Top Turkey Tips

[John Maynard]

We lost a lot of our good turkey tips when we had the server crash. I took it upon myself to look on some other boards and gather together some of the tips on their sites. Thanks to Wild Turkey Zone and others.
Feel Free to keep adding to this post but add tips only, not any comments.
Thank you.

John Maynard

Patience.

Don't be afraid to be different. Give the turkeys a different sound.

I keep a set of calls (glass, slate, box and mouth), a change of camo, shells and a backup gun ( behind the seat). Everything fits in a small tool box (xcept the gun) and comes in handy if I forget any thing or one of my hunting partners forgets.

Glue the terminal cap of a 6 volt battery up in the nipple on the back of your deke. Then it will dance in the slightest breeze, and look much more realistic than a deke that stands statue still.

The one-word tip already given – patience – may be the single best technique/word of advise. After that I believe in: scouting to improve your odds; a good physical set-up blending yourself into nature as good as possible; the use of several different calls (mouth, slate, box, etc.) to determine what the Tom wants most; a comfortable seat and a rest against an appropriate tree.

Keep a close eye on the tree tops as you move into the woods in the early morning darkness. Look for that familiar silhouette. There is nothing more embarassing than setting up your dekes and settling into position, only to have a tom gobble from 20 feet straight above you, then fly of the other way.

It has been said before by many much better than me......but don't call too much. If he answers, he knows where you are. Use your calls to keep him excited, not to make him gobble just so you can hear him. Too much stimulation and he may lock up.....expecting the overly vocal hen to come to him.

When locating turkeys with a turkey call don't chase after the first gobble. The second response gobble means commitment. If he only gobbles once and does not respond again you could be wasting your time.

Learn the lay of the land! Scout your hunting area wenever you have the time to do so.
Learn how to scout for turkey sign like dusting areas and strut zones. Drag marks in theleaves will indiciate a strut zone in the woods.

Let the bird tell you what kind of calling he likes, and then give it to him. If he
responds well (gobbles and begins moving your way) to loud and aggressive calling, keep giving him the agressive stuff. If he likes it soft, keep it soft. Never change what your doing if it is working. Going from aggressive to soft or vice versa, on the same set up will hang a bird up almost every time.

If mornings are cold - glass and slate don't always sound their best. Keep slate warm by putting it next to your ski when walking into the woods. Also diaphragm users - on those cold mornings, warm up your cheeks and the call on drive to hunt, get loose, and ready to do battle.

While calling, if you make some notes you are not proud of, follow them up with a cluck. This kind of hides a bad squeek/yelp.

If a gobbler sounds off, be ready to cut him off, he gets just as excited as we do.

Before your setup is final, sit down where you plan on sitting. It never looks the way you think it will while you are putting out the deeks.

Expect an afternoon turkey to come into your calls with the sun at his back. He wants the visual advantage.

Pick a COMFORTABLE place to sit. There is nothing like sitting in pain while a gobbler struts his way in slowly and you cant move an inch. Also don't start working a bird until you are settled into a spot

Patience would be second to POSITION for me. Patients is of great value but if you aren't in a good position it won't matter. The best caller in the world can't be sucessful if he is in the wrong place. The worst caller that has ever set foot in the woods but has scouted out the area well before season and knows where the birds are and knows where to set up will bring home more birds.....if he knows when not to call.

Remember you don't have to be a world class turkey caller. Some of the worst callers I've heard, were live hens calling to the old boss tom.

Don't be afraid to leave a gobbling bird. If he's gobbling but not working your way, he probably has company. Slip away from him and try to strike another bird somewhere else. You can always return to the spot you left him at. Give him a couple hours or so and ease back into the area, he won't be far from where you left him but he may be alone by then.

FULLY IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET!! ALWAYS THINK SAFETY FIRST!!!!

Find a tupperware dish & lid that fits your slate calls and glass calls. Then prepare your calls (scratch pad, glass condition, sandpaper aluminum) for the hunt and put them in the tupperware. Then when you need em, you don't have to look for your call conditioning equip, just open and call! They also keep wood pot calls from absorbing moisture in foul weather.

Keep your calling soft and low when the birds begin to get close.

Don't be afraid to make a bold move to get into position to kill a gobber. Turkeys make noise walking in the woods, don't be afraid to make a little noise in moving. Sometimes that stimulates the bird into coming in. Sometimes your moving makes him think the hen is closer and gets him looking closer.

