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How do you handle weather shifts?

Started by RiverRoost, March 17, 2016, 06:05:15 PM

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RiverRoost

Rain moved through after lunch and gone by late afternoon here. It has been sunny and 70's with lows in high 50's and 60's all week. Perfect turkey weather. Supposed to be cloudy tonight and winds 10-12mph w temps falling to low 50's as this moves through. I'm sure the birds probably won't say much in the morning but you never know. How do yall change up hunting styles according to these fronts/systems that move through and change the weather?

Farmboy27

I don't really change much. As a fellow once told me "turkeys don't have warm houses to go into, they just stay out there doing what turkeys do".  Rainy days I check fields a bit more but really I just hunt my style and pace regardless of the weather. 

fallhnt

I hunt the same as if was a "good" day. Your scouting comes into play at this point. The wind is what I don't like. Depending on where you are hunting, wind speed can change the game. Look for spots that give the birds shelter in the wind. In the fall on a south wind I know the perfect spot,a draw, to set up in IL. The same 20mph wind in TX probably wouldn't change a thing the birds are doing.
When I turkey hunt I use a DSD decoy

Happy

I don't change much. On windy days I concentrate lower on the backsides of ridges that are shielded from the wind, on wet days i head for more open areas and hope for the best. I really like right before and right after a quick rainshower. Seems like it gets the Tom's a little riled up and vocal. Now an all night rain tends to lead to a pretty quiet morning but you never know. I slow down and sit a lot longer on dreary days. Turkeys seem to come in slow and silent under those conditions. But bottom line is I hunt! I don't get a whole lot of time free to go so instead of kicking rocks and complaining I go out and give it my best effort. Been pleasantly rewarded a few times also.

Good-Looking and Platinum member of the Elitist Club

Marc

Only thing I might change is time of day when I hunt...

Time is really tight for me in the spring, and often I get a chance to go out for a couple/few hours, and I will  pick a time later in the morning on a cold or stormy day, and be there when the sun rises on a nicer day...

Seems to me that those colder days, the birds get active later in the morning, and on those hot days, they become far less active as the morning wears on...
Did I do that?

Fly fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.

silvestris

If the rain stops in the afternoon there is no reason why he won't gobble the next morning unless he just decides not to.  The only potential problem I see you having is in hearing or coursing him if it is windy.
"[T]he changing environment will someday be totally and irrevocably unsuitable for the wild turkey.  Unless mankind precedes the birds in extinction, we probably will not be hunting turkeys for too much longer."  Ken Morgan, "Turkey Hunting, A One Man Game

RiverRoost

Quote from: Happy on March 17, 2016, 07:14:03 PM
I don't change much. On windy days I concentrate lower on the backsides of ridges that are shielded from the wind, on wet days i head for more open areas and hope for the best. I really like right before and right after a quick rainshower. Seems like it gets the Tom's a little riled up and vocal. Now an all night rain tends to lead to a pretty quiet morning but you never know. I slow down and sit a lot longer on dreary days. Turkeys seem to come in slow and silent under those conditions. But bottom line is I hunt! I don't get a whole lot of time free to go so instead of kicking rocks and complaining I go out and give it my best effort. Been pleasantly rewarded a few times also.

^^This is probably the best, all around down to earth advice ever! Cherrish the time to hunt!

Gobspur

I dress accordingly and hunt!  Fields/open areas in rain.  In the wind I slow down a lot, sit more.  Scouting helps a lot to know where the birds are and where you think they want to be.

Spitten and drummen

hunt every chance you get. the more time in the field , the more you odds go up. birds are similar to people and are individuals. their mood can change in a drop of a hat. its still mating season and they are still going to mate. I think the weather affects us to a degree more than them. sure cold fronts and ect. can shut down gobbling , but the still are looking for hens. sit more and be patient and you never know when that odd ball bird will fire up. I have killed birds gobbling during a heavy rainfall and I have killed them gobbling when it was 20 degrees, hang tough and it will come together.
" RANGERS LEAD THE WAY"
"QUEEN OF BATTLE FOLLOW ME " ~ INFANTRY
"DEATH FROM ABOVE " ~ AIRBORNE

TauntoHawk

After storm fronts are a good time to get in close, a little wind and some wet ground can let you slip as close as you'd like in the dark to the roost so those mornings I like to get in real tight to the birds.



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jims

I try to avoid hunting cold and windy/cold days when turkeys tend to disappear and aren't vocal.  On windy/cold days I concentrate my efforts in hidden pockets out of the wind where birds generally find shelter.  If I'm on a long trip I'm pretty much stuck so put in the time and miles.  Once weather breaks the turkeys generally come out of the wood work...which can also happen at any time if I stick with it!