MIDDAY/AFTERNOON

[wcgobbler]

I am in south MS and have always huntly mostly in the mornings.  But, I have a couple of gobblers that I can do nothing with early in the a.m.  I need the best advice for Saturday & Sunday late morning & afternoon hunting.  What kind of calling works best for you?  These two turkeys will not even answer me in the mornings from the roost or after they fly down.  Help!  I'm leaving work in 4 hours to give them a try.

[TurkeyTom]

Here in New York State we have to stop hunting at noon.  I hate it!

But what I have done is sit in the woods where I know they like to roost and listen and watch as they come in and fly up.

One time I had a big Tom that I couldn't get no matter what I did. I went to his roost area and watched him fly off the ridge and disappear into his roost. After about ten minutes I decided to lay out a couple of soft yelps and don't you know it..... he flew down and strutted right back up that ridge.

He still gobbled in the morning, shut up when he hit the ground and I assume he went the opposite direction. I never saw him again and gave up on him after getting beat for three straight seasons.

To this day, I refuse to hunt that ridge. Good luck!   

[wvcurlytop]

Go to the area where they've been roosting and get a comfortable seat and wait!  Call very little, maybe a cluck or purr once in a while.  Scratch around in the leaves like a feeding hen, and stay alert!  Sounds like to me you're dealing with the kind of gobblers that will sneak in un-announced, so look alive and stay awake if you want to kill them.  The reason I wouldn't call much is it sounds like maybe you've already pounded them some with calls, and no luck with that, so I'd lean towards the cautious approach and not call or very little.  Just my opinion.  Good luck!!

[renegade19]

Have to stop at 1pm here in Illinois but I've had good success with late morning and early afternoon birds.  Seems like they're often more receptive to calls after they've taken care of the hens with them or those hens have went to set on the nest.  If you know the vicinity they're in, I'm betting with the right calls you can get an answer from a bird and get one to work.  Good Luck!

[Gobblehead30]

I have done real well in the afternoon.  The only bird I have so far this year came running at 12:30. I hunt with a guy  that always tell me to be at his house at 9am.  I laugh but I have no worries!