Have you guys ever had any luck in the rain?? the reason I ask is cause the 2nd week of the season is coming up and the forecast is calling for rain & thunderstorms all week, all my buddies would just as soon stay in bed, but I have too much passion for the sport to sleep my season away. Does it do any good to go out in those kinda conditions, I mean, I know they' re not going to strut through my bedroom. Should I change tactics, or locations. Do any of you have any success/defeat stories? What works for you??
I have had luck in the rain before, though it takes some time. you need to know exactly where the turkeys are roosting, and try to get as close to there as possible. They will stay in the woods for a while and when they get too wet, they will come out into the open and shake them selves off. They might gobble and they might not. it just depends on how the rain is. I have found that if the rain is warm they gobble more than it is cold. they like to stay under fuly leafed trees, and will never be by any creeks, and if there is a creek between you and a turkey, you better go and get ypur gum boots on. For me they have never flew avross a ceek in the rain. well i hope this helps,
I have taken I think 4 birds oin the rain over the last 35 years or so.
they don' t gobble and strut near as much.you just have to be a set and wait person,just as close to there strut zone as possible.
one sure thing,you will never take one setting on the couch,or in bed.
good luck,and don' t forget the rain wear.
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I am not a hunter ; I am a whitetail population reduction specialest
remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.
I shot 1 out of my 3 birds When it was raining and had snow mixed in. I do know they move slow in the rain but you can still get them just takes some patience.
Watch the lightning.. There' s no bird in the world worth risking a lightning strike and the gun you carry is like a lightning rod.. The public service portion of my post is now over.
I' ve found that if you' re out in the rain and the rain stops, go to a field or pasture as the birds tend to go there to dry and preen their feathers. My bird this year was taken after I sat in the rain for four hours and when it stopped...out he came with a hen. It might have been coincidence, but I don' t think so.
This spring I learned something about hunting turkeys in the rain. I know that turkeys will go out in fields/get out of the woods if it is raining. What I didn' t know was that they also prefer mud over wet, but short, grass. So if you are near a plowed field edged by grass strips, don' t expect the turks to walk in the grass strips, they won' t, they' ll walk in the plowing. They won' t gobble much at flydown and they' ll fly down much later. If you can roost one the night before and get in close, your tree yelps and flydown cackles and clucks and purrs and putts on the ground should be very effective.
For thirty bucks you can get a camo umbrella--it' ll help keep you dry. Sixty bucks buys an Ameristep Doghouse camo blind (just saw them on sale yesterday at Fleet Farm). I' ve killed two from mine in the rain so far--they' re great!
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Peace.
"Always do the right thing- this will gratify some and astonish the rest."-- Mark Twain
I wouldn' t hunt in a downpour of heavy rain but I do not mind a light rain. All the better if you happen to be in turkey country when the rain STOPS! The gobbling can become intense. BTW, I never have gotten a gobbler in the rain but they' re still fun to hunt and there is SO much to learn about their behavior and travel patterns.
BAD WEATHER TOMS
