I'm a deer hunter who saw some turkey on the new lease and wants to try spring turkey hunting for the first time. Can someone explain to me the phases and timing of the turkey "rut" If there is one?
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Gobbling activities peak. Tom's become solitary and basically act like whitetails during the rut.
Comparing turkey hunting to deer hunting is like the old cliche of comparing apples to oranges. Spring turkey hunting, in it's truest form, is fundamentally about using turkey sounds to try to lure a gobbler close enough to shoot. Since the spring season in most all states is set up to coincide with the breeding season ("rut",.. if you will), you will be hunting the "rut" most all season long. True, there are periods during any state's spring season when gobblers will be more susceptible to being called-in than they are at other times, but your approach is pretty much always going to be about finding a gobbler than is willing to come to a call. That is the true essence of spring gobbler hunting.
(Many newer turkey hunters have been indoctrinated into believing that they need to use decoys, similar to waterfowl hunting, to successfully hunt spring gobblers. That is all well and good,...for those that wish to pursue the sport that way,...but the reliance on decoys is a relatively new phenomenon, and many of us "old-timers" that started hunting spring gobblers before the advent of decoy-use prefer the "old method" of using only our skills with a turkey call to try to fool a gobbler).
I suppose the point I am trying to make is for new hunters to understand that spring gobbler hunting is not like most other hunting, especially not deer hunting. There are many sources, and many experienced hunters here, that can lead you in the right direction. My personal advice is to learn to use a turkey call proficiently, learn how to locate gobblers and how to "set up" to call them, what calls to make and when, ....and get after 'em!
Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
I'm a deer hunter who saw some turkey on the new lease and wants to try spring turkey hunting for the first time. Can someone explain to me the phases and timing of the turkey "rut" If there is one?
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Welcome to the sport. You've had good advice already. You should however know that turkey hunting is an addiction for which there is of yet no know cure.
Thanks,
Clark
Welcome to the affliction. :fud:
Gman
So is turkey hunting also where you have sunrise and sunset hunts? Or is there another preferred time of day?
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Turkeys can be harvested at any time of the day.
Gman
Quote from: allaboutshooting on December 27, 2013, 10:56:58 AM
Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
I'm a deer hunter who saw some turkey on the new lease and wants to try spring turkey hunting for the first time. Can someone explain to me the phases and timing of the turkey "rut" If there is one?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
Welcome to the sport. You've had good advice already. You should however know that turkey hunting is an addiction for which there is of yet no know cure.
Thanks,
Clark
Clark buddy you are for sure speaking the TRUTH! I'm consumed with it and have from the first time my dad took me with him at 8 yrs old. To me its one of Gods true blessings!
God Bless
As a hunter of many types of game I'll try to explain from MY perspective...
The sight of a strutting tom makes my blood course faster thru my veins...
The echo of a gobble either makes my legs work like a racehorse or weak in the knees...depending on how close I think the bird is...
The low hum of the drum and spit causes my senses to come to peak awareness...
The sight and sound of a flopping bird brings my adrenaline to a boiling point...
After years and years of chasing animals of differing sizes and descriptions....NOTHING compares to the absolute thrill of hunting the springtime, "rut" crazed wild turkey!
If the good Lord told me he was taking me home...I might just have to ask for one more spring!
Quote from: GobbleNut on December 27, 2013, 10:28:22 AM
Comparing turkey hunting to deer hunting is like the old cliche of comparing apples to oranges. Spring turkey hunting, in it's truest form, is fundamentally about using turkey sounds to try to lure a gobbler close enough to shoot. Since the spring season in most all states is set up to coincide with the breeding season ("rut",.. if you will), you will be hunting the "rut" most all season long. True, there are periods during any state's spring season when gobblers will be more susceptible to being called-in than they are at other times, but your approach is pretty much always going to be about finding a gobbler than is willing to come to a call. That is the true essence of spring gobbler hunting.
(Many newer turkey hunters have been indoctrinated into believing that they need to use decoys, similar to waterfowl hunting, to successfully hunt spring gobblers. That is all well and good,...for those that wish to pursue the sport that way,...but the reliance on decoys is a relatively new phenomenon, and many of us "old-timers" that started hunting spring gobblers before the advent of decoy-use prefer the "old method" of using only our skills with a turkey call to try to fool a gobbler).
I suppose the point I am trying to make is for new hunters to understand that spring gobbler hunting is not like most other hunting, especially not deer hunting. There are many sources, and many experienced hunters here, that can lead you in the right direction. My personal advice is to learn to use a turkey call proficiently, learn how to locate gobblers and how to "set up" to call them, what calls to make and when, ....and get after 'em!
Excellent post!
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Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 11:05:10 AM
So is turkey hunting also where you have sunrise and sunset hunts? Or is there another preferred time of day?
