mountain turkeys

[gobblinfever]

i live in south central ky, its pretty mountainous here and the turkeys are pretty hard to hunt. any advice on how you hunt these suckers?

[West Augusta]

North central West Virginia here. Similar terrain.
Get on the ridge an hour before first light. Start calling softly after you hear the first gobble. Don't call to much and be PATIENT. Have fun and enjoy the view.

[gobblinfever]

thanks for the tip. i believe mountain turkeys are the hardes to hunt but can be the funnest also.

[Kylongspur88]

I hunt eastern Ky. Start up top and work birds either below you or at your level. Scout a lot. Birds like the eastern side more in the mornings and pitch into the hill at fly down. Birds use logging roads and gas roads to travel and strut. Know your food sources in spring as well as fall for fall birds. If you have a reclaim strip job those are super hot areas for birds and are sure fire places to find them.

My best advice is don't skimp on your footwear. Those hills will eat your feet up and good boots and thick socks are a must.

[savduck]

I had good luck getting up top and hunting down to them. They seemed to like roosting on the point about one or two benches down from the top. I always found gas line, power line, and old road beds to be the best ambush points. the only hunting i did was in Eastern KY, about an hour or so from Ashland.

[mikejd]

thanks for the tip. i believe mountain turkeys are the hardes to hunt but can be the funnest also.

Most tiresome also. seems Like I have to run  from the ridge tops to the bottoms 5 times a day. but it is fun.

[Xcal1ber]

I also hunt in eastern Kentucky. I agree that you must get above them. Which means a lot of early morning climbing, which I hate lol

[timberjack86]

I hunt mountains here in TN. My advice get close to the bird before you call to him and put some kind of obstacle between you and him so he cant see your setup your calling from. I grew up hunting mountain birds and I love the mountains!

[longbeard11]

Thats all i hunt here in WV, love it!!!! I try and always hunt long ridgetops and always do my best to get above them.  Most important thing IMO, is knowing your land and the terrain and what is between you and him, can mean the difference in killing him and him walking out or your life forever!!

[El Pavo Grande]

The key with hunting mountains is using the terrain to your advantage.  When possible close in tight on a gobbling turkey using a ridge or leg of a mountain.  Those sharp little legs coming off a mountain can be perfect.  Also look for saddles.  Those are great places for all wildlife to travel through and that holds true for turkeys.  It's a good place to find turkeys hanging out.  Think about your set up before choosing.  Often you can set up where the gobbler is in range when he appears.

[turkey_slayer]

I'm in southwest Va just a short drive from eastern ky. Steep terrain. Get above if you can but if not don't be afraid to call em off the ridge or across a holler cause they will come. Not always but I don't think its uncommon. Killed a lot of birds that way. Bad thing about steep terrain is it makes it hard to move. Not cause of the walking but until it greens up they can spot you from the next ridge away. If you have what we call razor back ridges where its straight up and down on both sides of the ridge and the birds on the top he will bust you from anyway you to try to move in.

Around here they tend to roost about halfway up and just under the ridge tops or on points just above creeks. There's not many benches here.

[jakebird]

I prefer to stay above the birds, but i've killed enough that came down to me, sometimes from several benches up, that i don't despair if i can't get the elevation i want. Scout for spring seeps on the higher benches that form the headwaters of the run off mt streams. These always green up faster and attract birds like magnets. Its not uncommon for the birds to head toward a seep right off the roost to wet their whistle after a long night in the tree. I like to think of it as their morning cup of joe. A good tactic for henned up birds is to follow along one bench above them, just out of sight. Parallel the flock and you'll be in good position to kill him later when the hens head off to lay. Watch your footing in the rocks. In our mts of PA  you can snap a leg quick if youre not careful.  Oh, and keep an eye out for rattlers sunning themselves. Good luck!

[appalachianstruttstopper]

You should always keep the sun to his advantage also around hills and mountains, I have never had a gobbler walk to me with the sun in his eyes, and when you hunt steep terrain, they usually wont circle around quite as much to get their avantage as they do on flatter ground. Sun position has always been a big issue with the mountain turkeys I hunt.