Turkey tips
04-26-2008, 10:53 AM
#22
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: oklahoma
Posts: 71
RE: Turkey tips
some nice tips Pat! In my fourty plus years turkey hunting i have seen many things happen in the turkey woods i dont hold much stock in early scouting ( maybe if just for a reason to get out of the house LOL) but as Pat said you got to find the barriers that is a must! most offten i start two weeks before season if i know that their are birds in that location. Land i have not hunted i goa monthearly an keep tabs on the birds an what they are doing most of all for these reasons spring rains can fill up the creeks witch may be dry in winter. birds break up,pecking orders change,jakes form up small groups, food supply changes, an a host of other things that happen. I even found one of my honey holes got roost shoot1 week before opening season. Hunting farm land i like to locate cattle birds love to turn over cow pies an eat bugs i also locate freshvegetation turkeys like sproutscheck creeks for coon tracks an watch for crows this will help you know what the hens are going to do if you got a lot of coons an crows
hens will look for more safe places to nest witch may not be close to where you hunt i.e. the toms are going to follow the hens pattern the hens. locate the roost trees if it is unknow (as Pat said) never never call birds to get a gobble go to your hunting place well before lite an just listen only well after the birds are gone go in an find the roost trees a good roost tree will have droppings on the ground and on tree limbs you will also find some feathers around. (If you run into this it just does not get any better this is a prime spot) next set up about 2 hours till sun down an wait to see what kind of birds you get. I have been fooled before an ran into old gobblers i thought were for sure jakes
on opening day i like to set up no closer then 200 to 300 yards from the roost site if you have done your home work you will know where the birds are going to go. the reason for this is most of the time the toms are worked up and the hens fly down an the only thing on their mind is food not mating the toms will calm down after a bit an can be worked a little better even with hen around. one of my best tricks is to set up a hen decoy
that i have altered. (take a hen decoy cut a dall rod in half install a flex spring over the two halves put a small eye hook at each end of the spring
next get some twine an dye it green or brown what ever you like put a small hole in the hens neck run the string thru it tie a button on it an silicone
it in place push the dall rod in the ground an then install the last eye hook at ground level now your ready to go. i.e. you may have to cut a small slice in decoy botton so it can move back an fourth freely) when setting up place the hen decoy about 30 to 40 feet past you run the string along the ground to your blind you may have to set a few sticks over it in some places to keep the string close to the ground. then just do a few purrs an soft clucks pull on the string an the decoy will move down to the ground an back up. This is the fun part the hens will see this new hen in their feeding ground an get so pissed off they walk right by you dragging the toms right with them this all ways puts the toms right in front of you. I have had so much fun doing this just watching the hens hittingan pecking the decoyan it also gets the toms so worked up i have seen them start fighting
one time i even had a bobcat attackthe decoyLOL but you will be able to pull the toms off the hens an right into your gun range
As for public hunting thats a hole new story i have seen birds roost in a different trees every night it gets really hard after opening weekend an you get the hunters that just wont stop with the calling these birds get smart fast if they make it to 3 or 4 years old some are for the most part unhuntable. an it takes alot of care an time working these types of birds. I myself do not tree call the birds on the roost they are most of the time wise to that an many hunters get to camp a day before season an go out and start calling all over the place. I try to locate the hunters most of the time they will get as close to where they think the birds roost next i make for open ground an find a low spot or a little bruch to hide in an only make 1 or 2 soft calls only when i see birds they most likely will not respond to the call but they will know right where you are at the key to this is you just can not move till time to shoot at all. An most of all do not call anymore no matter how much you want to
1 avoid other hunters
2 vary little calling sometimes not at all
3 dont talk about where you see birds ( unless you want company in the morning)
4 dont use decoys ( unless you just feel you got to do it)
5 hunts fields if you can
6 dress to be moble less gear is better
7 take a few snacks an some water (you may be out most of the day)
8 trust your eyes not your ears ( their are some pretty good callers out their)
9 dont belive everything you hear hunters are like fisherman
10 go out a few months before season an hit the small town restuarants buy an old farmer or two a breakfest get some info then
make a hunting choice before you go out ( do you want meat on the table ?or that big tom) an stick with your game plan
(the farmers will know right where the birds are at on public hunting land if you are polite an show good manners most
of them will help you out an you may even get to hunt their land)
With all this said this is a little to late for this season. its just how i do it if it helps you some thats great i am happy topass onwhat i have
