Turkey Huntin' Tips Thread

[mnbearbaiter]

With the past 12" snowfall here in MN, and me not having drawn a tag for this spring in my home state(im planning on gettin a leftover), i still have been shooting every day in preparation for this springs endeavors! Im shooting my trusty Bear Montana #55@28"  64" amo! Im shooting out of my Primos blind at paper turkey targets, they are cheap and perfect for me cuz i shoot alot! Alot of the blinds out there are way too small for us trad hunters! Believe my blind is 70"x70"x76", so with a lil canting which i do anyway its achievable! Im goin on a elk hunt this fall, and will be shooting the heaviest arrows ive shot to date, with a 160gr point attached they weigh in at 680gr! they hit like a truck!  With a little cabin fever setting in ive been watching turkey bowhunting dvd's, and these are training wheel shooters of course, bar Fred Eichler! They all shoot a new fangled expandable of some sort, but i have noticed that they do struggle with the same problems we all do, turkeys are tough! I was goin to shoot the Ace Express for turkeys as its what im goin to shoot for other big game this year, its got a 1 5/16" cut and i can get it crazy sharp! It looks like a spear point when mounted! i know any broadhead will do, im a big fan of the big 160 Snuffers for turkeys, and have a dozen or so layin around! What to choose? this was meant to be a thread for traditional turkey hunting tips but i got long winded as always, feel free to add any tips while helping me out    

[J. Holden]

I shot my one and only turkey using a WW, 125 grain with a 28 grain screw in adapter.  I'm not sure of my total arrow weight.  I guess I should figure that out one day.  I shoot a 53# recurve and almost acheived a pass through shot.  It went in and poked out the other side.  Dang thing flew away and the tracking job was ontained with prayer and luck.  I guess my tip is shoot what you can shoot accurately.  And the only thing predictable about turkey's is that they're unpredictable!  Good luck.

-Jeremy  

[gvdocholiday]

Good solid longbow you got there.  With the arrow you're chucking with it, any broadhead will do.  Shot placement is key as is blind setup, considering that you're going to be limited in shot angles with the size of bow/blind combo you're using.  

Good luck this season!

[fnshtr]

If you use a jake decoy set it up facing your blind at 18 yards or so. A mature tom will generally run right up, face to face, and go into strut (puff up). This gives you a great shot and hides your movements even more due to his tail.

I suppose general tips are OK.

[sawtoothscream]

dont over call.  after i fire a bird up ill call every 20 minutes or so.  always works for me

[Rob W.]

Scout, scout, scout! Find the places they want to travel then trust your scouting when the birds shut up.

[joebuck]

Biggest mistake i have made over and over is to call too much when i used tent blinds with gobbler in close under 100 yards and in line of sight...had many many birds spook at the sound coming from a camo tent.....i learned to be patient and let him walk in and me shut up. Somehow these older eastern birds i hunt do not like a "tent talking turkey"!  my rule of thumb is "if he is walking, i stop talking"...good luck and do not put alot of pressure on yourself but surround yourself with friends that have fun and cutup in camp. That has been my recipe for sanity for last 20 years of bowhunting turkeys.....oh yeah   do not be scared to ditch the blind either

[SEMO_HUNTER]

The guys on the videos make it look easy, but we all know that it's just not that simple. Sure everybody gets lucky and some guys are good, but deep down inside you yourself know just how tough it's going to be and we always prepare ourselves with the realization that we may go home empty handed.

Do your scouting well in advance and know where the turkeys are and where they are going. Then set up in those travel routes, put out some decoys and be prepared to stick it out. Don't do any calling to them prior to the season opener, that only educates them. You want to sound like the newest best piece of tail on the block when the season opens. Take a book and prepare to stay all day, I carry plenty of water, soda, snacks, and reading material for an all day sit when I'm blind hunting.
Put your decoys out like Wayne stated because more times than not the gobbler will at some point turn to face the jake nose to nose. Then when he fans out you can draw and send one right up the poop shoot. That's the best possible shot you can get with a bow, cause if your on your mark it will go screaming straight up into the vitals, if it's high you got a spine shot, and if it's too low you will send it right between his legs with no more than a few cut feathers and the bird lives to hunt him another day.

Calls are important sometimes, but I've killed quite a few big mature gobblers without ever picking up my call. I did my home work and I was in the right place for an ambush and let the decoys do the work for me.
Your best tool out of all the others is patience, you never know when this will be the day.

You also may want to think about more than one blind set up just to have a back up plan. I try not to put all my eggs in one basket. If you don't have or can't afford another blind, you can build a real nice one in a good spot out of available cover. Cedar trees, a pair of pruning shears, a roll of wire or rope/para cord, and some camo netting will rival most store bought blinds. String the wire or rope around 3 trees to create a "V" at about chest height when sitting, hang your camo netting over the wire/rope, then cover the outside with cedar limbs. I've constructed many of these in less than 15 minutes and hunted from them with great success. Only problem is they won't keep you dry, unless of course you have a big umbrella or get all fancy with a sheet of plywood for a roof.

Good Luck!

