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Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 3:23:41 PM

charlie elk

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From: Wisconsin
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Expert is a word that gets thrown around a lot. But what does it really mean? What qualifies one as an expert?

Ex means past + Pert is a little drip = a spent drip?

I know, I know; it is between seasons..........

_____________________________

later,
charlie elk

If you agree with me call it fact; if you disagree - call it my opinion.
After all - we are talking turkey.

Post #: 1

RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 3:54:10 PM

swpatrkyhunter

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From: Pennsylvaina
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When speaking about the Turkey hunting realm, the term "expert' is not one that gets used very often. Reason being is that no matter how much someone might learn about the wild turkey and how to hunt them, there is alway something new to be learned. Turkeys never stick to one way of doing things. Which is what makes them so difficult to hunt! Through the years there have been those who have been considerd "experts' because of there vast knowledge and success. But even most, if not all, of them will tell you that they are not experts. That they learn something new with each hunt. There have also been those who have proclaimed themselves as experts. Those guys usually have a big ego and don't really know as much as they think they do. By definition of the term I hope I never become an expert of turkey hunting! if that happens then where would the challange be?

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If it gobbles,runs on gas, or is married to you it will give you trouble!

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 4:31:55 PM

Gobblerman

Posts: 510
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From: Las Cruces New Mexico
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A turkey hunting "expert" is the guy that has been hunting long enough so that he thought he knew it all, but has finally figured out that he never will.

Jim

(in reply to charlie elk)

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 5:22:49 PM

swpatrkyhunter

Posts: 492
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From: Pennsylvaina
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Well put Jim!

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 5:56:55 PM

eggshell

Posts: 397
Joined: 3/20/2009
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I was going to post my picture here then I realized some things:

1) I never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express

2) I would be called a egomaniac and my head would be measured

3) Some would just be jealous (whisper to Gobblerman..."Bobby Parks")

4) I was once the states expert witness in a pollution case; can you be an expert in two fields

5) I'd probably be told I don't know as much as I think I do

6) The turkeys aren't impressed and don't give a dam

So I will just have to humbly hope to at least impress myself, but then again I'm pretty hard to impress!
Actually i think it's easier to be stupid, then when I mess up no one ask what happened!
Who started this post anyway....now I am more confused emotionally disturbed than ever.

(in reply to charlie elk)

Post #: 5

RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 6:39:38 PM

Bobbyparks

Posts: 420
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From: Canton Georgia
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Definition of Turkey Hunting Expert:

Per Websters (Howard) Dictionary / Back Shelf Georgia Edition

A delusional level or status of perfection claimed by many veteran hunters in the pursuit of the wild turkey

A person who has an above average abilty to be humiliated by a pea brained size fowl.

A hunter or outdoorsman who spends thousands of dollars on gear and travel to pursue this pea brained bird with a low percentage of success.

A person who clucks and yelps like the pea brain birds he pursues.

A supposed mature individual that takes pride in sucessfully out smarting a bird 10% of the time that can be bought in grocery stores.

A grown man that sometimes fans out and strutts after consuming alcohol to help non experts understand turkey methods

A person that migrates to Nashville once a year to bond with other pea brain pursuers

PS: Eggshell I saw line # 3 and I am

< Message edited by Bobbyparks -- 1/18/2010 7:20:20 PM >

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 6:51:30 PM

Fan Club

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Before I was even finished reading your brief post, Charlie, I already knew what I was going to say. And the next three posters said exactly that;

The word "expert" and the words "turkey hunter" seldom cross paths.

That's what makes it so laughable when some feller boasts that he kill a gobbler anytime he wants or call one in anytime, anywhere. Yawn.

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 7:11:44 PM

hoosierhunter

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From: GOOGLE
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Glad I ain't goin to Nashville this year.

GOOD LUCK, GOD BLESS, AND STAY SAFE !
L.K.LESLIE
HOOSIER HUNTER CUSTOM CALLS
MOSSY OAK PRSTAFF

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 7:14:33 PM

Turkeybuster

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From: Harrisburg Pa.
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Yes sir all of the above.
Jon

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 7:35:29 PM

Bobbyparks

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From: Canton Georgia
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Seriously.

The best hunters I know are pretty humble guys that don't mind admiting that they are humbled often. These are people that have been thru stages of hunting thinking at some point they are "experts" but they're brought back down to earth soon enough. They have respect for the bird and know that as soon as they get cocky they'll get humbled again.

Theres alot of people that have a reputation for finding ways to take birds regularly enough and I'd say they are experts to the point that can be done in turkey hunting The so called best don't win every day but they win enough and find ways to take birds beyond the average hunter.

I'd say most of us are avid, seasoned, and experinced hunters to a degree and we find ways to be successful enough. I feel lucky every time I get a bird and often think I got by on the skin of my teeth and that it barely happened. I've rarely felt like it was easy at least with Easterns.

I gain experience every year but the day will never come that I'll believe I'm an expert.

< Message edited by Bobbyparks -- 1/18/2010 7:36:53 PM >

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 7:52:10 PM

mark hay

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Well said, Mr Parks ,,,well said.

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 8:53:00 PM

heinzc

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Joined: 12/6/2009
From: West Michigan
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quote:

Ex means past + Pert is a little drip = a spent drip?

If this is true than an expert is nothing more than someone who is stuck on his past successes. Which means that person is a wash out who is out of options. I wouldn't mind following the self proclaimed expert through the woods. I prefer the words "student" or "sponge".