learned over my years of turkey hunting as my late fatherallways saiduse what you can and leave the rest
hens will look for more safe places to nest witch may not be close to where you hunt i.e. the toms are going to follow the hens pattern the hens. locate the roost trees if it is unknow (as Pat said) never never call birds to get a gobble go to your hunting place well before lite an just listen only well after the birds are gone go in an find the roost trees a good roost tree will have droppings on the ground and on tree limbs you will also find some feathers around. (If you run into this it just does not get any better this is a prime spot) next set up about 2 hours till sun down an wait to see what kind of birds you get. I have been fooled before an ran into old gobblers i thought were for sure jakes
on opening day i like to set up no closer then 200 to 300 yards from the roost site if you have done your home work you will know where the birds are going to go. the reason for this is most of the time the toms are worked up and the hens fly down an the only thing on their mind is food not mating the toms will calm down after a bit an can be worked a little better even with hen around. one of my best tricks is to set up a hen decoy
that i have altered. (take a hen decoy cut a dall rod in half install a flex spring over the two halves put a small eye hook at each end of the spring
next get some twine an dye it green or brown what ever you like put a small hole in the hens neck run the string thru it tie a button on it an silicone
it in place push the dall rod in the ground an then install the last eye hook at ground level now your ready to go. i.e. you may have to cut a small slice in decoy botton so it can move back an fourth freely) when setting up place the hen decoy about 30 to 40 feet past you run the string along the ground to your blind you may have to set a few sticks over it in some places to keep the string close to the ground. then just do a few purrs an soft clucks pull on the string an the decoy will move down to the ground an back up. This is the fun part the hens will see this new hen in their feeding ground an get so pissed off they walk right by you dragging the toms right with them this all ways puts the toms right in front of you. I have had so much fun doing this just watching the hens hittingan pecking the decoyan it also gets the toms so worked up i have seen them start fighting
one time i even had a bobcat attackthe decoyLOL but you will be able to pull the toms off the hens an right into your gun range
As for public hunting thats a hole new story i have seen birds roost in a different trees every night it gets really hard after opening weekend an you get the hunters that just wont stop with the calling these birds get smart fast if they make it to 3 or 4 years old some are for the most part unhuntable. an it takes alot of care an time working these types of birds. I myself do not tree call the birds on the roost they are most of the time wise to that an many hunters get to camp a day before season an go out and start calling all over the place. I try to locate the hunters most of the time they will get as close to where they think the birds roost next i make for open ground an find a low spot or a little bruch to hide in an only make 1 or 2 soft calls only when i see birds they most likely will not respond to the call but they will know right where you are at the key to this is you just can not move till time to shoot at all. An most of all do not call anymore no matter how much you want to
1 avoid other hunters
2 vary little calling sometimes not at all
3 dont talk about where you see birds ( unless you want company in the morning)
4 dont use decoys ( unless you just feel you got to do it)
5 hunts fields if you can
6 dress to be moble less gear is better
7 take a few snacks an some water (you may be out most of the day)
8 trust your eyes not your ears ( their are some pretty good callers out their)
9 dont belive everything you hear hunters are like fisherman
10 go out a few months before season an hit the small town restuarants buy an old farmer or two a breakfest get some info then
make a hunting choice before you go out ( do you want meat on the table ?or that big tom) an stick with your game plan
(the farmers will know right where the birds are at on public hunting land if you are polite an show good manners most
of them will help you out an you may even get to hunt their land)
With all this said this is a little to late for this season. its just how i do it if it helps you some thats great i am happy topass onwhat i have
learned over my years of turkey hunting as my late fatherallways saiduse what you can and leave the rest
10-16-2008, 11:07 AM
#23
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 7,437
RE: Turkey tips
Second part of tips - 2/8/2008 3:04:31 AM
I added Pat's second part of tips to this
JW
Pat_Ely
Moderator
Posts: 779
Joined: 3/3/2003
From: Chester County Pennsylvania
Status: offline
Now that you are done your pre-season scouting up to listening for gobbling starting in mid March, it is now time to step up your scouting three weeks before your season starts. Since you have learned the ground that you are going to hunt you need to now really concentrate on where the strut zones and roosting trees are. Again go to a strategic position about an hour before day light and listen to where they are gobbling. Once you have them pin pointed again listen for the hens to talk it up after fly down. If you listen to them you should hear which direction they are traveling still and concentrate on trying to find that strut zone.
