GlouGlou

So turkey season opens on Friday in my area. For the last week or so I have seen many in the field in front of my house. Now 2-days of rain and I have seen 0. Forecast is for rain on Friday & Saturday also.

Since these guys seem to hate rain and not come to the fields, I was thinking of setting up shop somewhere in the woods maybe near one of my 8ft wide foot paths. I assume they don't stay in their tree 100% of the time when raining!

I am a novice at hunting (only second turkey season) What is your experience in rain/foul weather? Any tips/comments appreciated.


M.

mgreen81

They usually like to be in fields when it is raining.

GlouGlou

Not here i guess! Last week-end + early this week I saw so many, I was going nuts and could not wait for season to open. Now two days of rain and seen none whatsoever. Last year on the rainy days I also saw none so the type we have here obviously don't like it.

Phil from Maine

I have not sen them in the fields during any amount of rain either. I can not get them to answer a call during rain either. What's up with that? I know they are there but no show and no answers to my calling..

jmedenf

The usually take to the fields in rain due to the rain noise in the woods. I wouldn't expect them to make much noise during hard rain because they cannot hear at that time very well. This keeps predators from sneaking up on them during this time. I guess that includes us as well. I usually stay home on those days and wait for dryer days for hunting.

turkman1

I shot all my turkeys in the fields when its rain.That where I like to sit up at.

Turkman

Hoyt HavocTec

Well, I'm more of a novice than you are, OP, but from the limited time I've spent the woods I've noticed an uptick in activity in the fields during rain. I sat in a spot for 2 1/2 hours last week, and about 10-15 minutes after the rain started I had several hens come out into the field I was hunting. They were all single hens, not a big group, but they started filtering into my field individually during the rain, then vanished once it stopped.

I also had a gobbler calling to me right before the rain, and even at the start of the rain when it was lighter. Once it picked up a bit he quit talking, but they may have been as much due to my inexperience as it was the rain.

How many fields do you have around the area you've been seeing them? Maybe they're in a different field/pasture nearby that you can't see due to woods or fence rows?

Good luck.

Bible_Man

I do seem to see more in field edges when it is rainy. That, and VERY open woods. Some of the best times to be out, in my opinion, is just after a few stormy days in a row. The weather will bust them up and they will be looking for one another and seem to be more receptive to calling.

Phil from Maine

Well it has been raining here for the past couple of days and nothing is answering to the calls. I saw a total of 4 birds today while traveling the pipeline. The pipeline runs for close to 70 miles with a powerline running beside of it. Of the birds I saw 3 were hens and 1 I couldn't tell as it run before I could get a good look at it. Perhaps the hens have nests and are simply sitting on them during the rainy weather? Whatever it is they are very clearly not showing up as of yet. Just before the rain came you would see a pile of birds early in the morning or around mid morning. Tomorrow it is suposed to break for a little while. I hope so and then maybe some birds will be moving to my calling..

I also forgot to mention our turkey hunting ends at noon every day of the hunt.

doetrain

I took a youth hunter out on the worst day of weather our season here has seen in Indiana.I thought it would come to nothing and for almost 3 hours it was a sleeper. When the rain and thunder stoped and a light rain fell off and on we had hens come out first then 6 jakes and 2 mature strutters and the mature birds gobbled endlessly until the heavy rain came down again.
This was our experience in bad weather and the only reason we did not take a bird that day is because the Jakes were passed on in the hope that one of the strutters would give us a shot which they did not do. I'll be the first to admit that we were in a target rich area that holds 15 to 25 Turkeys and we had first crack at them youth weekend. The rain as has been said usually moves them into the fields unless it's a down pour which is good for the hunt in most cases.