Spring Turkey
04-22-2020, 01:31 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 46
Spring Turkey
Rookie turkey hunter here
What conditions are good for a spring turkey hunt. Clearly you want them moving. Is sunny and clear good for the birds moving, or rain
Also what conditions are bad, I've heard windy days are bad.
I basically only have one field to hunt, though there are birds around
What conditions are good for a spring turkey hunt. Clearly you want them moving. Is sunny and clear good for the birds moving, or rain
Also what conditions are bad, I've heard windy days are bad.
I basically only have one field to hunt, though there are birds around
04-22-2020, 02:23 PM
#2
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 2,743
this is an impossible question to answer for many reasons
turkeys live outside 24/7/365
and eat every day pretty much unless there is some severe weather going on
so any day can be a good day if you want to hunt them
and you don't need fields to hunt them, heck most folks I know hunt no where near a field, NOT saying you cannot hunt fields
windy days are harder to hunt them IMO< due to there more nervous and you cannot hear then both talking and or moving about as well,
But some wind can help, as it can cover up your sounds while you try and find them and or close in on them/set up and so on!
so, again wind isn;t always bad, very heavy winds, I personally don;t go out!
as for what time to hunt them
ME personally I prefer spring gobbler hunting in the first 2-3 hours of day light best
I like to actually try and roost birds the night before, and then set up near where they have roosted or the night
thus giving me IMO< the best chance to have them come to me in the morning, being already where I know one is!
turkeys typically roost and then come sun light or close to it, start talking to each other, then fly down and again, talk more to regroup!
so first light gets my vote on best time to hunt them and in most places I have hunted
next would be mid morning near known food sources, where they will come and gather to eat mid morning or mid day and at this point MAYBE a gobbler will have left the hen he had at day break!
NOW< spring and fall hunting is very different and I approach things differently
but gathering your talking spring time hunts here, so
the above is my preferred times to hunt spring turkeys
I also have to admit I am NOT a die hard turkey guy, by noon, I had my fill for the day and typically call it quits and go do other things LOL
turkeys live outside 24/7/365
and eat every day pretty much unless there is some severe weather going on
so any day can be a good day if you want to hunt them
and you don't need fields to hunt them, heck most folks I know hunt no where near a field, NOT saying you cannot hunt fields
windy days are harder to hunt them IMO< due to there more nervous and you cannot hear then both talking and or moving about as well,
But some wind can help, as it can cover up your sounds while you try and find them and or close in on them/set up and so on!
so, again wind isn;t always bad, very heavy winds, I personally don;t go out!
as for what time to hunt them
ME personally I prefer spring gobbler hunting in the first 2-3 hours of day light best
I like to actually try and roost birds the night before, and then set up near where they have roosted or the night
thus giving me IMO< the best chance to have them come to me in the morning, being already where I know one is!
turkeys typically roost and then come sun light or close to it, start talking to each other, then fly down and again, talk more to regroup!
so first light gets my vote on best time to hunt them and in most places I have hunted
next would be mid morning near known food sources, where they will come and gather to eat mid morning or mid day and at this point MAYBE a gobbler will have left the hen he had at day break!
NOW< spring and fall hunting is very different and I approach things differently
but gathering your talking spring time hunts here, so
the above is my preferred times to hunt spring turkeys
I also have to admit I am NOT a die hard turkey guy, by noon, I had my fill for the day and typically call it quits and go do other things LOL
04-25-2020, 01:26 AM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: west central wi USA
Posts: 2,242
I've hunted them under all weather conditions. Opening day this year had 6" of new snow and 10 deg. at sunup. And they were gobbling lustily. I've shot em in the rain, fog and in the sun and in the wind. Unfortunately, you have to be prepared to hunt in all of it. There is no bad turkey hunting weather. This time of year, daylength governs the mating urge and that doesn't vary like the weather. I would agree that wind is the hardest condition to hunt in. Either you can't hear them or they can't hear you.
