Which birds do I go after? Big flock of hens or lone gobblers?

[DoritoBoy]

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Hey all! I'm new to the forum. Just found it recently. I used to do quite a bit of turkey hunting and have recently gotten back into it as my son's are now old enough to hunt.

I went scouting the other morning and found a few groups of birds each about 2/3 mile apart. One was four jakes and a couple hens, one had 20 hens and two strutters, and the last had four gobblers (couldn't tell if they were toms or jakes). My question is what would be the best bet to set up next week with my son's. The big group is in the most ideal spot (big field where I have a pretty decent natural blind built) but will that many hens keep the boys from coming in close? And will a hen-less jake or tom be more responsive to calls? And in another week will that big group start breaking up and will there be more toms coming to the hens? Or will the hens go to the toms? This is along a river corridor where the only roost trees are along the river so the birds can only really move up and down the river.

Thanks in advance!

[DoritoBoy]

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Also, how would decoy setup change depending on what group you go after?

[Happy]

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Not much help on the decoys I am afraid. However I would go after the four males by themselves provided they are legal males and your not being picky. The gobblers with hens already have what they want so convincing them to leave the ladies is going to be more difficult.

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[Happy]

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And yes the flock will start to break up in the coming weeks and the more dominant gobblers will start gathering hens. Typically the hens go to the gobbler but that doesn't mean he won't go to them.

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[Tom007]

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Also, how would decoy setup change depending on what group you go after?

I hunt a farm on opening day every year. I get there 1.5 hours before light, set up a hen and a Jake 20 yards away from me. I sit right under a cedar, right on the edge of the field with good cover around me. I always set the hen about 22 yards a little left of me facing straight at them. I am a left handed shot, the birds always come from my right to left. The Jake is set up 20 yards from me directly behind the hen. Both birds face directly away from me, as if they just entered the field. This set up has pulled a Tom away from hens, and has also called in multiple Tom’s together right to the decoys. They try to attack my Jake, but I have been successful in defending them.....

Best of luck, hope this helps......

[DoritoBoy]

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Thanks for the responses! I can't wait

[3bailey3]

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I would go after the ones that like the blue dorito's not the red ones...good luck hunt them all.

[WTNUT]

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I am on vacation with time on my hands so I will give you some general information that may be helpful,  or it may be worthless.  Either way it is free advise so you are out nothing. 

First,  it depends on what state you are in and what species you are hunting.  I hunt eastern birds and am most familiar with them.   Based upon your experience level I would not start with two toms that have 20 hens.   The odds just don’t seem good for an opening day hunt.

If legal and you have not killed many turkeys,  the four jakes would probably be the easiest to hunt.   As for decoys,   I have used decoys for decades and I can’t honestly tell you what will work on a given day.  Sometimes they work like a charm,  others they seem to be useless if not actually a detriment.   I always carry a hen and strutting tom or jake.   I can’t tell you the jake is better than the tom or the tom better than the jake.  Both have worked many times,  both have failed many times.    But,  I will say I don’t believe two hens and a tom or jake are better than one hen.   And,  I will say I don’t think a hen and a tom or jake are better than just a tom or jake.   I do think a tom or jake work better than just a hen. 

But,  turkeys are strange critters at times.   Two farms 30 minutes apart can have birds act entirely different during the same week. 

The MOST IMPORTANT THING REGARDING DECOYS IS ————— be damn careful.  I don’t know where you hunt.  Even if private land,  set them up so you can see what is coming towards you and sit with your back against a tree that is wide enough to cover your body.   I have been at this almost 40 years and I have know too many people who have had someone shoot at their decoys even when hunting on their private farm.   Generally,  my gobblers seem to come to the male far more than the hen decoy,  but how you set them doesn’t seem to matter to me.

Finally,  the thing that is the most important is the thing you have no control over.   That is the turkey’s mood.  Some days they want to play and cooperate.  Other days they want to drive you insane.   My best advise to a young hunter is to be patient and to not call too much too early.   Find the birds on the roost and gobbling,  let them fly down and see what you are dealing with before committing to anything.   You will make mistakes.  We have all made many many many many mistakes,  and there is nothing wrong with that.   It is part of the learning process.   Good luck my friend and I hope your son gets one.   How old is he? 

[DoritoBoy]

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My boys are 8 and 10. The older boy shot his first bird last year. It will be the 8 year olds first tag. He will be a die hard hunter for sure. We are out of town visiting the in laws until the night before opening morning of the youth hunt. I'm hoping the big flock will begin to break up since I saw them and maybe all the other groups of jakes will be hanging around closer to that main group. That's where the big field is with good grass and open strut zone where it seems they like to be year to year. We will see. Thanks everyone for the tips.

[TRG3]

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I can recall a couple of times when I set up on a dozen or so roosted turkeys, a mixer of mature birds, jakes, and hens. In both instances, they all flew down to a grassy field about 100 yards away and saw my Pretty Boy strutter over a hen in the breeding position. The dominant tom took all of the birds away from my decoy set up; however, as soon as the flock was out of sight, a couple of subordinate gobblers came running back and attack the Pretty Boy strutter, breaking off the stake that held him upright. They continued to flog him until a load of #5 shot dropped one. It has been my experience that the subordinate gobblers usually do the bidding for the dominate bird. I've had my most successful experience in taking the main bird in the late season when there are fewer hens looking for a mate. The gobble tube has proven successful in bringing in dominate toms in the late season.

[tomstopper]

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Not much help on the decoys I am afraid. However I would go after the four males by themselves provided they are legal males and your not being picky. The gobblers with hens already have what they want so convincing them to leave the ladies is going to be more difficult.

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[Meleagris gallopavo]

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It has been my experience that the subordinate gobblers usually do the bidding for the dominate bird. I've had my most successful experience in taking the main bird in the late season when there are fewer hens looking for a mate.

This has been my experience.  Also, the dominant bird may not be as big as some of the subordinates.