When you aren’t in the field scouting you should be going through your turkey vest making sure you have everything you need. Make sure your calls are tuned and ready for opening day. Work the glass calls with some scotch brite or fine sand paper. Make sure your strikers are clean and sand them just a little bit to take off any smooth shiny spots on them. Make sure your decoys are clean. One tip I will give you for your decoys is make sure there isn’t any paint missing and maybe even touch them or replace them. One thing that I do is put a little bit of clear nail polish on the eyes just to give them a little bit of shine. A turkey’s eyes are shiny. Once all of you r equipment is ready then make sure you pack everything where you know where it is and that you can access it readily.
Ok the evening before the opener has arrived. I suggest you go out to the area you are going to hunt and sit again and listen for fly ups. Listen for gobbles or even just the tell tale sound of the cackle as they fly up or you may only here the wing beats and limbs being hit as they fly up. You’ll know you are in the right area for the first thing in the morning.
When morning arrives and you get to your spot, try and be as quiet as possible, don’t slam truck doors etc. Again if you have done your homework you should even be able to sneak into where you want to set up with out a light. Remember you want to sneak in so as not to bump or spook birds. They really aren’t that tolerable to things being out of the ordinary. I have seen many of birds fly off roost well before light because of being busted walking in and not paying attention.
Now that you have arrived at your set up position get everything ready for the hunt. This is where knowing where you have everything comes into play. You should be able to retrieve calls or what ever you may need with out turning a light on and giving away your location. Set your decoys up at a distance that you feel comfortable shooting at.
I always wait until I hear the first calls of the morning before I even think about calling and then when I do hear the first gobble I just do three soft tree yelps and wait for a response. The first time you call the gobbler will have a general area of where you located and know that a hen is in the area. If he gobbles again with out you calling then I answer him, but again softly. Once I hear the first bird fly down I do a fly down with either my hat of a wing along with a fly down cackle. At this point the gobbler knows exactly where you are. I then start clucking as though I am just feeding along, I have even at times scratched in the leaves to make it more realistic, just be careful not to move too much because you could have one sneaking in quietly. If he sounds as if he likes to be called to I will sometimes get excited with him in my calling emotion is very important in some instances. I will also listen for other hens and try to mimic them but with a little more emotion. This works most times for me and will bring the gobbler right in. If you have been calling to him and all of a sudden he shuts up he may have come in but is now not gobbling but spitting and drumming. Listen for the tell tale pffffffffftttt drrrrruuuummmmmm of a mature gobbler. If you can hear that most times he is less than 55 yards from you. When I hear that I switch to a purr. Most times a purr will bring that gobbler with in gun range. Purring is done as softly and quietly as you can. My suggestion to you is learn how to purr with your mouth call. He is close by now and you really don’t want to be making much movement. It is extremely important to stay as still as you possibly can so as to not give away your position. If you have done everything that I have told you it should be a matter of time before he shows himself for that shot. Stay tuned for the next in the series, What to do if that gobbler hangs up on.
[align=left]Pat Ely[/align]
[align=left][/align]
_____________________________
That warm fuzzy feeling is what the Gobbler scared out of you when he gobbled 10 ft behind you [align=right][/align]
SwampCollie
Life Member
Posts: 3402
Joined: 11/14/2006
From: Where the ducks don't come no more
Status: online
One other great tip to consider that most folks learn the hard way (I'm raising my hand here) is take into consideration where you place your decoys in relation to HOW you sit/set up.
