Which is more difficult to hunt? Turkey or Deer?

[Wired To Hunt]

I'm sure this has been discussed at one point or another, but I'm curious what you guys think. My buddy and I recently debated which is more difficult to hunt, turkeys or deer. My vote was for deer, for a variety of reasons, but # 1 is because the scent component can stop things before they even begin.

What do you guys think? Turkey or Whitetail?

[moondoondude]

Deer. They are smarter. And their brains are much bigger.

[Buckblood]

Mature deer are harder for me than turkeys. I wanna say the turkeys in the east are a little more wary than ones I've seen in the midwest.

[bishjr]

Personally turkeys are harder for me, but it a really close race. It might also be that I have poor luck with turkeys because I almost always seem to get caught.

[rednecbowhunter]

I would have to say Turkeys cause i have never killed one. Been hunting them for 5 years and have never even got close to them. I think I just suck at calling LOL

[Cornfed]

Mature animals are a different story but I do believe the "average" deer is a lot easier to kill than the "average" turkey. Turkeys seem to be cronic paranoids in my area and don't have the curiousity that average deer do.

[buckchaser86]

I have more problem with deer. They seem to use some form of wizardry..

[iowabowtech]

Depends on a lot of factors. Bowhunting turkeys in a blind is relatively easy, not so much without one. Deer aren't easy to hunt in most any case so I guess by and large, I'd go with deer as the more difficult animal to hunt.

[beersndeer]

I am going to say probably turkeys more than deer. I feel that I can pattern deer alot easier than I can turkeys. Also if turkeys had any sense of smell we would never kill those dang birds.

[joehunter8301]

its hard to compare them unless you look at it like this. lets say a 4 year old tom vs a 4 year old buck. which is harder? my vote goes to the deer for a few reasons. turkey you can get away at times with noise and a little slop and still get him. with deer you have the wind factor and any out of the ordinary noise and he is gone. on top of that deer move all night long so you dont know where he is in the morning unlike turkeys which you can roost and be right under them come daylight the next morning. now lets talk a jake turkey and a spike deer. still the same thing but most spikes wont run at the first hint of a human. jake turkeys will come into just about any calling and are not very wary at all. i still say its harder to kill a spike but not much harder. on top of that you can listen for the birds to gobble and give away their location....deer dont make a peep. turkey hunting to me is more exciting due to the calling factor but if you ask would i rather shoot a 10 inch beard or a 150 class blacktail and i'd prob say the 150 blacktail everytime

[Stanley]

Turkeys on average are harder.

[Afree]

Turkeys on average are harder.

Thats what I have heard

[BingoFlyer]

Let's put it this way, if a turkey could smell you could never get one!

[Techy]

Let's put it this way, if a turkey could smell you could never get one!

probably true lol

[GobblerDown]

Turkeys are easier. They can be easier to find because they are out during the daylight, they gobble, and most times you can roost them. You can call them to you (sometimes). Deer will come in to grunts or rattling but that is lower percentage than calling in a turkey. Most of time if a turkey starts coming in you will get a shot, but a deer it seems more time than not you still don't. You have a good chance of killing a turkey all day long. Many times deer won't move at all during daylight. With turkeys smell is not a issue. I also think a deer is smarter than a turkey, but a turkey a lot of times it seems are scared of their own shadow. However deer can be the same way. If you gave me two days in the spring for turkeys or fall for deer and I had to bet the farm on killing one of the two I would pick a turkey every time.

Guess if you are in a area that has of deer and very few turkeys a deer would be easier. But it could be said the other way around.

A elk and any elk is hard to kill than both.

[OStateDrenalin89]

Turkey for me only because I spent the past 4 days surrounded by them and all I have to show is a missing arrow, a chewed up broad head and some breast feathers haha... Don't know what it is but I have had a terrible time putting one of them little suckers on the ground!! Finicky little buggers! Can't say I haven't had the opportunities so I guess if I could shoot the broad side of a barn out of a blind, Turkey would be easier.

