I keep a log book for my deer and Turkey harvests, mostly recording the weather conditions on a particular day. The weather conditions that have produced the best Gobbler activity for me are as follows: (New Jersey, New York)
Very little or no wind
High humidity
40-65 degrees: (day break temp 35 or higher)
Overcast
These conditions have definitely yielded the best gobbling activity and successful hunts for me over the years. Wanted to get others experience on this.....
I've not kept any records but I have the experience to say high pressure and no wind.
I agree with Gooserbat. I like it when its 60 degrees at 1000, day starting around 42ish and warming up slowly. Z
I don't keep a log of anything, probably should as that sounds like it could be very useful information to have. Yet with me pretty much being limited to hunting weekends in all honesty I would not use it and hunt any chance I had. I do know with weather patterns holding the birds in my area seems like they will gobble there heads off on Saturday and Sunday morning they must be so horse they don't make a peep. Does not seem to be any real rhyme or reason to weather they are going to be spunky when the sun breaks the tree tops or not. I also know if it is raining it is going to be deer hunts cause they aren't going to make a sound.
Always windy where I live. I do have the best luck when the wind lays, but it certainly doesn't discourage the gobblers here. I really like hitting the woods right after the rain stops and sneaking along field edges. if its not blue skies.... give me some drizzle.
I like a blue bird sky with no clouds, cool crisp temp maybe in mid 40s, no wind, and high pressure. Seems best in MS for gobbling. Most important to me is cloud cover. On warm, humid cloudy days where the sun never really has a distinct rise is worst from my experience.
Field turkeys I like a drizzling rain. Raining day on a field turkey usually ends with a kill. Woods turkeys I prefer cool, crisp, low wind mornings.
Other than trying to avoid windy days like the plague, as well as staying out of the rain and snow, I have given up on trying to find any association between the weather and turkeys gobbling. There are probably some atmospheric conditions at work that influence how willing they are to gobble, but I really don't delve into the science that much.
As hunter85 stated, I have pretty consistently seen consecutive days of what appeared to be identical conditions in which one day the gobblers went crazy and the other they were shut down. Go figure...
I just pretty much watch the weather report, try to avoid the windy/rainy/snowy days as much as possible (if I have that option), and then go huntin',...and hope for the best... ;D
I'd have to say, I've heard the most gobbling activity on cooler overcast days. The biggest gobbler I ever killed tho was on a crisp clear morning with the temp around 28 degrees. I've killed them in every type of weather but one and that's severe fog. I'm in the mountains...so when I say fog I mean can't see your hand in front of your face fog. I used to say turkeys don't gobble in the fog because in my 30 years of turkey hunting I'd never heard one gobble in the fog...until last year. Almost called him in. But it wasn't as thick of a fog that day.
So if I'm going to avoid a day...it's a foggy day. I hate the wind too but they will gobble in the wind, just may not be able to hear them.
Most places high pressure chilly mornings, suns out guns out! However in New mexico the sun is basically always out so something else is at play there.
So many old pics of turkeys are blue bird days! I really like the first couple nice days after a few crappy days, one spring a few years back in Missouri I was at my friends camp and nothing was going on for 3 days with some horrible weather, the next morning breaks clear and cool, boom, 3 guys in camp 3 birds down.
I think weather plays a part in gobbler activity, high pressure, 60 degree days and sunny skies with very little wind. I know it sure does improve my attitude if the weather is this way and mood. But i have to say i have seen them gobble in bad weather, rain, snow, wind and cloudy days. Gobbling is a way for the birds to communicate. I think if there are less hens in the area, he is going to gobble less and the age of the gobbler affects his gobbling. So again i think weather plays a part and i think gobbling is also a part of saying hey other gobblers this is my territory in his way of keeping his hens or pulling other hens to his area. Just like rendezvous of all flocks coming together and getting to witness seeing a breakup of all the gobblers and hens. if you notice all of these gobblers and hens go in a different direction to establish territory, in hopes of matting and survival. Weather, territory, communications, matting and survival all play a part in my opinion. With it all affecting gobbling activity daily / yearly ...
I'll take high pressure, crisp and cool for gobbling activity.
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A nice fire, a glass of wine, and no kids at home works best for me.
heaviest gobbler I ever killed was in about 4"s of snow and still coming. he didn't shut up until I pulled the trigger.
longest beard I ever killed was a cool day with 40mph wind gust. every time the wind would calm I heard him gobble. shot him at 25yds and, he had 2 other longbeards with him.
