Post Mating Hunting

[doetrain]

Do the hunters chances increase or decrease in the later part of the Turkeys mating season. Our season in Indiana does'nt start until the 27 of April and ends May 15th. We have had birds strutting for nearly two weeks already. Those of you who have many seasons under your belt,what is your understanding about this situation?

[JW]

IMO - YES!

I hunt many of the last seasons in states as it is easier to get permission and YES I do kill birds consistently.

JW

[Fieldmouse]

From what I understand is the mating has already occurred by the time hunting season opens. They do this to keep the good genes going. When the season begins, the toms are still very horny and end up calling more to get that last quickie in before having to wait til next year.

[Ridge Runner]

as more and more hens go to the incubation stage, the gobblers spend more and more time looking for receptive hens, so yes your chances get better as the amout of breeding hens declines.
WV, sets its seasons by when most of the hens start incubating they're clutches, because....
A laying hen will not return to the nest if a hunter flushes her off, she'll try to renest in another location, however an incubating hen will return due to the fact of the time involved in laying a full clutch and she has to raise the poults up to a large enough size before cold weather to survive the coming winter.
RR

[RockyMtnGobblers]

More hens are nesting making for more lonely gobblers later in the season and that makes it easer for hunters to call gobblers in.

[UncleNorby]

Toms will be looking for the last receptive hens, BUT I feel they don't gobble as much later in the season. This doesn't bother me too much as I generally sit and call in a spot for up to 2 hours. If you are a run'n'gunner, you may be missing birds because they don't respond.

So my advise for the later season is to set up in spots known to hold birds at that given time of day, give each set-up plenty of time, and stay alert for Toms that come in silent. About half my birds did not gobble on the way in.

[doetrain]

Great information everyone,thanks for the shared knowledge. I had heard this was the case with later season Toms but I wanted to make sure it was accurate. I was not able to get off for opening day which in Indiana is a Wednesday but was able to get off the last four days of our season so I'm encouraged by this info.

[Bible_Man]

What everyone else said...later season birds are a bit easier to get. Early season is exciting, mainly because it has been so long since you were in the woods, but it definitely is true that there is less supply of hens needing to be knocked up, therefore there is more of a demand from the Toms. I've never killed a bird opening morning, however I have killed several in the final days of the season.