Turkey Tactics and Tips?

[JC]

Awright, season is gettin close here and it seems I got a few on my place. I've killed one with a longbow and 3 with a compound but they were all with other experts, both callers/hunters. I learned a little but honestly I've never been a big turkey hunter. This year, it might be a little different    :D  

So you turkey pros, give me your best advice, in reader's digest format or encyclopedia: setup, tactics, etc. on turkey huntin.....

For instance, how far from a roost would you normally set up if you knew of one? Call to bring them uphill or downhill....or even...or down a ridgeline etc.? Decoy setup description? Favorite calls/sequence? Anything and everything....school me.

And I KNOW we got some turkey pros on here, don't we Troy and Guru?  

[Stickbow98]

Name's not Troy or Guru, but I've stuck a tag on just a FEW ol' longbeards       .... Maybe something in this little feature will be of some help to Ya.

 http://www.bowsite.org/bowsite/features/articles/turkeycolumn/column1/

Have fun, hunt hard, and be SAFE!

[JC]

Sorry Ron, didn't mean to exclude ya.....callin ALL turkey experts!

[Squirrel Bait]

JC , as far as setting up on him on the roost, it's going to change as the season goes , early in the season your not going to be able to get real close to him because of the lack of leaves on the trees, but as the leaves start coming out the closer you can get, but it also makes him sound farther away than he really is. It's like tighten a bolt, you want to stop about a 1/4 turn before it breaks, so you really want to set-up 1 step before you bust him off the roost.
 They don't like coming down hill to you, always try to set-up on a level playing field or better above him. If they run into trouble they can pitch off the hill away from the predator , if there coming down hill they have to pitch off and go over the predator.
 Decoys -- You know I grew up in Alabama , so I've never used them, til now. Maybe Curt can help both of us.
 Calls-- Mine favorites are a Preston Pittman Black Diamond mouth call , have killed a bunch with it! Tube call and Wingbones, I use a Morgan tube call most of the time but , Southland lost hen is a great call, Wingbones , I make my own!
 Practice a tree yelp-

"two soft clucks and three soft yelps", if he answers you give him a few minutes , and hit him again, if he answers you, you probably won't need nothing else.

One other tip: DON'T MISS!

[Mr.Vic]

Now if ya was from Iowa the playing field has changed since we have TOO MANY hens and TOO MANY hunters. My tactics have changed in the last three years. Find a good spot near the roost along a field. Set up the blind, throw a hen decoy(one)out front. When they start to vibrate the woods answer back with soft yelps, when they fly down call like crazy if they don't show up, lay down and take a two to three hour nap. They be there by the decoy when you wake up.

[1gutpile]

Hey JC maybe we can get together and do a turkey hunt this spring..I would like that...
..We just might be able to coax ole Kyle and Timberghost in on it...how'd that be...gut

[cajunbowhntr]

JC if you are hunting a small piece of property it's hard to run n gun, chase the turkeys around.ya just don't have enough room to work with.If you have a food plot ,field or maybe a flat ridge top were the turkeys like to feed or strut.Just set up your pop up blind,decoys and wait.Call every 30 minutes or so.Turkeys aren't like deer,they walk pretty much all day.At some point after he gets thru dealing with the local hens that ole gobbler will come make a visit.Bring a lunch and a good book to read and stay put.It ain't as exciting as chasen em round,but it is very effective if you have the patience.


CB

[Littlefeather]

Ahh, good subject. Timely as well! They are already struttin around my area and we are a long way off till April. All ears. CK

[Guru]

Well JC,ya beat me to it...I was gonna try to stir up some of our "turkey guys" next week.

 There's some guys here that have been at this way longer than me(I ain't namin' names,cus I'll forget someone      )  ...but I'll try to share what I've learned.

Lets cover on thing at a time:

"How far from the roost if you knew of one?"

Of course that all depends.Sometimes it's best to get as close as possible,especially if ya don't know where they're headed.It's amazing how close you can get to a roosted gobbler under the cover of darkness.But I usually get around 75-100yds if I can for a roost hunt.

I find myself more and more these days figureing out where they're headed and either setting up at that location or somewhere in between where they are and where they're headed.

I can't stress enough about getting out and scouting before,and during the season.

That's the biggest factor in figureing out where to set up on the birds I'm hunting.Ya gotta watch and listen to them...they'll tell ya where ya wanna be.......

[Pinecone]

Call softly...and between calls, you might utter a prayer or two!  My experience is that sometimes it takes a little Divine intervention to get the whole thing to come together  :D  .
I also agree with Curt...scout well in advance and keep on scouting through the season.  It is a must to set up in a location where the birds travel through after fly down.  Also, I like to set up in a place where the birds will have to top a hill or a move up the flat on a hill in order to see their intended love interest.  If they can see too far ahead of them, they will sometimes get suspicious (even with decoys) and stop short of a shot.  With turkeys...set-up IS everything!
Good Luck Everyone!

Claudia

[ram]

I'll throw in my 2cents worth about decoys.In alot of cases,you will be better off with a jake and a hen decoy.Alot of times if a gobbler sees only a hen,he will hang up and strut for her be cause in nature the hen goes to the gobbler.With a jake in the mix,you will make him mad even if you can't make him glad.
If you use a jake decoy,put it where you want to shoot,cause thats where he'll be.