I've told my hunting buddy many times...the animals don't have the convivence of a nice indoor shanny when it's bad outside. hunt'em whenever you have the chance.
oh yeah' the biggest bucks we get on camera is always during a bad weather day.
Quote from: Happy on February 06, 2023, 11:18:49 AM
A nice fire, a glass of wine, and no kids at home works best for me.
Your comment is the winner, same here haha
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Interesting answers, love to hear these different conditions of success.
Clear / hi pressure / hi dew days
Man I love a foggy morning, he can't see!
Imo without a doubt the best scenario regarding weather is right after it thunders all night and stops near daylight. Every bird in the woods gobbles it seems and you often get numerous chances as they're often pretty responsive. I've never kept records either, just not my style but this is an obvious observation
I have not been at it as long or able to be at it as long may be a better way to put it but I have seemed to notice foggy mornings really seem to get them fired up after the fog has lifted.
40"s, no wind, little rain, fog, thunderstorm, snow.... get the point? I've shot them in all weather. I can't say one time is better than others. If it's a crappy day, I get a chance to walk and learn. For the sake of this post, I'll say cool, clear and no wind. Seems like they gobble more on roost. Just being in the woods is therapeutic. 2 more months before I get to see my Therapist:)
Most of the time hunting in Dixie, I have found that cool, crisp mornings with little to no wind are usually great for gobbling activity. Although there are some mornings like that when you hear little to no gobbling and are left scratching your head.
When I've hunted out west it has normally been windy, and those birds gobble good regardless. Then again, these are Merriams and Rios that love to hear themselves talk.
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Quote from: Bowguy on February 06, 2023, 11:09:16 PM
Imo without a doubt the best scenario regarding weather is right after it thunders all night and stops near daylight. Every bird in the woods gobbles it seems and you often get numerous chances as they're often pretty responsive. I've never kept records either, just not my style but this is an obvious observation
I have a good buddy that says the exact same thing. The morning following bad thunderstorms is dynamite. I have not had the scenario play out enough to see a pattern.
Like others said, clear cold mornings with high pressure seem to be the best. But also as mentioned, you can have the same conditions another day and have very little gobbling.
I always say. It seems like more days than not in the last 5 years or so, turkeys do very little gobbling and seem to be less receptive to calling. But if you are there on the right day, get ready.
I've been at this for over 40 seasons, and I still can't get figure out how gobblers respond to weather.
I had an online buddy once say that the ideal condition was increasing temps and decreasing dewpoint. However, if you look for those conditions, they almost never happen.
I've taken gobs when it was bone dry. I've taken gobs with a hint of rain in the air. I've taken them before and after a thunderstorm. I've taken them after snow and after rain.
Where I am now, in NE Kentucky, I generally look for 3 days of highs above 70 to really set them off. However, I've shot them below 45F.
If it's cold and sunny, I will expect to see them more on the east and south-facing pastures, sunning themselves.
If it's drizzling, I'll expect to eventually see them walking across the field, feeding on worms.
If it's windy in the aftertoon, I go to one of my listening posts and throw loud yelps with a box call. It might take hours for a gob to come in, but sometimes they do.
Looking at my log, I can tell you the average temp I shoot them at is 56 F. However, that's more about what the morning temps are the first couple weeks of season are more than anything else. The range is 40F to 70F. I've shot almost all of them on rising dewpoints and rising barometer. However, there are exceptions to both.
Best gobbling here in N Florida TENDS to be the day after a front comes through as long as it is not super windy.
Fog is my least favorite because I should just sleep in and not even head out until the fog has lifted, I just can't make myself do that.
Drizzling rain is tops for open areas or fields. I have sat a field edge in the rain and heard nothing until all of a sudden he starts hammering as he arrives at the field. Checking fields from a distance through brush is the main reason I have my binocs.
More times than not, I put my hands on a wet bird.
Turkeys act a little different in different areas/regions.
I hunt one area that is at 2800' and another area that is at 500'. On a early spring day at 2800' they will gobble good at 32 degrees, at 500' those boys have lock beak.
I do not like high humidity days at all in my area. But I did have a day 30 years ago when a bird was on fire but the girl run him off swatting the incredible amount of black nats that morning.
I do keep a log and have kept it for 7-8 years. In my area, humidity not good, cool, crisp, warming is awesome for gobbling action.
TMI. Keep a log.