doc098

Hi all, I am in the military beased in Louisiana. I grew up in Baton Rouge, but am now in Ft. Polk. We have our own hunting area for our soldiers here(roughly 150,000 acres). I know people that turkey hunt here, but don't willingly give away their secrets(of course)

Ive been hunting deer, ducks, and small game all of my life, but I am fairly new to the Turkey game. How would I go about hunting highly pressured birds?

P.S.-No ideas too expensive, eh boys? I'm on a soldiers budget. Haha.

big rockpile

You can try a number of things.Lots of times everyone is Hammering the Calls.You might try calling quiely and not very often.

Go with the Buddy system.have the Shooter setting closer to the Bird,caller on back.

Call and move away,that makes an old Tom mad and will come in.

And some times they do just like they should.

big rockpile

mauser06

this year i rolled my longbeard on highly highly pressured public land. i had him to my left a decint ways away, and 3 or 4 other birds 150 or so yards infront of me. didnt realize that they were half gobble at the time, and most likely jakes. i had the jakes going bonkers coming in on a string. then my bird let out some gobbles and chased off the jakes...i never heard another peep from them. didnt hear much of anything after that for a while. he gobble once or twice infront of me where the jakes were..then half hour or so later he let one out a little to my right 150yds away. half hour later i could hear a bird scratching in the leaves...another half hour and he appeared off the edge of the ridge and i put him down.

my calling was alot less than when working excited, fired up birds. i would call every 15-30 minutes...i was mainly clucking and purring and scratching in leaves..just sounding like a hen milling around...once in a while id let out some soft yelps. the bird was definently call shy...he been around the block a few times before for sure. he was only a 2yo and most times they come in going nuts...i could tell hes been called to more than once just by his actions. he acted like a much older bird.

why do i think i succecced? my calling style and patience and trust that i was in a good location. the birds seem to love the spot i was in. they roost in the area and come back to feed in the area..most times i give the birds a half hour after they shut up and then i go find another bird to work...im not a patient turkey hunter...that hunt i was...and was rewarded. i just knew if i could sit there all morning i was bound to bring one in...didnt think i would be a bird i worked all morning...i hunted that spot 100s of times throughout my life...never killed a bird there..they roost there and head off all over the place to feed and chase hens...rarely have i called them in off the roost there..but come 9 or 10am they seem to be back there...thats why i got smart and waited them out

doc098

How did you locate them, Owl call at roost? Or did you just walk around calling?

RIStrutStopper

Spring or fall hunting? Different seasons, different tactics.

doc098

Spring, we don't have fall turkey season here.

mauser06

i rarely ever use locator calls...exspecially off the roost. i do my legwork and scouting. i go in before daylight to a high vantage point where i can hear a good distance and hear where i THINK they roost from my scouting..they typically roost in the same areas every night...atleast most birds do...

off the roost they are typically very vocal...i wont use any locators at all...i focus on sneaking in and setting up while they are still on the limb. theres enough owls and crows sounding off, and natural gobbles that i never seemed to need a locator off the roost.

after flydown i do use a crow call to shock gobble them...then i setup and call to them and hope i am setup in the direction they were heading...

turkeys are generally creatures of habit..they tend to do generally the same thing each day..roost in the same areas, head to the same areas when they fly down etc...with proper scouting, some calling and patience, and turkeys...well....thats how turkey tags are filled. alot of guys think to turkey hunt you just go out and make noise on a call...that works...occassionally..but ive found scouting and patience is key to consistantly killing birds

public land i also find myself walking a lonnnnng ways from the road. even then, i am still usually dealing with other hunters and pressured birds..i find that pressured birds seem to be less vocal, exspecially after flydown..and somewhat callshy. they get sick of coming to hen calls and getting shot at, seeing something that isnt right, or just not seeing the hen they thought was there. put yourself in a turkeys shoes...if your girl called you all the time and something wasnt right, you got shot at a few times, and she stood you up countless times you would try sneaking in on her..checking things out before committing...seeing how serious she is and making her wait a while...

