Tips for hunting less than 20 acres

[Bobby5]

  I only own about 20 acres but the area is full of turkeys. I was wondering if you guys could give me some tips on hunting small properties. This is my first year getting serious about turkey hunting so i can use all the tips i can get calling, decoys etc.  I guess all i can do is just call and wait like deer hunting but figured this forum is the best place to get advice.
Thanks

[StruttinGobbler3]

Well, first thing would be what type of terrain is this twenty acres? Ag fields, pasture, timbered, mixture of both? Next thing to find out is if any birds are roosting on the place. A couple mornings spent listening at daylight from a good distance will tell you that. If they are, great. If they're on the other property, all is not lost. If you have plenty of sign that means turkeys are using your land at some point during the day. First things first- throw the run n gun tactic straight out the window. Don't even consider it. On a property that small, trying to cover ground would do nothing but bump birds left and right. Plus with twenty acres, you wouldn't be running long anyway. There's no point in it, you could stand on one corner of twenty acres and clearly hear any gobble on the place. So, that leaves two tactics here. One, if you can roost a bird, slip in an hour before daylight and SLOWLY ease in tight to the roost. You want to be at least 100 yards from it, 75 yards is great, 50 yards is awesome. That's if the terrain will allow it and you have some cover. If your initial daylight setup fails, wait long enough until you are confident the birds have left the area, and have an idea of the direction they went. Then carefully ease over to an area where sign is plentiful, and here is where your patience will be tested. You need to set up in good cover under some nice dark shade, try to blend into a background. Make a couple series of yelps, some clucks and contented purrs, maybe even a short cutt if you want. Put the call in your pocket and don't touch it for at least twenty minutes. Start off calling very softly; you never know when one has slipped in close to you, and you don't want to scream at him. If there are no answers, continue running a few series of calls every 20-30 minutes, starting soft and working up louder if there is no answer. Also, don't just run the same exact series every time, mix it up; make it realistic, not a broken record. Hens don't do that and it doesn't sound natural. Realism is your friend. Use a call you are well practiced with and confident in. Switch up calls if you like, try to sound like multiple hens. You can do this as long as your patience can stand it. It's not a thrilling way to hunt, but it will flat out kill turkeys if you have the patience. I know from experience. Try not to place much pressure on that small acreage, try to be as minimally invasive as possible. If you're on a field or open area, you can put out a couple decoys if you are inclined to. A half strut Jake and a breeding hen are a good pair in early season to challenge the pecking order. 9 times out of 10 the bird is going to slip in silent on you, don't get caught with your pants down. Stay vigilant and keep still. I highly recommend a turkey lounger style chair for this. One last thing- if a bird gobbles at you mid morning, get that gun pointed in his direction and your head on the stock, and be still as a rock. He's coming. Hope this has helped you in some way. Good luck.


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[GobbleNut]

Here is my pretty simple advice for your situation.  If you don't know already, take some time to evaluate your property in terms of when and why turkeys are there.  Learning their patterns of behavior will be an important element in successfully hunting them on that small area. 

As SG3 stated, if they are roosting on your property, your odds skyrocket right from the get-go.  Patterning your birds going to and from the roost, and then setting up somewhere along those routes in either the morning or evening is a pretty sure way to successfully kill a gobbler, whether you call to them or not.  Add some basic calling elements to the mix and you will possibly/likely increase your odds even more.  Decoys are optional, but I would suspect not necessary.

If the birds are not roosting on your property, again, pattern their activity and tailor your hunting around those periods when they are there, what they are doing, and where they typically travel.  Depending on the hunting pressure on your turkeys from surrounding properties, your turkeys could be quite easy to call in (if they are not hunted or lightly hunted) or difficult to call if they are being hunted hard on other properties there. 

Your first few attempts at calling them should give you a pretty clear idea of their susceptibility to calling.  If they are not or lightly hunted, they will likely respond readily to your calling.  Not so much if they have been pressured elsewhere.  On twenty acres, you probably will not want to generally call too loudly or aggressively, but don't be afraid to crank up your calling on occasion to attract the attention of distant birds if you are not actively working turkeys.

You can also expand your hunting area considerably by hunting your property boundaries.  If the turkeys are not on your property at a particular time you are hunting there, walk your boundaries calling onto adjacent properties.  Often you will be able to get turkeys to respond and come to investigate.  In those situations, don't be afraid to call loudly and aggressively to reach out and get their attention.   The right kind of aggressive calling in those circumstances can pull birds from hundreds of yards away, depending on the habitat type.  Of course, always be aware of other hunters possibly working birds on those other properties and back off if you believe someone else is actively hunting birds you hear. 

All in all, even though you have a very small property to hunt, it sounds like you will have an excellent chance of killing a gobbler there if you are careful about how you hunt it.  Under all circumstances, try to be as inconspicuous as possible. 

[g8rvet]

Besides the great points made above mine, the one thing I would add:   Just because they are there in the fall and winter does not necessarily mean they will be there in spring.  So once spring arrives, listen and watch to see if they are there. The best advice on the small piece is to be still and don't bump them off.  If you kill one, don't go all YouTube and jump up running at him.  Cover him and make sure he doesn't get up and call again for a bit to settle any other turkeys that were with him. I have called gobblers right back to whip their buddy - not to shoot them, it was still one bird in those days but to settle the bird down.  Then wait for him to get bored and leave.  Grab your bird and slip out. 

Also park as far away as you can away from any action.  I hunt two small tracts.  One is 125 acres and the other is 350.  Follow their tips and try not to bump birds.  Good luck.


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[1iagobblergetter]

Great advice above..I would go with the slipping in early sitting a gobbler lounger chair right in front of a big tree and using a 12 ft roll up blind from primos or h.s.strut. Put it out in a u shape from one side of you,out front to the other side. This will allow you to sit for along time and move a little if need be.
I think calling every 20 to 30 minutes with a couple decoys 15 or so yards out for that small of a area will yield big dividends. I wouldnt move around that small of a area or chances are youll push them into the neighbors. Put your time in with sitting and calling occasionally. If turkeys are around you'll be in business. Don't be afraid if the law allows to hunt afternoons or evenings.
I think if you try hunting a roosted bird and bump him your gig is up for awhile. I wouldn't chance that unless I was desperate or had another property to hunt.
It would be helpful also knowing what type of terrain your hunting. (thick woods,fields only, woods with fields,etc.)

[Marc]

Birds might be on the property at different times of the day, and not on it or near it at different times.

I hunt one property that the birds roost on, but wander off as the morning progresses...  Have another place I hunt later in the morning, as birds seem to meander on the property later (never heard a bird on the roost there, but killed plenty of late morning/afternoon birds there).

Look for sign, and try to figure out where and when the birds are on it...  I would look for areas that would be likely high-traffic areas and post myself there...  Stomping around a 20 acre ranch probably will not prove fruitful...

[Bobby5]

I still have a game cam out and get a picture of a couple gobblers every 3 days or so. I dont know where they go for the 2 days but at least a couple times a week theyre there. I know some people probably get numerous pictures of turkeys everyday.