Sneaking in a blind ...

[Recluse]

Doing our first turkey hunt on public land next month. I regularly see gobblers on trail cam, 4-5x a week.

I was planning on putting up a blind this week in preparation of the season. If I spook them walking in, will they change their pattern?

I see them usually walking by between 7-10am. I was going to put the blind up at 1pm. Thoughts ?

[ChesterCopperpot]

Turkeys get run off by different things everyday. I think your plan sounds good and if you do wind up buggering them I wouldn't lose sleep over it.


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[Sir-diealot]

I have walked in with a Ameristep chairblind at 4:30 in the morning, set up and had them come near me right off the roost. Only problem was they were all hen and Jakes and I did not want my first bird to be a jake.

[Bowguy]

Imo you may be thinking wrong. If season is in a month they might not be in that field. Birds don't care about blinds like deer. You've got time. I'd also carry it in the morning of. You need to know where to put it and trail cams aren't gonna help the way listening and finding multiple birds would. That's something you need to do. Find lots birds. Obviously if you do go early picking a time the birds aren't in the field couldn't hurt. Now if it's public land can you even legally leave blinds, stands there? Would it be safe as in theft? You'd be giving away your location obviously and can I ask if you're seeing birds others are in a field?

[MK M GOBL]

I hunt both public and private and would never leave a blind up on public, I take it in and out with me as I hunt. I have blinds for private and blinds for public, my public land blinds are Double Bull T2 and the new Stakeout for Run & Guns, I am really only using the blind for "open" ground, not timber hunts. From my experience turkeys do not care about blinds, no motion, no worries. I have set them up and hunted same day and killed that hunt. Just be aware of what your packing in and then packing out a gobbler too. if you are determined to leave the blind out for a month, which I will have blinds out for 8 weeks (Private) be aware of weather, I have had late season snow storms, high winds that I have seen tear other blinds apart. Stake them out solid, most of those cheap blind stakes that come with some blinds are not going to cut it. As Bowguy mentioned there are a few other concerns as legal and theft issues.


MK M GOBL

[Recluse]

Thanks fellas. So yes I'm allowed to put out the blind. But good point on giving away my location. Also, this location is 800y in the timber and not the edge of a field.  I'm seeing 3-5 birds almost everyday.  Should I be looking for a location that has more

[ChesterCopperpot]

The main point is the birds might be there everyday now but not be there in a month. Lots of shifts occurring this time of year. Also, if it's public you have no idea whether an increase in pressure will take place and alter their pattern. Given you had cameras in place, I figured you had them set up on some type of food source. If that's not the case, where are they coming from and what are they going to? Absolutely agree with the being in no rush to put the blind up. Morning of would be perfectly fine if you knew the land well enough. Out of curiosity, why are you using the blind? The benefit of public tends to be the ability to move. As far as the number of birds, you just need one to play ball.


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[Recluse]

I actually put out the cam because I had found some late season deer sign there. I was not expecting to see turkeys. I am about 100y from deer bedding, in a very small clearing. (Maybe an acre in size).

The turkeys always travel the same direction when they show up on cam. Fingers crossed they don't change their pattern much.

I'm using a blind because I'll be using a compound bow.

[GobbleNut]

From what you are telling us, all I can say is "Good luck with that"!   
Doing what you are planning on doing makes me think you are VERY new to spring gobbler hunting.  No offense intended, but if I was making a list of the "things I wouldn't do", your plan of attack for hunting those gobblers would be pretty close to the bottom.  But hey,...."to each their own".... 

[Recluse]

Thank you! Gotta start somewhere

[CAPTJJ]

I commend you for trying with a bow, but the best the you can do to be successful is the learn how to hunt turkeys by setting up and calling them in. Sounds like you are trying to apply deer hunting tactics, which can work, calling is more effective and exciting.

[GobbleNut]

Having thought about it for a minute, my being critical of your approach is not helpful to you, so here is what I would suggest:

A week or two before the season starts, depending on how much time you can get away to do it, walk into that area before daylight a few mornings and listen for gobbling.  Try to pinpoint where those birds are roosting, and then try to get an idea of what they are doing when they come off the roost.  If you see a pattern there, then plan on setting your blind up somewhere in the vicinity of where they are heading when they come off the roost.  Since you are bowhunting, you should probably get one or more decoys to set out. 

If you can't establish a pattern of where those birds are roosting and/or doing once they leave the roost, take your decoys and a more portable blind (if you think you have to have one).  Every morning you hunt them, set up somewhere, call a bit, and see if they come.  Regardless, try to learn a bit more about what they are doing each morning and adjust your positioning every day you hunt them based on that.

The above is a simplified version of how I think you should approach your hunt, but I think it is a much better plan than the one you have.   

[Recluse]

Cool. Yes planning on using decoys. Thanks for the tips fellas. Will report back next month!

[CAPTJJ]

Curious where you are located? The best thing for me when I started was to go out with an experienced turkey hunter, cuts the learning curve way down.

[GobbleNut]

Another point to be made regarding your situation, Recluse, is that you need to consider the odds of somebody else hunting the same birds you plan on hunting.  You state that you are hunting public land, and that, in itself, makes a difference in how you should approach your hunt.

If you are hunting an area that has much hunting pressure, you should tailor your approach to hunting those gobblers based on that first.  If you plan on hunting those gobblers "on the roost" in the morning, you need to be there first and get in tight to them, if at all possible.

If you set up too far away, or get there too late, someone else may have already moved in and set up between you and them.  If that happens, the other hunters are likely to either kill one or more of them, or disrupt their early morning behavior.  The point being that it would behoove you to try evaluate the possibility that someone else might also hunt those gobblers.

If you think others might know the whereabouts of those turkeys, you should adapt your hunting strategy accordingly.  Either get on them first,...and hope for the best,...or hunt the area later in the day and plan on playing the long-term, waiting game with them.  Me, personally, I would get on them early.