For example, I am right handed, which means it is MUCH easier for me to shoot to my left or extreme left than at all to my right. Turkeys are unpredicatble, so set up in relation to where you think the bird is going to show to increase your field of fire. For me... I put the decoys almost directly off my left shoulder.... just like a right handed hitter would stand in the batters box with the decoys set up on the pitchers mound. That way, no matter what direction he approaches... he's mine.
_____________________________
I support Sunday Hunting in Virginia!
"Claymore Mine Pro Staff" - We couldn't hit the ground with our hat....
DON'T BONK!
[align=right]
(in reply to firelt72) [/align]
ducksmoker
Fawn
[align=center][/align]
Posts: 72
Joined: 3/10/2008
From: oklahoma
Status: offline
greattips Pat i like the nail polish on the eyes i air bruch my decoys a little each year an will try the polish next year
as you said if you got a gobbler talking to you an he goes silent most often he is coming in and he will pinpoint you way before you pinpoint him
i like to stop calling an have him looking for me reather than him knowing right where i am at i cant count the times all i have seen is a head looking around a tree or sticking just a little over a hill to see.I have also been busted so many times over the years for not sitting still or start calling thinking he is gone just to have him slip up on me. when theyfirstgo silent on me i do a soft content purr then stop most of the time it will sill the deal [align=right]
(in reply to SwampCollie) [/align]
[align=right]
[/align]
I added Pat's second part of tips to this
JW
Pat_Ely
Moderator
Posts: 779
Joined: 3/3/2003
From: Chester County Pennsylvania
Status: offline
Now that you are done your pre-season scouting up to listening for gobbling starting in mid March, it is now time to step up your scouting three weeks before your season starts. Since you have learned the ground that you are going to hunt you need to now really concentrate on where the strut zones and roosting trees are. Again go to a strategic position about an hour before day light and listen to where they are gobbling. Once you have them pin pointed again listen for the hens to talk it up after fly down. If you listen to them you should hear which direction they are traveling still and concentrate on trying to find that strut zone.
When you aren’t in the field scouting you should be going through your turkey vest making sure you have everything you need. Make sure your calls are tuned and ready for opening day. Work the glass calls with some scotch brite or fine sand paper. Make sure your strikers are clean and sand them just a little bit to take off any smooth shiny spots on them. Make sure your decoys are clean. One tip I will give you for your decoys is make sure there isn’t any paint missing and maybe even touch them or replace them. One thing that I do is put a little bit of clear nail polish on the eyes just to give them a little bit of shine. A turkey’s eyes are shiny. Once all of you r equipment is ready then make sure you pack everything where you know where it is and that you can access it readily.
Ok the evening before the opener has arrived. I suggest you go out to the area you are going to hunt and sit again and listen for fly ups. Listen for gobbles or even just the tell tale sound of the cackle as they fly up or you may only here the wing beats and limbs being hit as they fly up. You’ll know you are in the right area for the first thing in the morning.
When morning arrives and you get to your spot, try and be as quiet as possible, don’t slam truck doors etc. Again if you have done your homework you should even be able to sneak into where you want to set up with out a light. Remember you want to sneak in so as not to bump or spook birds. They really aren’t that tolerable to things being out of the ordinary. I have seen many of birds fly off roost well before light because of being busted walking in and not paying attention.
Now that you have arrived at your set up position get everything ready for the hunt. This is where knowing where you have everything comes into play. You should be able to retrieve calls or what ever you may need with out turning a light on and giving away your location. Set your decoys up at a distance that you feel comfortable shooting at.
