Turkeys in the wind?

[cornfedkiller]

Going on an out of state hunt this weekend and besides the cold, the wind is supposed to be 25-30mph with occasional gusts over 50 on Saturday.

I've hunted in the wind before, but never had much luck.

Where do the turkeys go when its that windy?  Down in the creek bottoms out of the wind? Do I just pick a low spot out of the wind and sit.

Any other advice?

[SD_smith]

Out here in Western SD the wind doesn't bother them too much. The wind blows all year out here, non-stop, 24/7, 365 days a year. If its blowing really hard like 50 mph steady with no break they might head for trees, creek bottoms, or draws/gulleys in hillsides. We still run and gun just have listen better.

[Bowguy]

Ya gotta hunt down wind so they don't smell ya!! Jeez though everyone knew that!

Seriously where are you hunting? What kind of terrain, etc

[cornfedkiller]

Ya gotta hunt down wind so they don't smell ya!! Jeez though everyone knew that!

Seriously where are you hunting? What kind of terrain, etc

Haha.  I'll be sure to do that!

Nebraska. Mix of ag fields and cattle pastures, wooded creek bottoms. 

[Bowguy]

I'm sorry bud, I've never hunted there. I'd either hunt way out of the wind or sometimes round here animals take to field middles when it's really gusty. It's like they can see better without stuff blowing all over. Try n find a pattern when you get there if no one helps til than.

[Dtrkyman]

I've had some of my best hunts in Nebraska in high winds, seems the toms lose track of their hens through out the day and come in hot in the afternoon, find a sheltered area, low spots or back side of some cedars and camp out.

Tough when you can hear them,  but call loud and often and you should do well.   

[shaman]

My farm is on a high spot. I can see 4 counties from the front porch.  To the southwest, there's nothing between me and the Mississippi.  Wind is a constant problem, especially in the afternoon. 

What I've seen is lone horny hens going out to the same spots I use as listening posts and cranking away.  I mimick that.  I'll go out after lunch with a loud box call and good book.  I will give a loud run of yelps every 20-30 minutes and read or nap between.  Usually before dinner time, if anything's coming, they'll come.  When they do, they come from the downwind side and make a beeline straight for me.  I've seen them gobble, but never all that much. It may be one gobble at first contact and it may be 300-600 yards away.  It sometimes takes hours for them to cover the ground between us.

Here is something I wrote on this a while back:

Afternoon Tactics

[Marc]

I killed a bird in a big wind that stands out...

He came in downwind, and I could see him calling, before I could hear him calling...  It was like watching a silent movie.

  I would say that that is the most difficult part of hunting turkeys in a strong wind...  They can hear you downwind, but you cannot hear them respond.  Wind is the time to pick a location and sit it out, because listening for a response while running and gunning is often useless.

[jims]

In Nebr where I hunt the wind seems to howl just about every day.  The turkeys there tend to spend the windy time of day down in draws out of the wind.  I mostly run and gun hunt and usually get up high and glass the sheltered sides or bottoms of draws.  A lot depends upon the lay of the land and vegetation in the country you hunt.  I've also found that the Colo and Nebr turkeys I hunt are super quiet on windy days.  It's often a matter of covering gobs of country with legs and glass.  On less windy days they tend to spend more time out in the open strutting and feeding.

[kjnengr]

Good luck buddy.  I just came back from a hunt with a couple of windy days like that.  During the two windy days the birds pretty much shut down their "normal" routine.  I'm sure they hunkered down in the draws, but they weren't very talkative.  On the last morning of the hunt, the wind was very calm and the birds gobbled their brains out.  Hopefully you have enough days in your hunt for the weather to straighten out (and the birds will be very accommodating when it does), or to find a willing bird during the windstorm.

[ilbucksndux]

Around here they tend to head to the fields when its really windy. I have had good luck in the woods with a box call and patience.