I hunt in Western Washington where there is mostly thick dense brush with some openings and timber clearcuts. I was just wondering if you had your choice which would you prefer to hunt; 1] An open field 2]An open area with few trees 3] Thinned or open stands of timber 4] Dense and thick timber or 5] Somewhere diffrent. WOuld you rather have a clear shot in the field and risk a bird hanging up? OR Have a bird come in all the way in the thick brush and not get a clear shot? What has provided everybody with the best results? Considering that there are turkeys in all the spots. I know i' ll get answers that say wherever the turkeys are at, but if you could choose which would you prefer to set up in? Thanks

I like them all, but man it really gets me to going if I can watch him come strutting and gobbling across a field, I don' t think that the odds are as good as it is in the woods on getting him. In the woods I like to be set up to when I see his red head pop up he is in range.

I prefer to set up around the edge or just inside the edges of open fields or crop fields if I have a choice. I like to be able to see quite a bit of ground at one time. I would rather have a bird hang up on me in the open field rather than hunt the timber and not get a clear shot. Playing the open fields game has payed off good for me in the past.

Hunting National forest in Oregon, I hunt areas of open timber consisting of a mix of ponderosa pine and douglas fir. I like to hunt the fringe areas of the timber and openings most often.

I' ve mainly hunted turkeys in forested areas so I just look for slightly open areas or pockets of thinner tree areas to setup in where the turkeys can see my decoys from at least 50-70 yards. A little high spot for my decoys is a plus. I' ve used rotten logs to give them a little elevation too. There are a lot of blow down trees in my area but the turkeys are used to it and do not hang up. They always find a way to me.

I really enjoy watching the birds come in, so for me,it' s the fields. Pulling the trigger is kind of anti-climatic, so the longer I can watch a bird,the better! Sure , I' ve had birds hang up once in a while in those open fields, but I can watch the birds and adjust my set-up once the bird has moved off. Some times it works out, some times it does' t.

I' ve always hunted the forest and try to find small openings and logging roads to set up on.

I prefer to hunt open stands of timber with lots of little ridges and draws with a few openings.

I enjoy setting up on field edges. Lets me know something is there---especially when the toms get quiet.

Good question:
I have trained myself to hunt birds where they want to be, this can make things uneasy for some hunters, as some time the bird just don' t want to show up in that Clear area you want to hunt. Getting used to setting up in different land terrian is a good practice in harvesting a bird. As I have a Scope atop of my 870, with a tight shooting Percision Choke ,I find that as long as I have that clear shot at the Head/Neck , I will take the bird every time. Sometimes this thick cover is all that a Call shy Long Beard will show himself. If he' s had his day with another hunter and knows that Clearings tend to give a Uneasy feeling , he' s not coming to that setup no matter what kind of calling you do. These type of Toms also get decoy shy and will Hangup outside of shotgun range. Learning to hunt different cover can be eccential to you and your havest rate...BT