(in reply to charlie elk)

Post #: 12

RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 9:07:38 PM

shooter458

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From: central penna.
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I've been to alot of seminars by great turkey hunters that you could classify as experts.I know one thing if there is such a thing in turkey hunting I'll never be one

(in reply to charlie elk)

Post #: 13

RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/18/2010 11:38:32 PM

Cut N Run

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I'm an expert at getting schooled by turkeys. As soon as you start to think you are even close to figuring them out, they prove that they spend 100% of their lives in the woods in full survival mode and you barely get a fraction of that time hoping to get the chance to fool one (or two) of them.

Jim

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/19/2010 3:25:20 AM

grizzly

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From: willseyville new york
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i think to be an expert you should enjoy passing on what you learned to new comers but also know that you can learn something form them and that the enjoyment of hunting is'nt so much in killing a tom every time you go out but it's the time we get to spend in the great outdoors with our family and friends. also you have to have a passion that never dies you know that fast heart beating feeling when that big tom is coming gobbleing i still have that feeling after 32 years of turkey hunting and i hope never goes away

wayne

(in reply to charlie elk)

Post #: 15

RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/19/2010 10:48:01 AM

Gobblerman

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From: Las Cruces New Mexico
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Great stuff here guys! It is apparent that most of us have eaned our degrees in the Turkey Hunting School of Hard Knocks. For those that claim they haven't (ie--the "experts"), well,... they are just slow learners!

Jim

(in reply to grizzly)

Post #: 16

RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/21/2010 6:10:25 AM

shaman

Posts: 633
Joined: 6/30/2008
From: Neave, KY
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I'll stand up and raise my hand. I am a turkey hunting expert. There isn't anyone alive who knows my turkeys better than I do. However, that only covers 200 acres of ground in the Trans-Bluegrass of Kentucky. Of course, even I occasionally leave a tag unfilled, and most days I get skunked, so I guess you can all just thank me for sharing and I'll sit back down. Nevermind. Sorry.

The point of it is, you might think I was an expert turkey hunter if you came out to my farm and we went out together. I'd seem to know exactly what was going on in the turkeys' heads and I'd seem to have an uncanny sense for where they would be and what they would do. However, what you would not realize is that I've been doing it over and over on the same turf for almost a decade, and it is nothing more than having a good memory. Turkeys, given the same piece of terrain do pretty much the same thing, year to year and generation to generation. If you dragged me off my home turf and put me some where else, I'd not do so well.

There are a few times I've hunted with an expert here and there-- even a minor legend. This is nothing against any of them or against any of the current experts and legends out there. It's just that everyone takes time to get used to the situation on the ground and adapt what they know to what is at hand. Some guys have a broader range of experience, but the turkeys are capable of laughing at us all equally.

We have had some serious self-styled experts on here. Some of them even had acolytes that would sing their praise. If you got down in the weeds with it, you would figure out sooner or later they were really good at timing. One expert on here talked about going out and taking the turkeys' temperature, and if it wasn't right for his taste, he'd go home and wait a day.

Having my own 200 acres is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, I have my own plot and I can control who hunts it. On the other hand, if the turkeys are having an off day, so am I. I can't pick up and go somewhere else. What it forces me to see is the whole evolution of my season as it unfolds. I can tell you for a fact that there are maybe less than 5-7 days in our 3 week Spring Gobbler Season where my gobblers are really open to being called off the roost, called away from hens, or susceptible to run and gun. On the other hand, those 5-7 days are usually incredible. Anyone out on those days with a modicum of experience would think themselves a turkey hunting genius. Gobblers come from 500 yards off. Gobblers pitch down off the roost and fly right to the end of your barrel. Gobblers stop strutting in front of hens and run right to you. Even I get to thinking I'm an expert.

The big difference between me as a turkey hunter back in the early 80's and me the turkey hunter of 2010 is that I've now seen that bigger picture. I'm not THAT much of a better caller. I'm not THAT much of a better woodsman. I don't make as many boneheaded moves, but given the chance I can still make the turkeys laugh.

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/21/2010 9:38:06 AM

allaboutshooting

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quote:

ORIGINAL: charlie elk

Expert is a word that gets thrown around a lot. But what does it really mean? What qualifies one as an expert?

Ex means past + Pert is a little drip = a spent drip?

I know, I know; it is between seasons..........

Hey Charlie,

Good thread. I tend to think that as we get older we learn that there are those who have knowledge gained through their experiences over time. I have noted that some folks seem to learn more from their experiences that I do and at times, just hearing about something they have done will cause a "light go on" in my head.

I don't always put it all together immediately. Many times something that someone else says or does helps me to get the full picture and better understand what I need to know.

I have learned that many times my thought process differs from that of others. (Just ask my wife Doris about that one.) I see things from a different angle or perspective at times. Not necessarily better or worse, just different.

I think that as we learn to really listen with a real desire to hear what the other person is saying and to ask enough questions to make sure we understand what has been said, we grow in our understanding.

We may never be experts in any field but we may be able to share our experiences with others and help the "light to go on" in the head of someone else.

Thanks,
Clark

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/21/2010 12:20:40 PM

Gobblerman

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From: Las Cruces New Mexico
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Shaman,...you are indeed a wordsmith! Bravo....well done...and all the other accolades I might be able to come up with...to you, sir!

Jim

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RE: Expert- What is your Definition? - 1/21/2010 1:45:49 PM

charlie elk

Posts: 146
Joined: 8/7/2009
From: Wisconsin
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Great responses fellow turkey hunters. I have to admit on the day of this post I was horsing around trying to be funny. I am impressed with the thoughtful responses of you all.
Thanks.

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later,
charlie elk

If you agree with me call it fact; if you disagree - call it my opinion.
After all - we are talking turkey.

(in reply to allaboutshooting)

Post #: 20