HANG IN THERE TIME WISE. If you have to be done hunting at noon, don't give up at 11:30, it can all happen in 10 minutes, so keep plugging and giving it your all!

If its raining hard when you get up, go anyway, if it lets up or quits, thats the time to be there, the birds are usually very active and willing then.

Hard to beat a good turkey hunting vest to carry all your goodies in!!
Never be afraid to call to a bird across water. If you can cross it then do so. If you can't what do have to lose. One of my best birds flew across ariver to me.

PATTERN YOURE GUN EVERY YEAR EVEN IF YOU BEEN USING THE SAME
ONE FOR EVER.

DONT GET SKYLINED GOING TO A ROOSTED BIRD. HERE IN EAST KY. I FIND
THAT A LOT OF BIRDS ROOST JUST UNDER THE TOP ON THE RIDGE. I HAVE
BOGGERED A LOT OF BIRDS BY GETTING SKYLINED. COME TO THINK OF IT
IVE BOGGERED A LOT OF BIRDS IN A LOT OF WAYS.

When your Dad says, "Don't move"..............Listen to him!!

Go pee before you get all set up, you may not get a chance later.

If it is raining, look for a low grass field, they will go to it every time in a good rain.

The Spit-n-drum sound will give away a strutting tom that is not gobbling every time.

If you hunt with dekes don't place them to far from your set-up. Some toms will stop 30 or 40 yards from them and and go into strut and wait on them to come the rest of the way. Once the dekes don't go to them they will loose interest and leave. When I use dekes I set them 10-15 yards from my set-up.

FACE YOUR DECOY AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION OF THE TURKEYS
ANTICIPATED APPROACH (FACING YOU). WHEN HE CANT GET THE DECOYS
ATTENTION HE'LL WORK AROUND TO THE FRONT OF IT GIVING YOU A
GOOD SHOT.

When hunting with another person I always move 50-75 yards back from the shooter. I like to call from the set up then if the bird acts like he is going to committ thats when I sneak a few yards back and call again, this makes him think he is losing his hen. This will drive a tom crazy. Works on a bird that wants the hens to do all the walking.

If there are multiple birds coming to your setup, don't move after the shot to retrieve a downed bird until all the other birds have left the area on their own. This helps to keep from educating them anymore that they already are.

Set up in the shade if at all possible.

Scout more, call less.

A lot of hunters never scout. Come hunting season they walk thru the woods banging on a call, and rely upon hearing a gobbler reply. And if they can kill a bird this way and enjoy themselves doing it, fine. But, IMO, its more rewarding to match wits with 'olTom. And have my scouting, planning, and prep's pay off.

When choosing your setup spot, do your best to get in the shade.The sun will magnify any movement greatly. Another tip is on calling. If you get a turkey to answer you, even one fairly close, get up and move toward his location and then go silent on him. He will often come part of the way to you without much delay, so be ready.

When you have permission to hunt on private property be sure to be good stewards of the land that has been entrusted to you. Be good ambassadors for our sport and leave it better than you found it.

1) LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DOING THIS LONGER THAN YOU
HAVE.
2) TAKE WHAT YOU SEE ON HUNTING VIDEOS AND TV WITH A GRAIN OF
SALT BUT ALSO PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY HUNT YOU WATCH ON TV OR
READ ABOUT AND FILE IT IN YOUR BRAIN. IT MAY HELP YOU SOMEDAY.
3) THE ABSOLUTE BEST WAY TO LEARN IS TO ASK QUESTIONS AND GET
YOUR OWN EXPERIANCE IN THE WOODS.

[John E. Petersen]

what a fantastic collection of tips and Knowledge John, people have written hole books on turkey hunting, and have not covered as much as you have right there in one post, very nice !!!

[wgatlin]

Thats a great post, very helpful!

[Hammer]

I've learned this one this year.

If you are working a bird that gets spooked by a coyote, he will more than likely fly up in a tree. He might stay in that tree 30 minutes to an hour before flying back down. Be patient, and you might be able to work him again after he flies down.

