Turkey Hunting Tips

[rawalley]

Know you terrain, be patient, dont overcall.

[jakebird]

One of my best tips would be in regards to roost setups. Esp after green up has started, youd be surprised how close u can get to a roosted bird with a little woodsmanship. I like the range of about 75 yds give or take. Seems on average a bird will land around thirty yds from a tree (only an average where i hunt) and the short distance can raise your odds considerably if u do things right. When youre that close lack of movt is critical, and keep quiet no matter how hard he gobbles. Let him reach his boiling point, then let him know youre there very softly. Often i let him hit the ground. If he lands very close ill just scratch the leaves (if hes out of sight) and cluck. If i have to set up further i'll crank it up when he hits the ground. Sound effects kill alot of turkeys. (leaf scratching, flydowns, wing rubbing a tree trunk, etc.) and esp help with older birds or heavily pressured ones. Remember turkeys operate on turkey time so patience is paramount.

[jakebird]

While i typically prefer to fly solo when hunting, dont underestimate the power of numbers when dealing with tough birds. If you have some buddies in whom you trust their abilities, you have alot of options to try that the solo hunter lacks. Setting up in opposite sides of a roost, "walking away" on hung up birds, and a slew of others too long to list. Key is having friends with woodsmanship and solid calling and hunting skills. Plus, its just plain fun to share a hunt with a good friend. Ps take a kid this season. They are the next generation and you'll be a part of something special you'll both never forget. 

[SLAYER]

Scout alot ! Go out on a quiet morning early before season and listen . Always take Binoculars and or a spotting scope. Always avoid spooking the birds, keep your distance. Watch  fields from a hidden distant vantage point. If you can find a spot where you can see a field from a distance sit there and watch where they come out and where they strut and what time they do this. Position yourself at these places so they will pass within shooting distance. Wear camo that matches the cover where you hunt. If it's really green out. Predator Spring green or Green Deception is the best, and pin Sneaky leaves to your hat and coat. Have a comfortable seat, a "fatboy" thick gel foam seat is the best I've found. Cabela's has them. Go in before daylight ,sit still in your pre- scouted key spot, wait and listen and call sparingly or on birds that have been hunted and hammered with calls, dont call at all and don't use decoys. If that gobbler has been strutting in the same place the last couple days you need to wait and let him come. Yes I would rather call and have'm come in excited and gobbling their head off and there's nothing better than that. But when your hunting birds that have been pressured already, spooked, or even shot at, most times calling too much will do more harm than good. Finally know your effective range and do'nt shoot beyond that if he's too far let him walk and hunt him again another day.

[jakebird]

When hunting hilly terrain, the accepted method is to when possible, get above roosted gobblers and call them uphill. The old adage of calling birds uphill easier than down may hold true sometimes, but ive found atleast two reliable exceptions. Mountains with fields along the base or extremely steep, rugged terrain. In these cases turkeys nearly always head downhill in the am, and we all know the best way to call a turkey is to be where they already want to go. Scout to find these lowere elevation morning feeding and breeding grounds and save yourself alot of wasted energy climbing hills. Unless u just like a workout. 

[jakebird]

If youre a cutt and run kind of a guy, like me, you like to travel light. I still like to carry dekes though. To save on a little weight and bulk in the vest, i've taken to carrying just two decoys, both hens. However, ive made a slight mod. I have a bright red sleeve that slips over the neck, and a stubby foam beard that pokes thru a small slit in the chest, instantly transforming one into a jake if the conditions dictate thats what i want. I can then use a single hen, two hens, jake and hen, or just a jake. As for the plumage, i take a can of copper metallic spray paint and very lightly dust all my dekes across the breast and back. Adds a little life-like shimmer in the sun, and if a bird gets close enuff to painstakingly scrutinize the plumage and object to my "insta-jake's" cross dressing discrepancies, he's probably flopping in the dirt by then anyhow.

[Flyrodder]

What are reed savers?  Where can I buy them?

Little plastic spacers that separate the reeds on a multiple reed call. Helps to keep the reeds from sticking together. I soak my calls in mouth wash to kill the bacteria on them. I read some where the bacteria growing on the call is the reason you start to feel draggy as the season wears on. And I thought it was getting up early every morning then hunting 1/2 a day all season.
Flyrodder

[Hootowl]

I hunt solo alot and I prefer to hunt solo, But I do miss hunting with a Good friend at times. I guess some tips I would throw at you, would be Know the Land, Call very little, and sit still. Range finder would be Good, I always use decoys, some guys don't like them But I have always liked having them with me, I sometime Hunt out of a Blind, esp when there calling for Rain, Knowing where they roost is a Plus but not a Game breaker, be patient and stay put as long as you can, where I live we can hunt all day and I normally do, I may move 1 or twice in the day, But have fun and remember you will learn something each day you hunt. Oh and I always take my Thermo-cell even when I hunt in a Blind. Alot of great  tips from Guys here. Good Luck

[Siwash]

I like the 3 p's. Position is especially important. Do your scouting, figure out where they are roosting, and set up as close as you dare without getting busted in the morning. I like to be within 100 yards. I'm sneaking in at 0 dark 30. Remember turkeys can see in the dark and only sleep about 10 minutes a night. 

They only sleep 10 minutes??? Wow no wonder they look like crap

[mikejd]

Everything you need to know will be taught to you from the turkeys themselves. ex. i have perfected much of my calling by listening to hens, I have learned how much calling i should do by how much the hens in my are call. i feel the birds will always tell you what they want to here.

[lowoctane]

Been hunting a lot of public ground and have found that since deer and turkey co-habitat, I always take a call of the animal I'm not hunting with me. Many times have pulled in turkeys in the fall when I'm deer hunting. Deer seem to use the turkeys senses as part of their own. Turkeys that hear my deer calls aren't rattled at all. The hens I was working seemed to relax and they fed into my area last fall. I also use fawn calls when stalking deer. Have slipped up on many deer that way. I can't speak for anyone else, but I use calls conservatively and watch my volume carefully. I mimick the cadence of the birds in my areas as well.

[Bclarke]

Set-up in the shade, choose your set-up based more on what an approaching turkey will see instead of what you will see.   Don't make turkey hunting complicated by overthinking.   Don't try to out think a bird that can't think, you'll lose more times than not.  Give a turkey's ears as much or more credit than his eye's.  And last, don't pay any attention to aything I say on these forums.   

Pay close attention to what this man says!

Exactly.......50% calling......50% Being a good woodsman.

[hotrod49er]

Location, location, location  dont have to be in that order either.

[boatpaddle]

Learn to understand the turkey langauge......Learn what a hen vs a jake vs a gobbler sounds like in the woods....Listen to wild turkeys calling ALLOT.......Practice YOUR calling to or with wild turkeys...Practice outside, if you can for a truer sense of the realism of your calling......Get a digital recorder and tape yourself......

     They don't lie..If you sound terrible, you need more practice time....Learn to MASTER one type call before learning to run a bunch of other calls.....

      If you want to take 5 years off your learning curve......Buy this DVD....Challenging Pressured gobblers. PM me, if your interested....

     

     Boatpaddle

[lonnie sneed jr.]

NEVER, NEVER call to a gobbler until I am ready to  try and Kill it. Try to locate them from far away, can't always to that.