Noon hunting

[High plains drifter]

How do you hunt in the middle of the day, when you hear no gobbling, and see no birds, but you know there are birds on the farm?

[Cottonmouth]

I got my 2nd bird Saturday at 12:15. I just ease around and set up and call every 100 yds or so. I usually do some light calling when I set up, then if I dont get a response I'll do some loud yelping on my slate before I move.

[catman529]

Call and if no answer wait at least 30min before you move in case one comes in quiet. Otherwise you're trying to strike a bird by getting one to gobble or hearing one start free gobbling. Usually mid day is pretty quiet, but when one does start gobbling, he usually wants to die


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[RiverRoost]

I killed my first bird of the season a week ago Sunday afternoon at just after 4. I suspected birds in this area so I just went in around 3 and set up with no decoy in open woods and called every 20 minutes or so. That's typically how I go about acternoon hunts. Mid morning to around 1 or so I will typically cover ground slowly walking down roads and stop and soft yelp just in case anything is close and don't blow him out, then if nothing I will cut and yelp and see if I strike anything farther out.

[Bowguy]

I'd move n try locators or cutting at em. It very often works. Like catman said if you get one answering than its on. They do come in quiet too so I can see the sitting n waiting but that's not my style

[GobbleNut]

The first thing you need to do is evaluate the place/property you are hunting.  If you are hunting a small property, you are almost always better off using the "sit and wait" approach.  That is, use your knowledge of the property to determine where the likely "funnel points",...those places that turkeys are most likely to move through, or to, during the day,...and set up in those spots for extended periods of time. 

If you are hunting a large area, you can also use that "sit and wait" approach,...but you may be better off using a more mobile tactic,...that is, moving through the area carefully, calling as you go, and hoping to find a bird that will respond to your calling. Many of us refer to that tactic as "run and gun", but that is a poor descriptive term for what you should be doing (somebody cleverly coined that term mainly because it rhymes, I think). 

The "move and call" tactic (a better term for "run and gun"),...again, in the appropriate area,...has a couple of advantages.  First, it gives you the opportunity to learn the country you are hunting.  It also gives you a chance to eventually get within earshot of a gobbler that might be perfectly willing to come to your calling, but would otherwise never hear you if you were parked in one spot "sitting and waiting". 

There are a number of other factors that should help you decide what tactics to use,...whether you are hunting private land or public land, hunter densities, turkey densities in the area, and time of the season are just a few. 

[turkeyfoot]

This really depends on species and time of the season as well as how much land you have to hunt. If you have plenty land and its Rio or Merriam I'm on the move and trying real hard to strike a gobble from daylight till dark have worked these birds and had em hot any hour of day knowing your season helps everywhere does have a lull to some extent if your in it that would be only time I'd slow it down and maybe looking for one to come in silent. Now with smaller properties, you can do more damage than good by running round. With easterns I take the move sit and call wait some more move sit and call wait some more approach they are tougher to get to work even if get gobble lot times its just a cutesy gobble they do tend to be more likely to com in silent but I have on occasion get them fired up but its usually early or real late season

[High plains drifter]

Thanks for the info, I sure appreciate it, I'm usually finished by 10 o'clock at the latest. In Montana, we have Open Country, deep Cuts, Canyons cropland, Hardwoods you name it, we have it I'm sort of leery about moving around in the middle of the day because these turkeys can see so well. Usually I hear no gobbling, orsino turkeys after 9 a.m. or so. I have a few forms where I hunt in eastern Montana where I've gotten to really know that these Farms well and and I know where they Roost and I know where they like to feed and I know some good funnel points, but I don't want to Spook the birds and ruined my chances of getting one early in the morning, and I've taken two really really good Burns off of this Farm. Another area I like to hunt has Rolling Hills and some deep cuts and and if you you don't want to silhouette yourself it in this country because these birds are spooky and you won't see him again if you get out in the open so it's challenging. I think with the birds do in eastern Montana, is they go to a real shady place where there's water and they just chill for the whole afternoon probably until about 6 o'clock in the evening.

[Marc]

 I really like GobbleNut's  reply.

Small property, and no gobbling, I will probably sit in an area of high traffic, or better yet a strutting zone.  Most of my calling will be low and stuff, such as quiet clucks and purrs and contented yelps; maybe once in a while a bit of high end yelping to grab a birds attention from some distance off.

On a larger property, I am more likely to move around a bit and see if I can drum up a gobble. I have actually found that a gobble call is useful in these situations.   After trying to drum up a gobble with some hen calling, I will hit the gobble call.

They do not necessarily respond directly to the gobble call, but I do believe that it somewhat fires up other times in the area.

Think back to those times when we have had quiet mornings in the woods, and finally some bird in the distance fires off with a gobble, and all the sudden two or three other birds nearby start to gobble.

Even on a large property though, if I am not getting any responses, I will sit in a likely area and do some low in calling for some period of time.

[TRG3]

I'm fortunate in that I've been hunting the farms in my area for several years, so I know the fields where turkeys tend to prefer for breeding purposes. If the morning has not proven to be successful, I may head to one of these afore mentioned fields and set up a hen in the breeding position with a gobbler decoy just behind her. I will spread out a few hen yelps several times and then in about 5-10 minutes follow up with my Primos gobble tube, giving the impression that a gobbler has found the willing late morning hen. For gobblers within hearing distance, this (1) gives the impression that there's a hen seeking breeding and (2) that an unknown gobbler has already responded to the hen and will do the breeding unless real gobblers in the area rush in to keep him from doing so. I've found this set up to work well in late morning or late season calling when the gobblers are still looking for hens but the receptive ones are few and far between. Best of luck!

[g8rvet]

I hunt two small private tracts.  I sit and wait in the afternoon there.  I have hunted one for so many years, I know where my best option is to be. 

Later in the morning on public, I let conditions dictate my actions.  If it is really hot, I move into the swamp bottoms and sit for about 30 minutes and call.  If no response I move on and continue until quitting time.  If it is a nice day, I use the move and call method. 

I have definitely had more luck with the sit and wait, but it is frustrating and I have to be in the right mood to do it.  Walking is more fun.  When you strike one, it is not unusual to have them come in fast, so always be ready with a place to sit when you call.   Like real fast.  Has cost me a bird before when I was not ready. 2 actually. 

[deerkiller78]

If it's late in the day, I set up close to a roosting spot, and give a couple calls. Have killed 3 birds doing this

[High plains drifter]

I hunt two small private tracts.  I sit and wait in the afternoon there.  I have hunted one for so many years, I know where my best option is to be. 

Later in the morning on public, I let conditions dictate my actions.  If it is really hot, I move into the swamp bottoms and sit for about 30 minutes and call.  If no response I move on and continue until quitting time.  If it is a nice day, I use the move and call method. 

I have definitely had more luck with the sit and wait, but it is frustrating and I have to be in the right mood to do it.  Walking is more fun.  When you strike one, it is not unusual to have them come in fast, so always be ready with a place to sit when you call.   Like real fast.  Has cost me a bird before when I was not ready. 2 actually.

moving around a lot is sort of risky, but sitting for hours is boring, and walking is way more fun.I think these real patient guys, get more birds.When it gets mid day, and hot, the go to swampy, shaded areas.These areas have a lot of ticks!!!I can't stand those sob's.They always go to water, on hot days, around noon, after they feed, and breed.