Mountain Turkey Tactics

[ezmorningrebel]

a lot of the tips and tactics i read about seem to revolve around hunting bottomlands or sitting field edges.  what tips would you have for someone hunting strictly in the mountains that are almost exclusively covered in mature hardwoods?  our topography is characterized but long, parallel ridges and valleys with spurs and draws running perpendicular.

also wondering about the use of decoys in this type of hunting.  my limited experience in using a lone hen decoy is once a gobbler sees it he'll lock up and demand she come to him.  do i need to set it closer or abandon them all together and make him come look. 

[coonhunter]

I will agree that flat land tactics don't always work in the mnts!  I live in the foot hills of NC and a friend invited me to hunt with him in Western Nc.  Really steep mnts and very rugged.  I tried to hunt it like I normally do and bumped 2 different birds that were on their way in.  Down here you can hear a bird for hundreds of yards away.  Up there if you hear them you better sit down and get ready.  Also found it nearly impossible to call a bird down the mnt.  they would fly down the mnt off the roost and work their way back up during the day.  Definitely a different type of hunting!

   

[SD_smith]

I would assume your mtn hunting is similar to ours out west. We use no decoy or at the very least 2 hens/hen Jake combo. Montana decoys ms. Purrfect is great due to being very lightweight. Setting up on saddles for blind calling during the middle of the day has produced some. Our birds usually use the same general roost areas on a rotating basis.

[JMalin]

Get high and stay high would be my advice.  Dropping down just to hike up the next ridge for a bird that may not be gobbling any more by the time you get back up isn't worth it IMO.  Just keep pressing forward on the ridge you are in until you strike a bird.

[kyturkeyhunter4]

I live in Kentucky and the flat land tactics defentily don't always work in the mountains. My advice would be just stay on top and work the ridges to you strike a bird and call them up to you. Trust me you defentily don't won't to start dropping down in those deep hollows and then have to hike back up.

[zelmo1]

I live in Kentucky and the flat land tactics defentily don't always work in the mountains. My advice would be just stay on top and work the ridges to you strike a bird and call them up to you. Trust me you defentily don't won't to start dropping down in those deep hollows and then have to hike back up.

X2

[ezmorningrebel]

yeah part of the problem is getting the birds to come up out of those deep hollows.  they seem to like to roost at the head of a these draws about 3/4 the way up the mountain and then fly down into the draw in the mornings.  in the past i've set up on the spurs and tried to get them to come out but the few times it has worked they've come in quiet. maybe because they can't see what they're walking into?

if i get there in the dark am i better off dropping down into those hollows and trying to into where they fly down or getting parallel or above and trying to hunt them later in the morning.  getting down into those low areas without being detected is a tall task.

[SD_smith]

Get high and stay high would be my advice.  Dropping down just to hike up the next ridge for a bird that may not be gobbling any more by the time you get back up isn't worth it IMO.  Just keep pressing forward on the ridge you are in until you strike a bird.

yep had this happen way too many times in the Black Hills.

[TauntoHawk]

Get high to start and move fast those moutain birds can be gobbling on a point one minute and vanish the next when I hear one I'm going.  Use the terrain get set up close put something in between that's a visual imparment but not an obstacle ie the lip of a bench or a turn in a logging road make them come looking in range if you set up where you can see 150yds that bird will hang up on you most every time.

Sound can get wild too the bend in the ridge or a block of pines ect can make a bird inaudible or sound 3 miles off while you can hear birds across the way on the next mountain lighting it up because there's nothing but air between

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[Tomfoolery]

Get high to start and move fast those moutain birds can be gobbling on a point one minute and vanish the next when I hear one I'm going.  Use the terrain get set up close put something in between that's a visual imparment but not an obstacle ie the lip of a bench or a turn in a logging road make them come looking in range if you set up where you can see 150yds that bird will hang up on you most every time.

Sound can get wild too the bend in the ridge or a block of pines ect can make a bird inaudible or sound 3 miles off while you can hear birds across the way on the next mountain lighting it up because there's nothing but air between

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This aint no joke! Made my first trip to the black hills last year and had 1 gobbling no more than 75 yrds away. It was almost dark fly up time down here we thpught we had him pegged for the next morning. The next time he gobbled literally 5 minutes later he was 400 yrds away on the next ridge. Crazy!

[falltoms]

Almost all of my turkey hunting occurs in the mountains. I love mountain hunting. Knowing the ground is a big help, roosting, feeding areas etc. Get high to listen. Use the terrain to your advantage to get close. You may get lucky if your on the same finger ridge as the gobbler, but more often than not, he will be on the next one over or more. If you hunt mountain turkeys long enough,  you will get to the point where you can recognize strut zones. ALWAYS be prepared to set up if running and gunning. A gobbler could be close to you and you don't know it. The terrain can fool you on how far you may think a gobbling bird is from you. Take your time while closing in to set up. Benches on the ridges that face east and get the mornings first sunlight are good spots for strutting gobblers to show off.

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[BB30]

Almost all of my turkey hunting occurs in the mountains. I love mountain hunting. Knowing the ground is a big help, roosting, feeding areas etc. Get high to listen. Use the terrain to your advantage to get close. You may get lucky if your on the same finger ridge as the gobbler, but more often than not, he will be on the next one over or more. If you hunt mountain turkeys long enough,  you will get to the point where you can recognize strut zones. ALWAYS be prepared to set up if running and gunning. A gobbler could be close to you and you don't know it. The terrain can fool you on how far you may think a gobbling bird is from you. Take your time while closing in to set up. Benches on the ridges that face east and get the mornings first sunlight are good spots for strutting gobblers to show off.

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Good stuff. I have just in the last year gained access to some more hilly terrain nothing similar to a mountain but it has definitely taken some time learning how to course a bird. One of the advantages is being able to move on turkey's and use the terrain to your advantage which I have come to enjoy.

I usually hunt a lot of bottomland mostly flat and before the foliage comes out it is practically impossible to move on a bird. It makes that first set extremely important. Where as the hill turkeys I have been on this year, having the ability to cut distance and get in close has been nice.

Cool how no matter how or where you hunt there are different challenges and advantages. One of the many things I enjoy about hunting these awesome birds.


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[Kylongspur88]

Take the high ground. Leave the decoy at home. Birds like strutting on benches and logging roads. Here they often roost on the east side of the hill down in hollers where they are protected from wind and storms. They will pitch into the hill from the roost and move with their back to the sun. And.. you'll probably kill more birds with soft calling and leaf scratching than anything else. That's what I know based on chasing birds in East KY.

[idgobble]

Either call the bird from the same level or above it, never below.  You'll hear all kinds of theories about why but here's what happens: If the gobbler is above you he'll see you before you see him because you'll be stretching your neck higher and moving your head to see him.  He'll spot that from above before you see him, maybe he'll just see the top of your head.  You'll never know he was there.  If you're above him you'll have the same advantage.  Some guys will tell you that turkeys don't walk downhill.  BS! They'll walk downhill just as much as uphill. They're just harder to see first if they're uphill from you.

[Happy]

Mountain birds are all I have really hunted. Matter of fact I don't think more than one or two off the birds i have killed ever saw a cornfield in their lives. I love it. They may not be as heavy or have great spurs but they are one of the greatest challenges in my opinion and worth every ounce of sweat. I like to stay high to listen and then go after them. Things to remember are don't skylight yourself walking the ridge tops , at least stay under the crest. Be in decent shape and willing to walk. Try and not aproach birds from below. They will bust you from way out there. Try and stay on the same ridge as the bird you are working and at the same level or above.
Good luck