I kinda feel like it might be. It's just so convenient though when you have a popup already there. One less thing you have carry. Run and gun was not an option this morning. Too many eyes. Watched a dozen hens and 8-10 longbeards trailing them. Couldn't get them to come my way and couldn't work any closer without getting busted, so I retreated to my popup and waited an hour or so before the group finally started to break up a little and I was able to bring in three toms. What are your thoughts?

Some may consider it a bit bush league. I usually don't hunt directly under feeders, but do set up to catch birds on their usual travel routes from roost to water to feeders, so not really much different. Don't have a huge ranch, so it's hard to get too far from a feeder area. Main thing is I enjoy calling them in more than shooting them, so would not want to just sit quietly at a feeder and wait for them to come feed. As long as I am working/influencing them with calls and decoys, I am good with it.

I have seen turkeys hunted at feeders more than calling them. I just enjoy the calling in the spring.

For me, it's all about the calling, watching a gobbler come running in and lock up and strut for the hen.

Early season and early morning can make calling an old tom difficult at best, with hens being bred. I find I have much better luck later in the morning, and afternoon. As the season progresses and hens begin nesting, the toms will be more receptive to calling all day.

Last Saturday morning was a perfect example. I had lots of jakes come to the call, and had lots of toms answer, but none showed up. By the afternoon, I had toms come to the call.

I have no doubt my calling brought the birds in. There's no way I could hunt a tom just sitting at a feeder like a lot of us do for deer. That's what makes turkey hunting so much more enjoyable for me. I wish the birds roosted on our property. Then I'd set up a popup a couple hundred yards away and start working them before they flew down. Instead, they roost several hundred yards into the neighboring ranch and usually work their way onto our property. We have a lot of hens. I've had several come in with no toms following which leads me to believe that they are preoccupied with another hen/hens. I feel the hunting will only get better as the season progresses.

Who cares whether it is cheating...your the hunter and as long as you are hunting within legal methods...go for it. I've called them into feeders, decoys and piles of henscratch. Bottom line is will you be eating turkey.

If your ok with shooting a deer under a feeder, why not a turkey? Same concept pretty much. Your trying to bring an animal in, and slow it down to give you enough time to look it over and decide if it is something you would like to harvest. I wouldn't think about it too much.

Agree with BB. For me though, wouldn't be any fun if it didn't involve calling them in, otherwise I likely wouldn't ever go after one. I have had friends that will take a few from a deer blind during WT season, just not fun to me, calling in a strutting gobbler, watching him put drag lines on the ground with his wing tips =, is the draw for me. I guess the bottom line is the calling them in can be more of a challenge.

Red River county, big no no to hunt in a bated area per TPWD. Everyone please read their regs for their specific county's.

Might as well shower with your clothes on.

If it is then im a cheater.

Some counties allow some dont. I think most counties that dont are in East Texas.

Yes it is cheating but it can be a hard way to cheat. They come to ours very randomly so not really worth it if you just want some meat. We have some pop up blinds close by so you still call them in.

Youth opener we were near one in the morning and the turkey and deer wouldn't even eat the corn. Moved to a spot after lunch no where near a feeder and got a couple toms to come in and got one. IMO feeders just keep them around but not a way to kill a turkey in the spring. They have love on their minds first and foremost. I really don't see toms on camera once they get heated up so it isn't they best strategy. Run and gun and find them.

As long as your legal float your own boat. I have a friend who won't go out to the deer lease to hunt turkey cause "the feeders have been out of corn sense deer season ended". What a shame to think that way. Totally missing out on the essence of spring turkey hunting. If they had corn I would not hunt them but thats me.

We use calls, camouflage, decoys, and magnum shotguns, souped up shells. So are we cheating? No because its legal. We are still trying to achieve the end result a dead turkey. I admit I have cheated and given the chance I will cheat again.

Would you fish with a bare hook?

Went Turkey hunting this past Saturday for the first time (went with my son on a TYHP hunt last year as an observer) and it was quite the different experience vs duck hunting. I put out two decoys on a stake in the hard ground. Not two dozen in the freezing water, some on land, some in the water, some on a pole, some with batteries, etc. Turkeys will actually "engage" with the decoys vs just look at 'em like ducks do. I thought I was going to have to go shoo' one Tom off of my decoy he was working it over so... You call and they talk back, alot and all of 'em! I really got a kick out of that. When they're in close, you can oink like a pig and they'll gobble. When I introduced this guy below to a turkey load, the others didn't fly away, they just gobbled. That doesn't mean I wasn't awesome with my calling though. It is a slower pace though where ducks drop in out of the sky and turkeys walk sssssllllllowly in. The pic is a bit melodramatic (dead bird on the ground), but I couldn't get Mr. Piggy (who I met that night) to take the pic while I opened is fan. I really enjoy the night-time hunting thing too. Good sized Turkey, worn 8in.beard, but a good first bird.





If you went in and blasted a bunch around feeder, would that be good hunter "taste"? Probably not, but IMHO taking only two birds a season by any legal means is just fine.

Charlie

Depends on how much you like to eat turkey ! I used to kill two hens in the fall under feeders while deer hunting and save two tags for spring gobblers. I usually filled them both, but not always. Now I don't have a lease in Rio country anymore, and I just get to go once a year in the spring. I call them in and kill them with a bow, or go hungry.