[John Maynard]

Scouting

Without a doubt, the sole reason for my success that very first day of my turkey hunting career was scouting. In a turkey hunters bag of tricks, scouting is the best trick, bar none .Each spring I spend several weeks looking for and watching turkey. Miles are put down looking at tracks, determining travel areas, strut zones, feeding and loafing areas. My thoroughness usually determines how many times I can share the gift of turkey hunting with a new hunter or old seasoned turkey hunting friend.

Understanding why a turkey picks a certain area over the other to spend his spring is the key to staying on birds throughout the season. Staying with the birds throughout the season is a sure way to increase the opportunity to take a tom or bring a tom to the gun for a shakey hunter. Turkeys have survival needs and these needs change several times during the year. Some needs are consistant, roosting sites, feeding areas, water, and predator safe terrain, however, how these needs relate to one and other and their priority level is subject to the seasons. Likewise the locations of these needs are subject to change dramatically, sometimes overnight.

Annual range shifts


One of the most common misconceptions I run into year after year is the thought that wild turkeys live year round in the same areas. Not true! I cannot count the amount of times I have heard a hunter say, “during deer season I saw birds every day, and lot’s of them, flocks of 30-50 birds at a time, we ought to have a ton of birds to hunt this spring”. My interest usually slackens immensely at that point. A fall turkey and spring turkey are just two entirely different animals when it comes to habitat needs and wants. This holds especially true in areas with a wide variety of land features such as swamps, river and creek bottoms, ridges, rotated agriculture fields, and annually changing mast drop locations.

Throughout the winter two major differences occur that make spring ranges and wintering ranges shift. Flock up, or the habit turkeys have of grouping in large numbers, occurs late summer into the early fall. Hens and their offspring congregate on sheltered roosts near the most ample food sources. In North America this generally means turkeys will be assosciating heavily to the falls mast crop .Energy stores have to be maintained and traveling long distances daily is out if a young turkey is to conserve and grow. Region can dictate the prime fall areas, agriculture, mast, and even orientation to the suns warm morning rays all influence the congregation areas.

In the heavily populated northern states where fall can be early and winter quick to cover the ground with snow, warm southern facing hardwood slopes are popular fall range areas. Add a good mast drop on the roosting ridge, with an agricultural field bordering a creek below filled with last years leftover corn crop and it is nearly a sure bet that fall flocks will be there in mass. However come spring, you may be lucky to see a dozen birds there once or twice a week if any at all. Why the changes?

The answer lies with the hen. As springtime approaches a hen considers several new needs. Nesting becomes priority, winter is losing its grip, new food sources are becoming available, while at the same time old food sources are heavily diminished from an entire winter of utilization. As the length of daylight increases, and the day’s warm, hens begin to seek out preferred nesting areas within their range.

Nesting areas generally combine several needs in close proximity .Looking back at the main needs turkeys have (roosting sites, feeding areas, water, loafing areas, and predator safe terrain.) and adding the newest needs of nesting , substantial acreage can be eliminated quickly. Hens will spend the majority of spring traveling short distances each day. Simply put if a hen is going to raise a woodlot full of young turkeys, she will have to be close to home to have rearing success. Micro habitats , where all these needs mesh together in a small acreage make for the best nesting sites and draw the hens. Make no mistake about it, nature may dictate that a tom turkey calls the hen to him, but tom knows where the hens are to begin with! Gobblers follow the the hens to their spring nesting areas, not the other way around.
John Coit

[deerbuster]

a question regarding scouting. the area i plan on hunting this spring is a relatively large track (3700acres) of hardwoods and rough fields with about 150 acres of food plots(mainly milo and clover) i do alot of my deer hunting there and have spotted many turkey while hunting for them. problem is locating them during spring time. i am going to try and scout for them this year but would like to know when the best time to begin this. i have always used locating calls during season with marginal success. but never have i seen the number of birds in spring as i do in fall.

