frostybear

This is the first time I've hunted turkeys in this area and I'm stuck. The setting is a huge open field that is actually a small private airport runway. (Yes, I have permission) The turkeys are roosting at edge of the runway and strutting each and every morning and nite in the dead center of this huge treeless flat. Today I tried setting up at 0430 on northern edge and calling with 2 hen decoys and a jake decoy. NOTHING. They might look over but never come to the calls. I watched 3 fly down and head due east. another hen joined them a tom that I was able to call to the field but he bypassed me to join his 4 friends. They walked the entire runwayand strutted at the other end of the runway. There may have been some turkey sexual favors granted (I tried to look away). Anyway after about 45 minutes here they come back toward me again only now there is 10 turkeys...3 large toms all strutting, a bunch of hens and a couple of jakes. Had one jake eye my hen decoys but absolutely no action. This runway is elevated on the southern side so I watch them drop over the edge and had hens leaving into southern side woods. Woods is mostly scrub oaks with very few large trees. This is our first week of hunting here in Maine. Questions:
1. Should I set up on the southern side and wait for them to return from there morning trip to the far end? I think this is their normal pattern. I'm thinking of putting down my calls and working an ambush. The Toms appeared to be following the hens to the end of the woods then returning for more showing off. Anyone ever have the ambush work?
2. Any suggestions for engaging these Toms? Maybe my decoys are ugly girls??? I'm nervous about overcalling and then nervous about undercalling.
3. Is it OK to suddenly place a blind in their habitat? Does that spook them?
Sorry for the long note but hoping the more experinced could help me.

johnch

I have never tryed it ,but others say a pop up blind will not scare turkeys.
I would find a ambush spot and wait.

Johnch

BSTNFREEK

A blind WILL NOT spook turkeys, open field, woods, road, they DO NOT CARE! I have proven that time and time again in the field, put blind up 2 hours later, hens and toms 10 - 15 yards away, and closer.

make sure that the turkeys ARE not looking into the sun to spot your decoys, becasue if they are, well have you ever looked down field with the sun commoin up towards the sun? How well could you make out objects? did you put your hand over your eyes to help? TURKEYS DONT HAVE HANDS! They cant see into the sun any better than you can, so have their backs to the sun, not yours.

do 10 times more listening than calling, and only call when they are not looking at you. if they are looking towards you, and you move, YOU ARE BUSTED.

try only 1 hen decoy, I had 5 hens, and 2 jakes out, couldnt get em closer than 75 - 80 yards, 1 hen, get em in close every time!

If you have to set up with the turkeys comming into the sun at you, get a ghillie suit, and try crawling at them VERY SLOWLY, and with your butt out of the air, and only when they are faced the opposite way, even if you get busted a couple times, it will teach you how to be COMPLETELY silent, and sneak on a turkey, PLUS holly @*%$@! what a rush when you finnally get one.

JUST REMEMBER.......... Turkeys can hear you think, and see you change your mind!

frostybear

Oh you are right I was set so they had to look into the sun Duh. Didn't occur to me so thatnks for that tip. I promise to remember. We are expecting rain and even though I will hunt in the rain it might be a great time for the blind. Appreciate your help. Thanks.

jepcho

Yeah I'd go with a blind. Turkeys seem to pay no attention to one!

ahankster

A couple of suggestions.

1) I have found that turkeys will respond to calls better if they are coming up hill. You might try getting on the higher ground. This isn't always the case, but sometimes makes a difference.

2) Try just one hen and one jake.

3) All else fails (normal calling tactics) , get set up in a blind w/ one hen and one jake. Call your brains out for 2 or 3 mins and then put the call away for at least an hour. Even if you see one heading your way, resist the temptation to cluck or purr. Be completely silent. Curiosity may get the better of them. Give it an hour and then try again. I have found that this technique is deadly in areas where turkeys are call shy. It gets their attention and they see the decoys, then eventually they come see what the commotion is.

4) Wait a week or two. The dynamics of the flock will change as some of the girls get bred. The tom's will be far more vulnerable to the decoys as there are less ladies for him to talk to.

Good luck.
R
Hank

hawglips

I would set up between the roost and where they are going, or coming from, in the woods.

Or figure out where they normally come close to woods, and be there waiting, and try to sweet talk the big boys a little closer once they get to that closest spot.

Hal

DaveH

I've had far better success using one hen than I did using two or three hens and a jake. For some reason, they don't like my "flock," but they do seem to like my single pretty hen! She's pulled in a number of male suitors.

turkeyhunter_15

Hens Are Greedy, They Got A Tom..They Dont Want Another Hen There. Also, The Tom Will Follow Where The Hens Go...2 Tmes Today I Encounterd This. The One Time I Missed. Then We Saw Some In Our Feild. So My Best Bud And I Got To Where We Thought They Would Go. It Had Rained And The Hans Were Sunning And Drying, The Tom Strutting Around Them...They Headed Our Way He Got 40 Yards Away And Buddy Putted And Shot Him. The Tom Was Following His Hens.

Decoys...Turkeys Arent As Stupid As A Guy Thinks. The Can Tell The Diffrence...The Dumb Ones Get Shot..The Rest Dont. And They Also Get Call Wise.

This Year, 4 Toms Dead From 3 Diff People....And Not A One Was Called To...The Hens Would Leave Them Away. 1 For A Guy Called From Hens.

Also....A Trick To Try...If You Have An Old Fan...Or Use Your Decoy....Put In Front Of You. Crawl To The Turkeys With It In Front Of You.. Nothing To Lose.

ahankster

Turkey hunter,
I whole heartedly agree w/ the first part of your post. If a gobbler is henned up and you call, normally the first thing the hen will do is lead the boy away from your call, asap. Also, gobblers are greedy too. A hen in sight or in direct contact has all his attention. Getting him to leave her w/ calls is almost impossible. When you do get a gobbler to leave hens, it is usually because he is not a dominant bird, there may also be a dominant bird in the neighborhood as well.

Where I work we have some resident turkeys, at lunch you can drive a mile down the road and learn by watching them in the stables and pastures and test your best calls. They are there almost every day. Wild birds, but urbanized. I have seen gobblers off 150 yards or so that were called to and strutting your way get intercepted by a hen and then she lead him off. They behave just like people.

"Decoys...Turkeys Arent As Stupid As A Guy Thinks. The Can Tell The Diffrence...The Dumb Ones Get Shot..The Rest Dont." I agree w/ you to a point. Early in the season when they are henned up, you will probably only see 2 yr old birds, the older birds are more wary of a setup. Later in the season as the hens become less available, the decoys become more and more effective. The boys got so skittish where I hunt this year due to all the calling and pressure, it became a decoys game. If you didn't have any, you didn't kill any. BTW, turkeys here in Miss must have a 6 inch beard to be leagal. The last two I killed were both killed off decoys. The first one I killed, w/ an 11 inch beard was headed off. For some reason the gobblers just were hard to get to cooperate in a traditional manner down here in Miss. I know guys that get a limit every year that only ended up w/ one bird this year because of their behavior. Most of them swore off decoys too. They had 91/2 and 10 inch beards. The Jakes came right up to the decoys, the bigger ones were very wary, but the decoys got them close enuff.

Every place and every gobbler is different. keep trying till you find the right combo for that bird.
r
Hank