...than the kill. Spent the weekend in SW Virginia chasing turkeys on public land. Very difficult hunting. Turkeys were very spread out and not wanting to play the game. Even hearing a gobble was a small victory, and I can count on one hand how many gobbles we heard in two days of hunting. We will be back for sure, just in a little different area.

We did put some miles on the boots and on the truck and saw some beautiful country. It sure did look like turkey country, but they just weren't there.





Even saw a few old Iron Furnaces from the late 1800's. This one was built in 1880.



Weekends like this are a good reminder that a successful trip isn't always defined by coming home with a turkey. We learned a lot about hunting the area and got to spend time in God's creation. Hard to be mad about that!

Sometimes it's more about the hunt...

OHHHH You got that right!!!.

It's the journey, experience and the outdoors that make it a success no matter what.

BS…. You go out there to kill


… the only time people say it’s not about the kill is when they don’t kill anything lol

Sounds like a good time.

100% truth, if it wasn't may as well leave the gun at home & don't spend the money on tags. Guys say that like its some kind of like a consolation prize sort of like, "well she wasn't too good looking but she had a good personality" haha

Glad you Had a Great Experience

Hey man, if it was easy everyone would be doing it. Nothing like picking an area on a map in a different state and striking out and attempting to fool an ole Tom. I tell my son when I’m not successful is I now know where not to go back to, lol.
Heck I put in 12 miles of boot leather on a WMA the last two days and saw one set of hen tracks that were made after the last rain…close to 2 weeks ago, lol.

Some guys never get skunked when they hunt I guess.lol.

Sometimes you have to change your expectations to be more about the hunt then the game. The game is what got you there though but there's other things to enjoy while you are there. It beats throwing a fit.

There were years I traveled 18 hrs to hunt, even when I didnt draw.

..at least shoot a crow or something

even when I don't get anything I enjoy the exersize and experience and I keep my eyes out for a souvaneir like a feather or shotshell or brass.

Nothing wrong with that, but that's different, you knew going in you were just going on a vacation.

Exactly. I'm not 13 years old anymore. I can still have fun even if I didn't kill something. I try to take it all in now and enjoy all aspects of the hunt. Maybe I'm getting old

This season we started out by putting 7 turkeys in the dirt in the span of about 4 days. We have done plenty of killing this year

Try living 9 days in a truck, bathing with a gallon jug of water in a McDonalds bathroom every few days, and braving hogs/cottonmouths/gators in South Florida for an Osceola and coming home empty handed with blisters on top of blisters.

…. Take a walking stick and some granola instead of you gun …put your hair up in a bun and iron your beard

I knew I could count on you Savell

I live in WV. Right smack dab in the middle of the mountains. In fact National Forest completely surrounds my house. So I see that every day. only it's all forest. One morning turkey hunting according to my Iphone I walked 13.7 miles. I do try to walk ridges and not up and down as much as possible. I average about 8 miles a day turkey hunting. Usually 1-3 miles before daylight.
So for me it's about the kill, not the hunt!! I upset people often because I say I hunt to kill. Period.
But if you live in town or a subdivision, etc. I can see that the hunt may seem more important.No harm in enjoying nature like that.

Hey coondagger what part of SWVA did you hunt. Eric

Hey Eric, I was in Southern Wythe county. Going to head a little further north next time around. I just hunted there because of how close it is to my house. Only about a 2.5 hour ride