lucky_shot

how do you guys hunt turkeys in the afternoon and evening?

cjgjr

I cant hunt them in the afternoon here in PA.
Its illegal to hunt past noon.In the spring season.

But in the fall I do,And if i were to hunt them in the spring i would do it the same way!
That is to know where they are roosting,
And setup around those trees and just wait for them to come to their evening roosting trees,
With little to no calling..
Hope this helps..
Have fun...

BigBuck95

same here in NY. Can't hunt past noon because of the egg laying hens.
Fall yes, you gotta catch them goin to the roost.
BigBuck95

cataraft

I took one in the afternoon last year, and another guy in our group took one this year.
What I did was set in an area where I knew the birds liked to roost and just called softly and sparingly. I called a hen in first and then had 3 toms sneak up on me from behind about 20 minutes latter. The birds never made a noise and I didn't know they were there until they were 5-10 feet away. I was able to jump up and shoot one fast.
Anyway, afternoon birds don't call much. But they can be hunted. I would try making really soft feeding calls, purrs and clucks, on a slate every 15 minutes or so and maybe scratching in the dirt a little. Stay in one spot and just wait it out. Those are the two things that I've seen produce- soft feeding calls and staying put in an area close to where they roost.

lucky_shot

this is only my third season hunting turkey and i haven't seen a whole lot of action. i mostly get to hunt in the evenings because of work and i just wanted to increase my chances. what do i look for when looking for a roosting area?

cataraft

I'm no expert either, but I've seen them seem to prefer trees with large limbs on slopes above creeks and bottoms near open areas. In the Appalachians they seemed to like the big old white pines that stand tall against the other trees. Not that they roosted high up in them, but that they had large limbs down low. Often they roosted on the steepest hill they could find above creek bottoms. In Central Texas, that's also where I've seen birds, but they were in the oaks. Often there is also an open area nearby where they can strut their stuff when they fly off the roost in the morning. The place to hunt is in the bottoms near these trees or along the edges of the open areas that they use to strut. Forget about hunting the roost tree itself, but go where the bird will fly down to, or fly up from. But, as always, expect the unexpected and maybe you'll learn something new.

Adrian J Hare

Afternoon hunting is a different type of hunt. I have found over the years of hunting afternoons is that that success runs off of more of scouting and patterning areas where birds tend to feed before heading to roost. This maybe a field, watering area or maybe a ridge that they will feed towards roosting time. Calling is much different as well. Afternoon birds are not as aggressive as they are in the mornings so when calling I find that volume and being suttle is the most important and do not expect a gobbler to come in all fanned up and gobbling his fool head off because on a higher scale he is going to sneek in and he'll just all of a sudden show himself standing there looking. Movement from the hunters is also very important on these hunts as these queit birds will catch you well before you catch them. Setups should be well camoed up and even put sometime into your setup and make yourself disapear to the eye....

Tom_W

Here in Arkansas in the Ozarks where I live the Agfc has planted a great number of food plots. It is not hard to tell which plots the birds are using. Just look for droppings,scratchings and dropped feathers.

I use the late afternoon to try to locate a bird on the roost for the next morning hunt. I use the same methods I would use in the morning such as the owl or crow call.

Best of luck!

lucky_shot

this past fall while deer hunting i had a few hens sneek up behind me in the creek bed. about 30 minutes later i saw them roost on the other side up a steep bank. so should i get in the field below or get up in the woods in the area i saw them fly up? for the morning at this location i have always heard not to try and call birds down a mountain or cross a creek, what should i do there? i have a pretty good idea where they were comming from but that isn't public land. like you said tom w... food plots, but this time of year they are pretty grown up. agfc hasn't been to this spot yet to disc it. where in arkansas are you from?

Tom_W

Hi Lucky Shot, I live in Atkins Ar. Near Russellville. I hunt in the National Forest north of Russellville.

Even though your plots have not been bush hogged check and see if does not have a lot of clover. Most around here do. Check for visible sign and you will know if it is worth sitting on.

I use a small pop up blind that I can have set up in 2 minutes or less. It seems to help hide my movements. As stated in an earlier post, afternoon hunting is much like fall hunting. A gobbler is much more likely to sneak in unannounced.
Good Luck!