[John Maynard]

A couple of things...
First of all the birds may be "wintering" on your property but using adjoing other property in the spring for courting. Although with all your land, I am guessing they are somewhere on it.
First of all, spring scouting is kind of a rushing thing because you don't have a lot of good time to actually see birds before the season opens. You don't want to scout too early before the season because the birds may be on a migration pattrn and where you see them one day you may not see them the next. So you want to do the bulk of your scouting as close to the opener as possible. But if the birds have broken up into mating flocks (not all hens toms) then they will probably stay in the general area. I would be out EVERY morning and late afternoon beginning a week or so before the season opens looking and listening. If there is also a good rain that's a good time to scout because the birds will generally head for the open fields during a rain.
I would key in on open fields with shorter grass. Birds don't like to move through high wet grass on spring mornings. They will ALWAYS choose an area with short grass or a open forest floor for strutting and move into the deeper grass later in the day when it dries up.
Secondly, I would key in on any old logging trails or roads in your area. The birds love to strut and walk these roads.
Lastly, I would look at any more open areas in the woods. You can usually see marks in the leaves where they draw their wings to locate a strut zone and you can also see leaves scratched up as they search for acorns in oak areas. The scratches will be in a "V" shape usually with the tip of the "V" pointing in the direction the birds are moving.
Hunt 'em hard for a week before the season oipens but NEVER CALL to them. Just follow them and see where they go to strut, dust, and loaf. Use the same techniques as in the hunt by listening for gobbles in the early morning and try to set up where you can see their travel movements. But don't let them catch sight of you.

[deerbuster]

thank you. i was hoping to pick your brain for a little bit of knowledge. scouting was one thing i didn't do for turkey but always for deer. i will definatly use this and let you know come april. but one other thing, logging roads are pretty much obsolete, this is public land and alot of hunters set-up on them. there are alot of creek bottoms and i have bumped a few of them out of trees down there, would these be good to look for roosting areas? again this was in the fall when water levels were at a minimum.

[John Maynard]

It's hard to give advice not seeing the area but generally creek bottoms are pretty thick and turkeys do not like to travel where they cannot see any distance. That's why you never want to set up and hunt them with a lot of brushy area between you and the bird. But that's a generality. I remember one time hunting some swamp county in NC where the birds were moving and it was so thick you could hardly see at all.

[BuckSLayer9911]

Very Good Tips,John! ill b useing these in the woods next season!

[bj91770]

im pretty new to hunting alround.i have yet to kill a turkey or deer.i just last week found out my father inlaw had 11 acres in Henry co while hunting deer yesterday i seen alote of turkeys scampering in the woods not in bow range but i can fix that i got my archery turkey tag today just wondering were do you shoot them at i no with shootgun you ame for the head but i dont think im that good of a shoot with a bow ant help would be aprechated

[John Maynard]

There are various aiming points. Some aim for the head and it's either a clean, quick kill or a total miss. There is a head called a "Gobbler Gullitoine" which is a very w-i-d-e head which slices off the neck if you come close. Some people love 'em but I've never been a fan of them because they are pretty delicate and if any thing is between you and the bird it will hit it and send the arrow cartwheeling. And it's very hard to change blades in the field and they must be absolutely sharp.
The next best aiming point is stright up the "poop hole" as they are facing away from you. That takes out all the vitals and drops 'em quick. My favorite shot because you can draw when the bird is facing away from you without being seen as easily.
Another fairly good shot is at the hip joint of the bird because it breaks the hips and they can't run making recovery easier.
Lastly is at the joint of the wing to the body but this is hard to see exactly where to aim.
Lastly, just a reminder that turkeys have the greatest eyesight of any game you will hunt. Their ability to pick up movement from getting a bow in position is uncanny. If you plan to hunt them with a bow it's far easier to do it out of a blind. But remember that most mechanical broadheads cannot be shot through the window netting on a blind.

[bj91770]

good deal thanks for the quick and infomative responce.just 2 more questions can those shots be made from a tree stand would be nice to still hunt the deer at same time and are mech brodheads better to use for turkeys if so ill go buy some

[John Maynard]

Tough to make most of those shots from a tree stand except for the head shot. I think I would try to spine one in that case.
Actually any broadhead will kill a turkey but drawing on them from a tree stand is just as hard as on the ground. Believe me, I know! :)
Some people like the mechanicals because many of them have wider blades, thereby giving you a slightly higher chance of getting in the kill area and doing more damage. Bt that in turns means you need more kenetic energy to send that wider blade through a deer. So it's a trade-off.
I would just stick with the broadhead you are presently using and familiar with.

[bj91770]

thanks for the info i will give it a go from the ground

[buckmaster819]

do you use a diaphram call? if you don;t you should use one. or plant a food plot for the turkey's.

[Dan Jackson]

Hey guys with Turkey Season in full swing if you have a tip or two to share post it here!