Your keys to being successful while turkey hunting..

[DanielB89]

I can tell from all the posts we have quite a few EXPERIENCED turkey chasers here.  Some are experienced in missing them   , others are experienced in missing a little less.

All Joking aside, I have no experience at all turkey hunting and with turkey season closing here soon, I likely wont get another chance to go after them this year.  But I do want to learn what the successful(missing counts as success) ones do?

Do you roost them? Use calls to locate them on the roost?  Owl Call? Crow Call? Poot really loud?  

Then once you locate them, what do you do?  


Or If you don't have any located on the roost, what do you do?

I know I am asking for a plethera of information, but I am trying to learn from the stick bow turkey slaying experts!

[TooManyHobbies]

Each turkey is different. The only one I shot with bow, was in a field with another tom and a hen. I crawled to an opening, waved the decoy, stuck it into the ground and backed off. No calling at all. They came to see the new girl.
Other times, I've copied a wild hen that was talking faster than I could call. I tried to keep up with her. It was a blast. And a bunch of jakes came in. No shots.
Sometimes quiet calling works or almost no calling. One deke or three dekes.
I have limited areas to turkey hunt, but they usually hold birds, so I don't roost them. I may scout, but not much. Either they are on site or not. Usually they are.
Now, hitting the dang things...well I did get the one, but I think I missed 17 times with wheel bow, recurve and longbow, before scoring with the LB. All shots were on the ground with no blind or from a treestand during deer season. This year I'm reluctantly going to use a ground blind.

I can't hear well, so chasing after them is out for me because by the time I hear them they are already too close. I usually set a blind in an area where I know turkeys frequent, then just blind call till i get a response. We also use feeders a lot here, and I will hunt them if I know they are hitting it.

Bisch

I try to take advantage of natural cover for a blind, a bit of parachute cord and a couple of truckers hitches can help to get cedar shrubs to cooperate. Dumb luck and the ability to shoot quick are my best tools.

[acolobowhunter]

I just got back from turkey hunting.  You can not cover all the things that can happen.  This year, the birds were decoy and calling shy.  I had to work a lot harder to get a bird.  Actually figured out where they were and where they were going, then made a quick ground blind and shot one.  Usually I use a blind and decoys - just set in the lawn chair, call and let them come to you.  Every situation can be different, depending if they have already been hunted before.

[K.S.TRAPPER]

Need more info, private or public? Pressured or not? Can you do a lot of serious scouting?  Do you have any decoys?

All you need is a couple good calls not all that crap you see on TV. Blinds are nice for bowhunting them but not necessary, going to be hard to answer everything like said but that's what makes it so much fun.

 Learning as you go        :D    

Tracy

[mangonboat]

I know nothing, which becomes clearer by the day. I see more turkeys on my 2.5 acres than most folks see in a lifetime, my wife doesn't want me to shoot them, the turkeys apparently want to be shot because they come up to within 5 yards of the house .I went out in the very earliest gray Saturday morning and didn't get a single response to my hoot, didnt hear a single gobble for over  an hour. I had a major renovation project on tap for the weekend, so by 9 AM the bow was put away and I was armed with a level and lots of tools. Apparently, a Sawz-All is as good a call as a slate and a framing hammer sounds like a cut to a turkey  because I looked up at 2: 30, middle of the sunny afternoon, and two jakes and three hens were scratching in the leaves 10 yards directly below the deck I was working on..I almost threw a cat claw in their direction. Rained buckets from Saturday nmidnight until this morning.

[mangonboat]

Epilog: driving out to work this morning, three hens were picking worms off the asphalt driveway. No jakes or toms...they were probably waiting in the woods for me. To top it off, a big black bear visited us Saturday night and I noticed Sunday morning that he had found my bag target - packed with old grocery bags - to be quite interesting and he tore it into shreds. I feel like Elmer Fudd.

[fnshtr]

I haven't had a problem calling them in or getting shots. I mmmmiiiisssss way too often though. (hard to say)

We cannot bait them here in WV. I like to set up a blind where I know turkeys frequent and set out decoys. Blind calling (calling before hearing or seeing any) seems to work well. I lost count of the toms I've taken with a shotgun... but the stick bow is another matter. I call it my jinx animal. I hope to break the jinx this year.