i cant count how many times ive left a setup and hear the bird i worked all morning gobbling where i was sitting an hour or 2 later...im wising up...thats how i killed mine this year...

public land turkeys can be a challenge...exspecially if theres alot of turkey hunters in the area...but it can be done. takes some learning though..can be a frustrating task...but i keep comin back for more...love spring turkey huntin!

good luck

doc098

Well, It's hard to explain the setup, So I'm going to have to post some pics on here before too long. I'm basically hunting in aspillway withLOADS of bayous, creeks, and sloughs.Here's a map of the area that I am hunting.(http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/pdfs/wmas/Sherburne.pdf) Ican get to an area where most other hunters can't get to, but the birds are still pressured. I am thinking about hunting in the North East area, East of Bayou Close. After I cross that bayou, it become fairly "unswampy", and more suitable for hunting.

I have never hunted here before, only preseason scouting right now, so I don't know how pressured it is. I am only going on what other people tell me.

If you were wondering, I cannot drive 5 hours every weekend to go to my property(I am in the service), so I have to find a medium. My parents live in Baton Rouge, so every other weekend when I go see them, it is only about a 30 minute drive from them. And they are only 3 hours away from where I am right now.

JW

Sxout yor heart out as yo have time - do not call at all but find where birds want to be during different parts of the day. look for roost areas, feeding areas and strut areas.

Then arrive way before daylight - sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee as the birds wake up and tell you where they are.

ThenI will pick one a go after it and call ever so softly. Most timesI do not call at all but let the bird tell me when it is callable.

I love pressured areas - with woodsense and patience - a tom will be yours. But you have to scout and develop a pattern.

Now calls to use. - I would get a box call - and a pot call. both not that expensive - and send me a PM with your address........I have a call for you!

JW

Bobgobble2

A few things to consider as you have been given some valuable advice.
High pressured areas in most cases present quiet woods as the birds become call shy and very wary.Because of this your movements and calling strategy must change unless situation or birds mood dictates something different.Scouting as mentioned by everyone here is an absolute must.Your time seems limited so you must make the most of your scouting trips.Theres more to your scouting than just seeing hearing birds.Tracks,feathers,scratching,strutmarks,turkey sign in general give you just as much info on your birds in a given area as if you had seen them or heard them there.Scouting helps you learn and know your own terrain which in turn should help you greatly when it comes time to set-up on a bird.Even your approach to a heavy hunted area can have an impact on the amount of gobbling activity in high pressured areas.Dont kid yourself that wood wise gobblers cant pattern hunters because they do and will.
Quiet woods make alot of hunters quickly lose patience which in turn causes them to move all over their/your turkey woods blowing or scraping turkey calls trying to strike a bird.All this does in these high pressure zones in most cases is make wise gobblers wiser.Patience.patience,patience and I say again patience.Heres where your scouting will help greatly.If you know theres birds in a given area,set-up in that areawith some low impact calling and wait em out.Often times these type of birds wont say a thing,they just appear out of no where,simply because they have been hunted,so you must pay attention.Also you must use your ears in these situations.Listening for the spit-n-drum of a gobbler,recognizing the steps and soft clucks of approaching birds,are all sounds you must have your ears tuned and listening for in this situation.I like to hunt late (in the day)in these areas,,,the reason why is many hunters have left the field and pressured birds because they have patterned this get more active late in the day than at dawn.The last few years around my own stretch of woods many days I have heard much more gobbling from midday to evening than from dawn to midday.So use your time wisely.IMHO One last thing I would stay away from the use of decoys in high pressure zones.Yes safety is an issue but more than that these type of birds have a way of staying just out of gunrange at the sight of a decoy and many times will not come out of the cover but stay just inside it and strut.Too much pressure can keep these birds tight to cover,I want the bird to find me not my decoy!!These birds present quite a challenge and test of patience.Often times you go home empty handed hunting these type of areas but when you put some time and effort into a hunt and it comes together its one of the most satifying experiences in the turkey woods!!!Bob