Texas turkey hunt

[Chickenlips]

I'm planning a hunt in Texas this spring.  I spoke with an outfitter in south Texas and he recommended that I schedule my hunt for the 1st week of April.  I originally chose Texas because of the March opener.  I've never hunted Texas before and I've never hunted with an outfitter.  I was Hoping to hear what y'all thought about that.  Maybe the hens are sittin and the gobblers are desperate?  I'm not sure but I'm paranoid about getting ripped off.  I appreciate any advice.  Thank you

[Sir-diealot]

First thing I would do is call a wildlife biologist or whatever TX calls their Department of Conservation and get an idea as to when they normally tend to start talking and breeding and go from there.

[Upfold99]

I went in April once and the run and gun hunt was way over.  Birds had been hunted hard before I got there. They wanted us to sit in blinds and deer hunt them.  Not a great hunt.  Just ask your outfitter particular questions regarding the hunt experience your seeking

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[GobbleNut]

The comments made already are spot on when talking about hunting TX.  If you really want to HUNT turkeys...that is, not sit in a blind over a feeder like Upfold says...you need to be really careful about who you go with. My suggestion would be to get the specifics in WRITING about the hunt prior to committing to anything...and especially before giving anybody any money. That's not to say that there aren't some legitimate outfits in TX that offer REAL turkey hunting, but I've heard too many stories similar to that of Upfold's experience.

As for timing, I have hunted mostly in north and central Texas and at the start of the season on a number of occasions. From what I/we found, the birds were borderline being ready to go. Gobblers were still flocked up, but some would show interest. I think things would be better in mid-April, but (again, as Upfold says) if you are hunting a place that's catering to a bunch of hunters, the birds may have been called-to and picked over enough that the ones that are left may be pretty skittish. 

In summary, do some research and be careful about who you choose to go with...and make sure you have that check book with you when you decide...    

[NYturkey]

I booked my first Texas turkey hunt for this March in southern Texas. The outfitter I chose makes you sign a contract. One of the stipulations was that I cannot hunt within 1,000 yards of a feeder or near a roosting tree and that I must call them in and hunt them sportingly. There are good outfitters available, you just need to do your homework.


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[Ryanmc]

I'm planning a hunt in Texas this spring.  I spoke with an outfitter in south Texas and he recommended that I schedule my hunt for the 1st week of April.  I originally chose Texas because of the March opener.  I've never hunted Texas before and I've never hunted with an outfitter.  I was Hoping to hear what y'all thought about that.  Maybe the hens are sittin and the gobblers are desperate?  I'm not sure but I'm paranoid about getting ripped off.  I appreciate any advice.  Thank you

What part of Texas, this makes a big difference.


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[Chickenlips]

I'm planning a hunt in Texas

What part of Texas, this makes a big difference.

I would be hunting in the southern part of Texas

[Chickenlips]

I went in April once and the run and gun hunt was way over.  Birds had been hunted hard before I got there. They wanted us to sit in blinds and deer hunt them.  Not a great hunt.  Just ask your outfitter particular questions
regarding the hunt experience your seeking

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I live in WV and that has been a favored poacher tactic for many years.  I would rather not hunt if I had to do it that way. 

[PharmHunter]

As everyone said, make sure you research and vet the outfitter thoroughly.  Check references if you can, etc and just have conversations with them.  In my experience in The Hill Country, the first week of April is an excellent time to go.  Good luck!  Will be there for the opener of the N zone, at a buddy's ranch, just before we open here in SC and can't wait. 

[Chickenlips]

Hey everyone, I appreciate all the good advice.  Thank you, Chris

[Ryanmc]

I live and hunt in Texas. I wouldn't be scared to hunt south of I 10 up to April 15 or so. I've killed a bunch of birds Masters weekend down south. I like to go to central Texas April 15-30 but killed birds in May too. I like them to be broke up before going. Hunting a flock of rios can be frustrating.


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[GobbleNut]

From my experiences hunting there, there are lots of factors that contribute to either a good or bad turkey hunt in Texas. We have pointed out a few of them already, but the one "property-related" thing I have found to be really important is whether or not there are roost sites on the property. Rio's are creatures of habit and have a tendency to roost in exactly the same places night after night.

Get on a property that has one or more traditional roost sites on it and things become a LOT easier in terms of hunting them...even if all the other factors are not optimum. Conversely, getting on a property that does not have those roost sites and it can get a bit more complicated.

Having hunted both situations, I suppose my point is that it doesn't hurt to ask if the property you will be hunting has those traditional roost sites on it that the turkeys are using religiously. Quite honestly, all of the other factors kind of become inconsequential if that is the case.

[eggshell]

I booked my first Texas turkey hunt for this March in southern Texas. The outfitter I chose makes you sign a contract. One of the stipulations was that I cannot hunt within 1,000 yards of a feeder or near a roosting tree and that I must call them in and hunt them sportingly. There are good outfitters available, you just need to do your homework.


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That is a good outfitter. I never hunted Texas but I hunted Rios in Oklahoma. just across the border, and the rancher had two roost on his property, he turned me loose at a gate and firmly told me that if I was caught hunting within a half mile of a roost there would be more then a dead turkey in my future. Talking later I learned that some eastern hunters came in once and shot birds directly after flydown at a roost site and the birds moved 6 miles away for three years. His ranch was screwed for turkey hunting. He did tell me the route they would take after flydown and I killed my two birds in a couple days of hunting.

[GobbleNut]

I booked my first Texas turkey hunt for this March in southern Texas. The outfitter I chose makes you sign a contract. One of the stipulations was that I cannot hunt within 1,000 yards of a feeder or near a roosting tree and that I must call them in and hunt them sportingly. There are good outfitters available, you just need to do your homework.


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That is a good outfitter. I never hunted Texas but I hunted Rios in Oklahoma. just across the border, and the rancher had two roost on his property, he turned me loose at a gate and firmly told me that if I was caught hunting within a half mile of a roost there would be more then a dead turkey in my future. Talking later I learned that some eastern hunters came in once and shot birds directly after flydown at a roost site and the birds moved 6 miles away for three years. His ranch was screwed for turkey hunting. He did tell me the route they would take after flydown and I killed my two birds in a couple days of hunting.

Good points...but obviously it depends on the property and the situation. As an example, one of the places I hunted, there was one main roost site in the middle of the property that apparently attracted all of the turkeys in the area, even those that spent most of their time off of the property during the day. If we had had to stay a half mile (or even half of that) away from that roost, we could not have hunted at all because the property boundaries were less than that in any direction.

Even though we tried to limit our impact around that roost as much as possible, we still ended up killing a number of gobblers close to it. Yet, every evening those turkeys would return to that roost site. However, I would also note that we were the only ones hunting the property and our hunts there never exceeded three mornings/evenings. I am sure in different "conveyor belt" hunting operations where there is a "next" group of hunters coming in, one after another, that closely hunting a roost would most certainly impact that roost site.

...Just another reason for anybody hunting TX to do their research and inquire as to the "particulars" of the hunting operation on any given property.