[D-TRAIN]

I have the opportunity to shoot a deer 90% of my sits. Turkeys on the other hand I don't have anywhere close to that many opportunities. So for me, turkey are harder.

[SCBOWHUNTER903]

usually turkeys are harder to hunt in my opinion

[wicked1strings]

Out West...Deer

[Wired To Hunt]

lol it seems like its pretty much split 50/50. This may be a never ending debate.

[kdsberman]

I dont know which one is "harder", but personally, i feel as though ive accomplished a lot more when i shoot a turkey rather than a deer. For some reason i feel more rewarded, like i had to earn it much more.

[link06]

Turkeys on average are harder.

I agree, especially when you only have a couple weeks to hunt turkeys versus several months for deer. A mature tom can be extremely frustrating to hunt, especially when they come in silent and sneak up behind you.

[BOHO]

turkeys are much harder for me.

[deerhunter101]

i would say that they are both challenging in their own way. i have shot my first deer already but that took 3 1/2 seasons of work. i have had more opportunities with turkey but i have blown them in some way and i have not gone after turkey as much as deer(this is my first spring turkey season). i think turkey are easier to call in and the fact that they lack the incredible smelling power of a deer doesn't hurt. A turkey's eyesight is incredible though and it can be hard to move for a shot especially when you have to draw a bow. I would say for me deer is harder especially only having a small 15 acre plot of land to hunt but turkey are right up there too. both are incredibly challenging and i would be just as happy to shoot a turkey as i would a deer.

[rackman323]

Pretty close. I vote deer although considering hunting both with a bow the kill zone is much smaller on a turkey.

[bucknut1]

turkeys are harder

[rnelson786]

The responses that Turkeys are harder caught me off gaurd. I am going to be deer hunting for the first time next fall and have only been hunting 5 or 6 years for birds. I have had opportunitys and have taken turkeys when I put in the time. It seems to me with turkeys making noise and being able to locate them makes them easier. I guess the responses makes me feel like I have a better chance at deer than I thought.

[Catdaddy SC]

About the same.

Hogs are harder. They are smarter than both put together.

[elkkiller#4]

mature deer are harder, out west the turkeys are really easy, very dumb and very callable they just don't get the pressure, I usually hunt one day and kill a nice tom it is not hard at all.

[Buckblood]

Turkeys on average are harder.

......when you live in Iowa......

[savedbygrace]

Turkeys imo.

Esp. in the south.

[Wired To Hunt]

Just FYI, I posted this same question on my blog and included a few of your responses in the post. If you don't want your comment mentioned in the post, just PM me and I will remove it.

http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/04/13/wh...eer-or-turkey/

[John-in-VA]

Turkeys are buy far a lot harder for me .
How about turkeys from a tree stand ,your real lucky if you can draw on one.There eye sight is 2nd to none,even when you think they cant see you you make the silgest move ,only to hear the dreded put,put and there all on high alert.

[hoyt_hunter007]

I vote turkeys

IMO, deer are more patternable overall. Turkeys just seem to go whichever way their beady brains lead them.

[hoyt bowhunting]

Deer are way harder to hunt then turkeys.

[Sagittarius]

Turkeys are easier because you can hunt them from a blind without brushing it in and they're far more easily fooled by decoys.
Turkeys do pick up movement better than a deer though and can see in color which is an advantage for them.

[redruff]

In my zone turkeys...
there are 100X more deer than turkeys in my county. It's ag land and you can have a hunter a 1/4 mile away calling to the same bird. You will be in two different woodlots working on the same tom.

[elkmtngear]

Right now, I'm gonna say "Turkeys"

In September, I'm gonna say "Deer"

Best of Luck,
Jeff

[BuckRubnMI]

Deer for me are harder to hunt. Around here they go nocturnal with the slightest hunting pressure. Turkeys only move around during daylight hours which gives me a huge advantage because that's when I can hunt them and if I can locate where they are heading to roost in the evening, I know where they will be in the morning

[legacy_hunter02]

i seem to have a aharder time with Turkeys than deer..granted most deer i have shot have been does but i cant seem to do much with the Turkeys....still love chasin them anyways which is the most fun part