Our season starts next Monday and I have a few toms located

[woodchucker]

SIT STILL!!!!!!!!!!  

[bucknut]

Get a good box call and work to become proficient with it. Find someone who knows the game and learn everything you can from them. Good decoys are almost a necessity. A blind is another option that is nice to have.(not my style though). I like to be mobile and go to the birds rather than wait for them to mosey by. I like to locate them on the roost or after they have flown down and get as close as possible to them before calling.(100-150 yards or closer if cover/terrain permits). Sometimes you may have several setups before success, keep at it and it will happen. Don't be afraid to be aggressive. Hope this helps.  It has worked well for me for thirty years in multiple states.

[Etter]

I have to say.  I would sooner join PETA than bait a turkey to its demise.  Learning to call and play the game is the entire point of turkey hunting.  Here in the SE, it is religion.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by K.S.TRAPPER:
Need more info, private or public? Pressured or not? Can you do a lot of serious scouting?  Do you have any decoys?

All you need is a couple good calls not all that crap you see on TV. Blinds are nice for bowhunting them but not necessary, going to be hard to answer everything like said but that's what makes it so much fun.

 Learning as you go          :D    

Tracy

Tracy,
thank you for the specific questions.  It would be public land.  I have a diaphragm call that I have practiced with(annoyed my wife) for the past year and I think it sounds like what I hear from turkeys.  

I do have some ground blinds, I currently don't have any decoys, but I can fix that.  Per the states regs, I can only use 1 hen decoy.

[DanielB89]

Originally posted by bucknut:
Get a good box call and work to become proficient with it. Find someone who knows the game and learn everything you can from them. Good decoys are almost a necessity. A blind is another option that is nice to have.(not my style though). I like to be mobile and go to the birds rather than wait for them to mosey by. I like to locate them on the roost or after they have flown down and get as close as possible to them before calling.(100-150 yards or closer if cover/terrain permits). Sometimes you may have several setups before success, keep at it and it will happen. Don't be afraid to be aggressive. Hope this helps.  It has worked well for me for thirty years in multiple states.

How do you go about it without a blind?  (sorry if that is a dumb question)

[woodchucker]

SIT STILL!!!!!!!!!

[Knawbone]

Find where the hens are and build a good ground blind. If they see movement your done. A couple of decs and sparse calling should bring them in. Soft yelps or just cluck and purr. Your blind should be constructed so your completely hidden.Keep your decs close.

[creekwood]

Lot of good advice here so far.  I might add that being patient is a good attribute.

[H1tman7]

When you are about to give up on a spot sit another 30 minutes.  Not sure how many times I have bumped birds getting up to move or packing up gear but it seems to happen nearly every year at some point.

When it's windy you need to call loudly to any birds not in your immediate vicinity.

Toms like to go up hill, I have always found it easier to call a tom up a hill than down.  

if its a cool morning they will be strutting on the sunny side of the field

if it's windy they will be on the upwind (non windy) tree line

[huskyarcher]

There is alot to be said for just being an outdoorsmen. That can be learned! Alot of fine folks have not been indulged in the outdoors as i have since birth. Things that seem like "common sense" to me, (hate that term) may be rocket science for someone who grew up in a city, or not in a hunting household. Things like not putting stands in hollars, because youl get smelled,or to purr when a gobbler is nervous to calm him down, seems like second nature to me because my dad has taught me all this since i was a toddler.

BUT that isnt the case for everyone. If you want to learn how to turkey hunt better, learn all you can from this great resource we have, the internet. Try the Spring Thunder series from ca*elas. They seem to put out alot of good info.

Outside of that, the best thing to do is get out and do it! You will learn what to do quickly, and what not to do quicker.

I have only killed two trad birds, ( just started trying trad turkey hunting this spring) but i have turkey hunted since i could walk. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask! Its the best way to learn, and i find enjoyment in helping others to be successful.

[The Night Stalker]

Turkey hunting might be different for a flatlander for sure. It is easy to set up on them on ridge tops. Always call them uphill. Use the terrain to get in front of them and set up. It is easy to call them closer if you already know they will most likely go there.