Best time of day to hunt fields for turkeys?

[ugaDAWGS09]

My plan the next few hunts is go to the woods/creeks first thing in the morning and if I don't hear any gobblers by 8 AM I'm going to set up on the edge of a field and slow call with some decoys.  What time do turkeys usually walk the fields?

[notsure]

I hunt fields almost exclusively, and have killed them right off the roost through 10 AM or so. I'd venture to guess that most of the field toms I've scored on showed up closer to 10 AM as opposed to the real early birds.

[ugaDAWGS09]

I hunt fields almost exclusively, and have killed them right off the roost through 10 AM or so. I'd venture to guess that most of the field toms I've scored on showed up closer to 10 AM as opposed to the real early birds.

Do you like to use decoys for fields?

[valerio024]

I hunt fields almost exclusively as well. I've killed them right off the roost but have good success 2+ hours after fly down as well. I like decoys and a blind for field hunting.


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[Mbhyman88]

I've had better luck in the afternoon for field birds but it really just depends on the birds habits and the situation (dominate or sub dominate gobbler, has hens or doesn't).

[a_jabbo]

Majority of the properties I have permission to hunt have more crop fields than timber. I'd say 95% of the time, I start the morning off on a field edge or out in the field in a blind, pending on if I have a youngster with me or not. I'll put a jake over a breeder hen decoy, and maybe put a feeder out to add to it. I've had a lot of success with this setup. A good portion of the time the birds hit the fields right after they fly down or shortly after, but I've also caught them later in the morning. Anytime is a good time for field hunting, especially during or after a light rain. It all comes down to scouting and knowing where the birds are. If they're roosted close to the fields, you'll be in the chips.

[G squared 23]

It depends on where the field is compared to where they're roosted, will be different for each field and maybe each day depending on where they're at.  I've had them light IN the decoys like it's a duck hunt and I've had them work in much later after (I assume) they lose a hen that sits on a nest. 

Patience is the key, and in order to stick it out you have to keep a positive attitude and have confidence in your spot (based on observations and scouting).  Take a thermos, sit in a comfortable chair, and enjoy the day. 

[catman529]

Early morning seems best but I usually don't like hunting fields.


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[ChiefBubba]

Majority of the properties I have permission to hunt have more crop fields than timber. I'd say 95% of the time, I start the morning off on a field edge or out in the field in a blind, pending on if I have a youngster with me or not. I'll put a jake over a breeder hen decoy, and maybe put a feeder out to add to it. I've had a lot of success with this setup. A good portion of the time the birds hit the fields right after they fly down or shortly after, but I've also caught them later in the morning. Anytime is a good time for field hunting, especially during or after a light rain. It all comes down to scouting and knowing where the birds are. If they're roosted close to the fields, you'll be in the chips.

This is what I have on my farm in SC. I've killed them anywhere from Seconds after they fly down and have watched them fly down into the opposite side of the field I was on and watched them for 2 hours or more while they worked their way over to me. I've also blind call in the afternoon and have killed them that way.
If it was me I'd probably do the opposite and field hunt first thing and then try the woods later. Just remember setting up in a field in broad daylight can be a tricky business with as good as these birds see. Then again anytime you can hunt is a good time to go. Bubba

[MK M GOBL]

I live in a some ridge and valley with a mix of hardwoods and Farm/Dairy & Crop country, so fields are just a part of turkey hunting and habitat. Depending how the farm I am on is laid out and proximity to where birds are roosted and to a degree what was in that field last fall makes a difference. Some of my spots do not see action till mid morning, I do have spots that birds flydown into the field first thing. Scouting makes a big difference to know what your birds are doing and where they like to enter and exit the field, they do have "patterns" to this. I will set a blind and have some decoys out on these hunts. I also will hunt fields in late afternoon and have done mighty good then as long as you know they roost near that field.

This spot is just a killer all day long!


MK M GOBL

[shaman]

It's hard to say without scouting.

I like to set up at a junction where a whole bunch of stuff comes together--fencelines, cedar thickets, 2 pastures, and hardwoods-- all in less than an acre.  This honey hole sees a lot of action during the season.  What I've seen is that the pastures will see turkeys anywhere from 15 minutes after flydown all the way into the afternoon.  It's hard to predict exactly when.  I've taken gobs from there at sunrise minus 15minutes.

A cold, bright day will bring them out mid-morning.  I think they're getting out in the sun to warm up.

A dark, rainy morning will bring them out.  I think they want to pick earthworms out of the grass.

[fmf]

depends on the time of the year.  Later in the season when gobblers have to move more to find receptive hens they will go check fields for hens just like we will go check fields for gobblers.  Fields that hold no birds in the morning might have several gobblers show up throughout the day searching for hens.  During the last couple weeks of the season I might spend all day checking the same few fields over and over all day long and eventually there will be a longbeard in one of them. 

[ugaDAWGS09]

Thanks everyone.  I've always enjoyed being down in the woods when the sun rises and listening but if I don't usually hear a gobble in the first 45 minutes or so I've never had any luck blind calling so I wanted to try something different mid mornings this season.  I've never had access to a field but this year I have permission to hunt one that is in between two big tracts of pine trees.  It's probably a 25 acre field or bigger so I'm going to give it a shot.

[Gobble!]

I've killed them in fields within 20 minutes of their feet hitting the ground and killed in the same field at 1130. Just depends on the birds routine. I do find myself setting up in fields or strut zones more in the later morning though.

[notsure]

I almost always put out a decoy. Usually a single feeding hen, or a jake/hen combo (sometimes incorporating a feeding and alert hen decoys).