[mnbearbaiter]

Ive killed quite a few birds with trad gear, and my tip to add now after all this would be to be patient, especially during mid season when toms tend to wander during mid day when the hens ignore them and start to make nests! ive had a bird gobble at me madly while on the roost, and then theres 2hrs of silence! Suddenly that same gobbler is doubling back to find that hen he heard earlier!

[Bowwild]

I've also found on mornings I haven't seen any turkeys I can count on seeing some as soon as I step out of the blind!

[Friend]

For me, turkey hunting is a 15 yard and under game. If I do employ decoys to attract birds, then I set them up no further than 10 yards from the blind. Mainly use decoys and sometimes a dummy blind on presssured birds to push them in my direction while I'm postioned  w/i an extremely brushed in but natural looking blind.

My number one goal in selecting a place to set-up is to choose one where the birds want to naturally be in the 1st place.

[Ranger58]

Okay I'll ttt.  Want hear what others have to say about their tactics.  Thinkin about carrying a length of para-cord to tie around a few trees and then making an impromtu ground blind this spring.  And the two decoys too.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I've been doing it for years now Ranger58 and it has served me well. I've almost become a master at making quickie ground blinds on the fly. Some of them are left to hunt year after year and I actually add new cedar limbs and brush to them just to freshen them up for the upcoming season. Then some others never produced and got left behind. I have owned as many as 3 factory ground blinds at any given time, but now I'm down to just 2 factory blinds, so I imagine I will be constructing a couple more natural blinds this turkey season?
Also, you don't have to use camo burlap on the inside of the blind. Any dull or natural colored fabric will work, green, brown, grey, plaid, ect. will do the job just fine. I just wouldn't recommend using black, red, blue, or white. Those 4 colors are taboo in the turkey woods during the season. Your mainly interested in creating depth with the cedar or like type of brush on the outside of the blind, and concealing your movement with the material on the inside of the blind.

Good Luck To All this season.

I heard from a farmer that hunts turkeys with a gun.  He has a few domestic turkeys on his farm yard.  He put his decoys up to see which ones his farm yard turkeys liked and found that after a short inspection they were ignored.  He painted an old beat up decoys head with fluorescent chartreuse paint just to see if it would scare them.  Apparently you do not want to be the only turkey in the woods with a chartreuse head. His turkeys tore it to shreds.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Pen raised turkeys are crazy, you can't base any real world opinions on what pen raised turkeys do. It's like comparing ducks to chickens........not even close except that biologically speaking they are a member of the turkey species. As far as attributes with wild turkeys, they are more like a chihuahua compared to a coyote.......both canines, but completely different.

[1kwikstik]

This isn't a tip really, just something I'm gonna try this year. Since there aren't any turkeys on my lease, I'm stuck with public hunting which has been pretty frustrating the last few years. Lots of pressure, with hunters closing in from all directions on a gobbling turkey.

 I scheduled a weeks vacation for the last week of season this year, hoping to avoid some of the crowd. It might not make a bit of difference but maybe a little more peaceful. I'll have to wait and see.

I know I won't be painting any of my decoys with bright chartreuse paint, however, if i get a favorable report after turkey season, who knows maybe  next year my decoys will be pretty easy to spot. I also understand the frustration of calling in both bow and gun hunters when you get a turkey coming in.  A few years ago my daughter came home to hunt turkeys with me.  We got turkeys coming in three days in a row and every time, every time, we had kids with guns and once a compound toter come running in and bust our turkey away from us.  One kid even threatened me with his gun, while he was standing between my decoys, an incredibly stupid thing to do. Last year it was different, I went to an area with less turkeys and crossed paths with no one, and the turkeys still answered the calls.  One turkey coming to a call is better than four, if the four are going call in every running hunter within a half mile.

[RC]

I`ve learned to smile when I miss.I`ve also stopped hunting from a popup blind other than one I keep setup in the corner of my uncles peanut field.Its there now getting "old".I like the leafy/ghille hunting because I hunt fairly aggressive.I hunt mostly public land birds except for the one spot on my uncles place.When I began to be more of a Turkey Hunter instead of a Turkey caller I`ve killed more birds.
  I`ve still not grown enough as a Turkey hunter to stay with a bird after I`ve heard some hogs...RC

[Ranger58]

Chris,
Wouldn't think of taking black blue red or white with me; been doing this way too long!  Have only gone with the stick twice before and no shots were ever presented.  Called one in for DocNoc one time and he didn't know what it was, laughed a good one that time.
Anyways, I'm really leanin towards the stick again this spring, either that or the front end stuffer double.  Been huntin the "Big Woods the last twelve years now with a cousin's husband and we're finally gettin the hang of gettin after these few and far between birds.  Can you say "Wary"?  I think that there's way too many predators for their liking.  They call in the morning on roost and right afterwards then it's like they suffer lock-jaw.  Had two with in twenty yards with no shot last year, just need to get them just a little closer for my liking.  Going to keep on tryin though!  Can't wait for the season to get here this year!

[TimRadke]

Learn how to do an aggressive fighting purr with a mouth call... if you miss the first shot, let loose with that if he runs to leave.  I've found they come back to it often, but be ready... they usually don't slow down for long!