I always wait until I hear the first calls of the morning before I even think about calling and then when I do hear the first gobble I just do three soft tree yelps and wait for a response. The first time you call the gobbler will have a general area of where you located and know that a hen is in the area. If he gobbles again with out you calling then I answer him, but again softly. Once I hear the first bird fly down I do a fly down with either my hat of a wing along with a fly down cackle. At this point the gobbler knows exactly where you are. I then start clucking as though I am just feeding along, I have even at times scratched in the leaves to make it more realistic, just be careful not to move too much because you could have one sneaking in quietly. If he sounds as if he likes to be called to I will sometimes get excited with him in my calling emotion is very important in some instances. I will also listen for other hens and try to mimic them but with a little more emotion. This works most times for me and will bring the gobbler right in. If you have been calling to him and all of a sudden he shuts up he may have come in but is now not gobbling but spitting and drumming. Listen for the tell tale pffffffffftttt drrrrruuuummmmmm of a mature gobbler. If you can hear that most times he is less than 55 yards from you. When I hear that I switch to a purr. Most times a purr will bring that gobbler with in gun range. Purring is done as softly and quietly as you can. My suggestion to you is learn how to purr with your mouth call. He is close by now and you really don’t want to be making much movement. It is extremely important to stay as still as you possibly can so as to not give away your position. If you have done everything that I have told you it should be a matter of time before he shows himself for that shot. Stay tuned for the next in the series, What to do if that gobbler hangs up on.
[align=left]Pat Ely[/align]
[align=left][/align]
_____________________________
That warm fuzzy feeling is what the Gobbler scared out of you when he gobbled 10 ft behind you [align=right][/align]
SwampCollie
Life Member
Posts: 3402
Joined: 11/14/2006
From: Where the ducks don't come no more
Status: online
One other great tip to consider that most folks learn the hard way (I'm raising my hand here) is take into consideration where you place your decoys in relation to HOW you sit/set up.
For example, I am right handed, which means it is MUCH easier for me to shoot to my left or extreme left than at all to my right. Turkeys are unpredicatble, so set up in relation to where you think the bird is going to show to increase your field of fire. For me... I put the decoys almost directly off my left shoulder.... just like a right handed hitter would stand in the batters box with the decoys set up on the pitchers mound. That way, no matter what direction he approaches... he's mine.
_____________________________
I support Sunday Hunting in Virginia!
"Claymore Mine Pro Staff" - We couldn't hit the ground with our hat....
DON'T BONK!
[align=right]
(in reply to firelt72) [/align]
ducksmoker
Fawn
[align=center][/align]
Posts: 72
Joined: 3/10/2008
From: oklahoma
Status: offline
greattips Pat i like the nail polish on the eyes i air bruch my decoys a little each year an will try the polish next year
as you said if you got a gobbler talking to you an he goes silent most often he is coming in and he will pinpoint you way before you pinpoint him
i like to stop calling an have him looking for me reather than him knowing right where i am at i cant count the times all i have seen is a head looking around a tree or sticking just a little over a hill to see.I have also been busted so many times over the years for not sitting still or start calling thinking he is gone just to have him slip up on me. when theyfirstgo silent on me i do a soft content purr then stop most of the time it will sill the deal [align=right]
(in reply to SwampCollie) [/align]
[align=right]
[/align]
11-25-2008, 06:03 PM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Camden,MO
Posts: 2,546
RE: Turkey tips
then he is most likely got a herm of hens with him.
A couple of ways i deal with this is to shut up. trust me he knows your there. he could wonder why you quit talking.
Or
if you can hear a vocal hen then most likely she os the boss hen. try to imitate her every sound. she will eventually come in to check you out and guess who is behind her.
i used that tactic to take a 24lb triple beard 2 years ago.
A couple of ways i deal with this is to shut up. trust me he knows your there. he could wonder why you quit talking.
Or
if you can hear a vocal hen then most likely she os the boss hen. try to imitate her every sound. she will eventually come in to check you out and guess who is behind her.
i used that tactic to take a 24lb triple beard 2 years ago.
12-11-2008, 07:11 PM
#26
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Waynesboro, Tn.
Posts: 1
RE: Turkey tips
Great Tips, I am a Turkey Hunting fanatic (that's what she says), I do love to hunt those Big Birds, I like fall hunting also, but I only take hens in the fall, then come spring I can hunt the Toms. Happy Hunting, God Bless, and Have a Very Merry CHRISTMAS!!! Shurshot
