#1 best turkey tip ever

[West Augusta]

Turkey hunt with your ears not your feet.  Slow down and listen more. 

[cnette01]

I hunt turkeys on public land in TN.  I do use decoys mainly in big fields and can't tell you how many times I've looked out over the fields, with binoculars, and couldn't see any birds at all.  Then, out of seemingly nowhere, there's a hen or a jake or a tom suddenly there in sight.  Now these public land birds get hunted hard early in the season and many mornings don't yelp or gobble much or at all.  My #1 tip came from an old time turkey hunter who advised me to treat it more like deer hunting.  Scout and find where the birds are at, put out your decoy, and stay put for a few hours.  Listen to what the turkeys do noise wise and do like wise.  If they call a lot, you can call a lot.  If they are quiet, call very little.  I took his advice and my success rate went way up.

I'll also say that most of the time these birds don't gobble and strut coming in to the decoys.  They usually just stroll over silent and when they get in range I'll tip their hat.  If a jake or tom is moving in my direction, I just stay silent since he's doing what I want him to do.  It works for me and I hope this helps some of you enjoy some success.

[bonasa]

Scout more.

I have a lot of permissions around my house for many different species. I hunt very little and work a lot of overtime.

I watch the farms and woodlots for a month and half before season, before work, while on patrol and also on the way home I will do a loop. Same goes for waterfowl, if they are not using an area, I won't go. But when the geese are hitting a fresh cut field, we are there, when the mallards are dumping into a flooded area of corn we hit it. Doe hunting is easy as they can be seen entering and exiting fields, just gotta be there on right wind. The more mature bucks are more difficult and boots on the ground, camera footage, and less pressured areas hold better deer.

Far from being a good hunter, just have to be where the game is.

[redleg06]

Best Turkey Tip: 
1. Hunt where there are turkeys... A surprising number of people get locked in on a particular area, despite what scouting has shown them with regard to turkey numbers and hunting pressure.

2. Once you find that spot, don't tell ANYONE about it.

[kayl]

Thanks for all the tips guys, as a new turkey hunter I really appreciate it. So much to think about!

[nocalhonker]

Be a student of the game never stop learning. The biggest mistake people and is lack of patients, I've been guilty more then I'd care to admit.

[ragin-cajun]

you call. he answers. he knows the tree you're on... stop calling...

[Turkeyman]

Best Turkey Tip: 
1. Hunt where there are turkeys... A surprising number of people get locked in on a particular area, despite what scouting has shown them with regard to turkey numbers and hunting pressure.

2. Once you find that spot, don't tell ANYONE about it.

This pretty much hits it. I think most consistently successful turkey hunters would agree.

Now...if you're a consistently successful turkey hunter post your coordinates and we'll see how you make out in the future LOL. Loose lips sink ships.

[TNhunterKMC]

Actually go and sometimes you need to move and sometimes you need to sit tight.  Which I still haven't figured that one out.

[Cut N Run]

Shade and cover are your friends.  You could be wearing the newest, most realistic camo ever made, but if you're in direct sunlight, you'll look like a lighthouse to turkeys.  Take advantage of downed trees, stumps, rocks, & evergreen bushes to help hide yourself.  Keep your movements slow, deliberate, and to a minimum.  Act like the dominant predator you are.

Jim

[Flatsnbay]

Great advice! You can't beat time in the woods.

Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk

[RustyBarrels]

Always carry toilet paper, or something similar.
As novel as it sounds, it can change the trajectory of your whole day

[Lcmacd 58]

You cant scout too much
Then hunt every time you can no matter the weather

[worth612000]

"Shoot 'Em In The Face"  I first encountered that expression on here and was a little offended. I recon I mellowed a little since then. LOL  My number 1 is be aware of your body movement

[GunRunner]

When it is time to move on....get all your gear together, packed up, and situated to walk away.....but before stepping away ALWAYS, STOP, TURN AROUND, AND LOOK CAREFULLY at where you were set up.
Look for calls, strikers, cell phone, or any gear that you may have not picked up and are about to leave behind. This is especially critical if you have harvested a bird or had some intensive action or excitement at the set up because gear can get scattered in these instances.
I have lost strikers, camo gloves, and a compass my Dad gave me when I first started hunting with him around 1964, and all because I did not carefully survey my set up site before walking away.  And of course, you don't want to leave any trash like sandwich bags, cracker wrappers, and such.

Just Saying !

GunRunner