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I start before the light and finish after fly up, unless I kill my daily limit before.
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It causes me to travel 8 hours in one direction every year just to hear one break the silence of the morning woods. I will hike ridges, wade rivers,crawl through mud, and walk out the sole of my boots for a chance to shoot one.
Quote from: VA_Birdhunter on December 27, 2013, 12:44:13 PM
Quote from: allaboutshooting on December 27, 2013, 10:56:58 AM
Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
I'm a deer hunter who saw some turkey on the new lease and wants to try spring turkey hunting for the first time. Can someone explain to me the phases and timing of the turkey "rut" If there is one?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
Welcome to the sport. You've had good advice already. You should however know that turkey hunting is an addiction for which there is of yet no know cure.
Thanks,
Clark
Clark buddy you are for sure speaking the TRUTH! I'm consumed with it and have from the first time my dad took me with him at 8 yrs old. To me its one of Gods true blessings!
God Bless
Even after all these years I start thinking about the next season as soon as the one I've been hunting is over. I agree with you about the blessing.
Thanks,
Clark
Quote from: allaboutshooting on December 27, 2013, 06:40:15 PM
Quote from: VA_Birdhunter on December 27, 2013, 12:44:13 PM
Quote from: allaboutshooting on December 27, 2013, 10:56:58 AM
Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
I'm a deer hunter who saw some turkey on the new lease and wants to try spring turkey hunting for the first time. Can someone explain to me the phases and timing of the turkey "rut" If there is one?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
Welcome to the sport. You've had good advice already. You should however know that turkey hunting is an addiction for which there is of yet no know cure.
Thanks,
Clark
Clark buddy you are for sure speaking the TRUTH! I'm consumed with it and have from the first time my dad took me with him at 8 yrs old. To me its one of Gods true blessings!
God Bless
Even after all these years I start thinking about the next season as soon as the one I've been hunting is over. I agree with you about the blessing.
Thanks,
Clark
No truer words have been spoken. The moment I shot my gobbler, I was elated and sad all at the same time because I knew it was over for me until next spring.
Quote from: allaboutshooting on December 27, 2013, 10:56:58 AM
Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 09:39:08 AM
I'm a deer hunter who saw some turkey on the new lease and wants to try spring turkey hunting for the first time. Can someone explain to me the phases and timing of the turkey "rut" If there is one?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1)
Welcome to the sport. You've had good advice already. You should however know that turkey hunting is an addiction for which there is of yet no know cure.
Thanks,
Clark
your notta kiddn
So if I want to add a decoy to the mix female or male decoy?
Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 08:54:02 PM
So if I want to add a decoy to the mix female or male decoy?
Col. Tom Kelly that wrote Tenth Legion gives some great advice on decoys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDL2J7XkCdc
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Quote from: Ghostware on December 27, 2013, 08:54:02 PM
So if I want to add a decoy to the mix female or male decoy?
It really depends on what you want to do and somewhat on how the turkey that you are hunting are acting. Sometimes, a full strut decoy will bring the tom in on a dead run looking for a fight. Other times they may shy away from it if they have been whipped up on in the past or they are not looking for confrontation. Hen decoys can be tricky sometimes too. Gobblers can often "hang up" out of gun range once they see the hen, since they are waiting for her to come to him. Hen decoys can anger real hens and if the real hens come in to investigate, they will likely bring the toms with them if they are together already. It is a tough task to pull a tom away from hens, decoys or not. My dad and I killed 3 birds this past year, one with a full strut decoy, one with just 2 hen decoys, and one without any decoys at all.
If you see a bird working your way, just let him come. You don't want to do something to cause him to go another direction if he is already coming in. It's great to hear him gobble up a storm, but one set of yelps or a few clucks and purrs is all he needs to know where you are. Sometimes, I like to get a bird fired up and then go silent on him for a few minutes. He may start gobbling like crazy trying to get you to answer back. After a few minutes I'll give him some more if he doesn't seem to be coming.
If you hear a hen calling, another tactic to try out is to mimic her. If she yelps 7 times, yelp back 7 or 8 times. If she cutts excitedly, cutt back at her. This past spring we had some great conversations with hens by doing this back and forth type of calling. It got the toms fired up as well.
All of the above will work some of the time, none of it will work all of the time. Just experiment and don't be afraid to try new things or to get aggressive and move on a gobbler if it sounds like he isn't coming. I have been hunting birds for 15 years and I'm sure some guys on here have been hunting them a lot longer than that, but I think we can all agree that we have all made mistakes in the turkey woods in the past and we will all make mistakes in the future. If there was a distinct blueprint for how to get it done, it would take all of the fun out of it. I hope you get have the experience this spring and hopefully you learn a few things. Good luck on taking your first gobbler.