LONG POST WARNING:
My wife says that if turkeys put as much meat in the freezer as deer ... she would only be a turkey hunter. She enjoys it THAT much!
Ask a guy how to turkey hunt and you will get as many different answers as you have guys you asked. Easterns, Rios, Merriams or even Osceolas... hunting them up on hill tops, down in the hollers, out on the grasslands, in the bottoms, in the mountains... "run and gun", call-downs, henned-up or gobbled out...
I think there are a few constants but one thing turkeys never do is always follow the rules.
- They can see and hear WAY better than we can, but they don't always heed what they see or hear.
- Getting them to come up hill is usually easier than getting them to come down hill, but not always.
- They will come 600 yards through thick underbrush to a call, but won't cross a 3 strand barb-wire fence, most of the time.
- They never fly down across water, except when they do.
I shoot the same bows and arrows I deer hunt with. I used a pretty standard three blade broadhead for years and switched to a wide two blade a few years ago. Its all antidotal data but I feel like I have had shorter distances after shots with them... YMV.
For me, the most essential part of a successful turkey hunt is pre-season scouting. It has been mentioned in several earlier posts to some effect "don't waste time hunting turkeys where there ain't any turkeys!" Your scouting will help with this. Winter patterns are different for turkeys than their early Spring patterns. As things start to green up and the bugs start to get active, the birds move out of the deep woods and crop fields to the edges. Field edges, wood lot edges, clearing edges, barnyard edges. Hens are looking for high protein meals to grow chicks and high calcium meals to form egg shells. Creek edges or springs with insects and snails fit the bill. Toms are looking for... HENS! As forbs and grasses green the Toms eat these, the Vitamin C in their bodies increases and they get more excited about breeding. So, find the hens and you will find the Toms.
As season starts to get closer, well before sunrise, post up on hill tops, knife ridges or any elevated spot that gives you a vista of your hunting area. At this point your ears (not your binos) are your best friend. Listen for gobbles. Toms will gobble up a storm just before they hit the ground. They may gobble a little more on the ground... or not.
Make it a point of doing this as often as your schedule will allow. This is similar to patterning a big buck. Where do they roost (stay out of there!)? Where do they go when they fly down? How long does it take to get there? How long do they hang around at any one spot? What is their travel route from roost to primary feeding areas?
Once you have this information you can plan intercept routes or even set up blinds to ensure a higher probability of them sauntering by. As a rule, less calling is better than more calling EXCEPT when more, aggressive calling works. Sorry... no other way to look at it. Let the birds tell you what they want. Remember though, you are working AGAINST their natural inclination. Toms gobble, hens respond and generally make their way to the Tom. You are trying to get a Tom to come to you with a hen call.
These are very general recommendations that should serve for hunting turkeys just about anywhere (I have never hunted a Goulds or a South Mexican Wild Turkey so you are on your own with those).
Good Luck... Have fun!
OkKeith
Topic: Spring Turkey Help (Read 3843 times)
