Late Season

[Pluffmud]

When the days get hot, the foliage thickens heavily, hens have disappeared, gobblers and jakes begin to regroup in large numbers and go quiet, what do you do fill one more tag??? Is bushwhacking em in bottoms and fields where they feed they only way to kill em? Do you get risky and gobbler yelp or use decoys? Curious to hear your tactics late in the game.

[Ranger]

Late season is usually for those that haven't eaten, and those that can never eat enough.  I choose to play it as slow and natural as possible. No risky business and surely no decoys, by May he's seen and heard a little of everything. Time to be the sweetest, quietest hen

[guesswho]

Seems like they're still interested in hen talk around here for about the first 30 minutes of daylight then lose interest.  If I haven't killed him by then I become one of the old amigos.

[CowHunter71]

Always hear this horsesh#t about late season. Hens ALL being bred, Gobblers grouping back up and being done, too green and too hot for breeding. I hunt every day of the Spring season here in Tn. I have been on gobbling, killable Turkeys every single year right up until the last day of season. 100% certain I could continue to call to the gun and kill "willing" Gobblers on into at least the 2nd week of June. As long as there are Hens that need breeding, there is always a willing Gobbler

[CowHunter71]

Late season is usually for those that haven't eaten, and those that can never eat enough.  I choose to play it as slow and natural as possible. No risky business and surely no decoys, by May he's seen and heard a little of everything. Time to be the sweetest, quietest hen

Sound advice

[mcw3734]

I remember asking a longtime turkey guide in New York about late season hunting (NY season is May 1-31). I was a kid and asked with a tone of "is it even worth it?". He told me he's booked the whole season, save the last few days for himself, and that the birds his clients kill over the last week average over 20 lbs. There are alpha gobblers out there that are not used to being alone that now are and can be susceptible to a lone hen call.

I've heard birds gobbling as late as June 7 in upstate NY. And not just a one-off gobble, I mean multiple times.

My strategy, for what it's worth, is to treat late season like late afternoon: Cover ground, don't be afraid to call a bit aggressive to locate one, and when you do get a response be ready to wait him out.

Unless the weather is complete crap, if the season is open and you have a tag, then you should get out there. Think about the other 11 months of the year you're thinking about turkey hunting, what would you give during those times to be doing it? Right... so don't give up.

[Turkeybutt]

You can always find a gobbler that wants to die but you are not going to find him sitting in your house.
Good sound advice,
"My strategy, for what it's worth, is to treat late season like late afternoon: Cover ground, don't be afraid to call a bit aggressive to locate one, and when you do get a response be ready to wait him out".
Any day hunting or in the woods is better then sitting around thinking of next year.

[Flatbottomarky]

When AR still had the long season l had some of my easiest hunts late season. A lot of folks had quit hunting and when I found a hot one it was on. Killed several 10 minute turkeys.

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[tazmaniac]

They are a LOT more finicky and stingy with their gobbles, but they will usually get fired up a few times in the last week of the season.  I just keep checking them day after day (I am certain I have 3 more toms here... been on camera), and switch from run and gun early season to picking travel routes (interior access roads with near impenetrable undergrowth all around) and setting up for an hour at a time at a spot calling sparingly before moving on a few hundred yards and repeating.  Doing that as we speak today  

My only MS bird last season came the last day of the season on public.  He gobbled at least 50x on the roost that morn.

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