scrambling to get it before the person in the house got outside. This early season on my way north I watched a sportsman teaching his son the true meaning of hunting while the lad was running along the guard rail on 395 shooting over it at a turkie. I can imagine the story of how that bird was called in. As opposed to we sluiced it off the black top! Also the guy that hunts from a truck rolling along then stops the truck gets out slams the doors and calls gets nothing and jumps in starts the truck with the music pounding and drives another 300 feet and repeats the same process.

 I have a standing invitation to go to Oklahoma every year to call birds for a good friend. Like you said they do hunt birds differant. You don't sneak and bird you bed them and then go hunt them.

[jackelope]

I don't want to say it's bad ethics, back home it would be considered that, but up here there has been no traditions passed down through several generations, so saying someone snuck up and killed a gobbler here in the Inland NW is bad ethics is a bit harsh, how would they know any difference?  It would just be good if the great traditions of turkey hunting started to creep into the NW and I see the only way that happening is if we make folks aware.

that is an important part of this topic. the turkey hunting traditions and such are typically brought here from somewhere else. i know it is kind of a laughing matter out west, but watch some of the hunting shows...there was a recent show on with waddell and a bunch of old southern hunters talking about tradition and the excitement that leads up to turkey season in the south. we will never have anything like that out here. it was neat to watch.

[fishunt247]

Thanks for making this an official topic. I've often posted the likes of this thread in response to hearing these kinds of statements on other threads. Stalking turkeys, shooting them out of the roost, road hunting: all are unethical...to me. I get what you guys are saying on how we can't call anything unethical, but it is what it is.

As for shooting jakes...um...if you want to call in a gobbling turkey and don't care about beard size, and a jake comes in gobbling, I don't have a problem with anybody shooting one. I've only shot two in my life, and wouldn't now, but I'm not going to tell someone they shouldn't do it. That's just my opinion though.

Here's more of a stretch on your topic; things I think are "unethical." 1: Ambushing a gobbler in the evening by simply waiting for him under his accustomed roost tree. 2: Sitting over a food plot with decoys out hoping turkeys will come into the plot, see the dekes, and come in. 3: Really, for me, any method of killing a turkey where you don't CALL him to you.

[Machias]

For me there is a distinction, shooting from the road is illegal and unethical, shooting a jake or ambushing is not unethical, but it is not what turkey hunting is about or should be about, IMNSHO.  I think there is a line I'm not willing to cross and call someone out,     It's perfectly legal to ambush a bird, it's perfectly legal to shoot ducks sitting on the water or a pheasant on the ground, but guys frown on it.  So I want to be careful here and not be too harsh on someone ambushing a turkey.  In reality they can say, so what, could care less of your opinion, that is perfectly in their right.  Stalking turkeys is very dangerous game to play and eventually someone is going to get shot or someone's deke is going to get hammered...already happen to a member here.  So it's not illegal, it's just not a smart move in most circumstances.  Read some of the old time turkey books if you really want to get a sense of what is in the old timey rules of engagement, follow them if you want, I believe you'll have a much safer and more satisfying hunt.

[General Disarray]

I agree whole heartedly with a lot of that but basically saying it's wrong to shoot a jake is horse crap in my opinion.  We don't have 4 billion turkeys in the woods like the great state of Missouri and calling in ANY gobbler on public ground in WA can be a challenge.  Any turkey killed THE RIGHT WAY is a trophy in my eyes.  I hate it when I hear someone say they killed a bird, "but it was JUST a jake".  I learned long ago to never use the word "just" in describing an animal you have harvested. 

If we all agreed with Missouri "traditions", we'd marry our sisters and have affairs with our cousins....

[fishunt247]

What about shooting bearded hens? It's legal, but... I wouldn't do it, mostly because this time of year they are preparing a nest or already have a nest hopefully containing gobblers for years to come. And I've called in plenty of hens and they have never got me going like a gobbler does.

[boneaddict]

All good points.  

( I was trying to compare in my mind shooting a jake versus a spike buck when it was legal)  I never judged anyone for it, but after the first kill, probably wouldn't do it.)  I realize thats off topic a bit since this is Traditioanl Turkey hunting we are tlaking here.

[boneaddict]

How about super long shots..........   I guess it comes down to harvest verus tradition in todays mindset maybe. 

[C-Money]

Jake's vs Longbeards??? Guess it depends on how hungry you are for turkey. Personal preference? Guess at this point this year, I'd shoot a legal bird that came to my call, Jake or tom. I have killed some large long beards in Pennsylvania, but I have only killed one WA turkey. It was a Jake, back in the 90's.