Robert

[cantbefixed]

Hello everyone, while I may be new to the Gang, I have been chasing the ol' tom turkey for a couple of decades.  To address your questions, I will try to provide some of the knowledge that I have gained past experiences.

Setting up on a roosted bird – I normally try to set up about 100 to 150 yards out.  As my father has always told me, stop about 50 yards prior to where you think you should be.  I have tried to sneak those last few yards, only to watch the bird fly off in the early morning light.  Pretty, but hard to eat.

Calling to a bird on the roost – Make all of your calls soft in tone.  I agree with Squirrel on the tree yelp.  I also try to throw in a purr while he’s on the limb.  Something about hearing a bird double/triple gobble will put a smile on your face.

Calling setups – I have had the luck to call birds both uphill and downhill, but I must admit, calling them downhill has been far more productive.  If you are hunting with a bow, you will be more successful if you utilize a blind or deadfall for cover.  If the bird sees movement, you are toast.

As far as type of call to use, I would recommend a slate to most novice turkey hunters.  It is easier to master than the mouth call.  A good box call will do wonders as well.

From my experience with other hunters in the field, most folks will call 5 times as much as they need to.  As pinecone stated, say a prayer or two in between each call series, this will not only try to get you some assistance from up above, but it will limit the amount of calling that you do.

Good luck to all this spring and with any luck I’ll see you at the check station!!

[S.A.S.A.]

J.C.
Lots of good advice here so far,for me my set up is the most important factor when it comes to filling my tags,if you make a bad sounding call be sure to follow up with a good one immediately,how much do I call,depends on the gobbler and how excited he is,the more he responds the more I call,once he is within 50yrds I'll just give an occasional purr.
 My turkey hunting Mentor Jack Brobst (61 birds with trad gear) wrote an excellent book on this subject Bowhunting for Turkeys filled with good info on taking birds with the bow,as far as the type of call that I prefer ,Iwould have to say a mouth call for the obvious reason,
 minimal movement,there are many good brands out on the market today,I use the Jack Brobst Raspy Cutter and have had great success doing so.
Both the book and call are available through my shop, if you are interested send me a P.M.
best of luck, Randy Harrison
 www.stickandstringarchery.com  
[email protected]

[JC]

Thanks guys, all good tips...anyone else?

Randy, looked for that book quite a few years ago I thought...was it out of print for sometime? PM sent.

[Oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Think about other things besides calling. I've killed a lot of birds on public land that others have educated and said to be unkillable. Get in early don't call till almost flydown and flapping hat like a hen flying down maybe even two or three fly down flapps. Some birds are just wilder than a billie goat and others are all but tame. So ya just kinda got to feel them out. Get in there and hunt them like you were one of them. On less pressured birds call all ya want if ya sound like a hen and fly down too. I feel way too many birds are lost to  not calling and keeping interest up. But again it depends on the situation, try new stuff and kill more birds. Oh ya those guys that say ya can't sneak up on a turkey, well.... Mike Smyth

[cjones]

Sound advice so far. My tactics differ from most. I work 3rd shift so by the time i get home, the birds have been on the ground over an hour. I have several farms to hunt that are all close by. So what i do is, Jump in the truck and hit each farm one by one. I park walk a short distance and try to get one to gobble. If i get a response, i run in and set up the blind, if not i move onto the next farm until i get one that is talking. Some days i will visit each farm as many as 3 times before i get one that is talking.
And yes you can sneak up on turkeys and i have killed several like that but it ain't real safe unless your on private land and the only person hunting there.

[Charlie Lamb]

I think we tend to forget that although all turkeys are pretty sharp, there are differeces in the different subspecies and what they will tolerate.

Adaptability is key in hunting any of the subspecies of our great American bird.  

[John Krause]

The best advice I ever got. Stay in the blind. When you are ready to leave stay 15 more minutes. After 15 more minutes wait another 1/2 hour. After a 1/2 hour wait one more hour. Place the hen within 3-4 yds from you looking away. Place the jake looking at you 8-9 yds away. The gobbler will come in sideways or with his back to you to mess with the jake. That's the time. No need to set them 15 or 20 yds away.

[adkmountainken]

tried a new trick last year and it worked great a couple times. if you get one in and its real close and hangs up try this.
 if you can't see him try scratching the ground and throwing a little dirt on the leaves. add a couple purrs and scratch and throw some more dirt. twice last year this brought gobblers back in range after they had left.

[Oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Thats what I'm talking about scratching flapping wings and such are everyday sounds a lot of people never think about. This is another trick I have never read about but will sometimes work. If you have ever heard a gobbler mate a Hen they make a certain sound that can be imitated by flapping a hat softly on the ground. Sometimes things like this end with gobblers on your back and smiles on you face instead of just walking back to the truck. Oh ya then there is the locater calls anything can work here also from a cow to a goose be versitile and don't be afraid to try new calls like the ole boss cow it works and is seldom heard about or used by many. Also there is the ols stand bys crow, owl, coyote, all these work to shock a tight mouth turkey to give away his position. Don't get hung up on what time of day is it I have heard all above all hours of the day. The crow can sure get ya close without him looking for you, sometimes. Every bird is different and nothing works all the time. This is what makes this so much fun. My dad always told me getting to go was the main thing if you get game it is a bonus. Support the NWTF they do a lot for the wild turkey.Mike Smyth