Afternoon hunts

[leaf shaker]

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just saying (not sure how you feel about it) you could bring a reaping decoy. if they beat you to your spot you can always crawl 

[RiverRoost]

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I’ve killed them in the afternoons as well. I find a good spot to sit where I see sign or have seen birds and wait. I’ll soft call, short Yelp every so often. Sometimes after it’s been a while that I’ve been there or called I’ll do some soft yelps and pickup the volume just a little and then throw in a quick set of cuts JUST to see if something has heard me and off in the somewhere distance and try to get him to announce he’s there. The cuts are super loud and long or super aggressive. Then just before I get ready to get up I will do the same, soft call and throw in a quick cut along the way to see the same thing so I hopefully don’t stand up and bust one that hasn’t gobbled yet coming in. It’s slower paced in the afternoon but it’ll scare the crap out of you when one slips in on you and hammers down on a gobble and that is what keeps me on the edge of my seat the whole time afternoon hunting, because he can come in unannounced at any moment.

[FL-Boss]

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It just depends on the type of country you hunt.  75% of the turkeys I have killed in my life have been after 3pm.

[Spitten and drummen]

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Afternoon hunting is awesome if you want to kill birds. I hunt woods , no fields. They are not as vocal but if you get one gobbling in the afternoon , chances are you can kill him. Alot of birds come in without making a peep. When you get one answering you in the afternoon , it can get your heart rate up just like a morning hunt.

[Gobbler428]

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If he gobbles after eleven, he is going to heaven.

[GobbleNut]

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If he gobbles after eleven, he is going to heaven.

Good theory.  My personal experience is a bit different, though.  I hunt primarily Merriam's turkeys, which are admittedly notoriously more inclined to gobble when prompted.  Here's my theory on the birds around here.

If he gobbles once, he may just be giving you a "courtesy" gobble.  You can pull those gobbles out of a bird with some regularity, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of whether he is going for a ride in the truck later. There are lots of gobblers around here that will give you that single "I am letting you know I am over here" gobble,...and quite often, that will be the last time you hear from them.

Now, if you can get him to gobble a second time, your odds have definitely gone up, but nothing is conclusive yet. But that does give you a clue that he is at least interested in having a conversation with you.  However, if he is closer on that second gobble, things are a bit more promising for a face-to-face discussion.  ...But not always.

For me, it is that third gobble that is usually the clincher.  If he gobbles three or more times,...and in addition is closing the gap,...I am mentally cooking up turkey nuggets at that point.  He is likely to be having his snood flopping in the dirt in short order. 

Of course, there are variations on the theme above, but it is consistent enough that I have confidence in starting to heat up the cooking oil after that third gobble!   

[Turkeytider]

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The old saying, " If you can get an afternoon bird to gobble, get ready because he`s coming " is very accurate, and for sound biological reasons. In the Spring, by the late morning and certainly by the afternoon, the hens have dumped the toms. That doesn`t mean by any means that he`s no longer interested, even though they don`t tend to gobble as much in the PM. That`s also why so many come in silent and why you have to stay alert. That required alertness, patience, and the ability and necessity to spend more time in one set up is what turns a lot of folks away from afternoon hunting IMO. Me? I love the woods in the afternoon!