T.R.'s
Tips: Spring Turkey Hunting
By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors
The most widely used hunting technique
for spring turkeys is to locate a tom on the roost
before sunrise, setup nearby, and use decoys or calls
to get the tom to come into range. But, what do you
do if you don't get a tom within a couple hours of
sunrise? You adapt, and keep trying. Although gobbling
activity drops off after daylight, toms that are not
with hens may continue to gobble throughout the morning,
and they may answer your calls. If you don't get a
tom in the early morning, you can slowly work your
way through the woods, or near feeding and loafing
areas, calling intermittently as you go. When you
hear a tom get as close as you can without spooking
it before you set up to call. I like to set up in
a small opening if I can, where I may have seen birds
before. Then I put out my decoys and start calling.
When you are calling midmorning toms you can use the
same calling routine as you do when you call a bird
off the roost, except that if the tom is any distance
away you may have to call louder, and use the Cutt
more often. Try to imitate a lonely hen looking for
a flock, or a tom. If the tom is not with a hen he
usually becomes interested and starts to come in.
Once the tom responds it's back to playing the game,
trying to figure out which calls to use, how loud
to call, and how often to call, to keep the tom interested
and coming.
If the tom hangs up you can pick up and start to move
on him; a combination of stalking and calling, trying
to keep track of his location without getting too
close and spooking him. This makes the tom think the
hen is really interested, because it sounds like she
is moving toward him while he is waiting or coming
toward her. The key to this tactic is not to let the
tom see you before you see him. You should be set
up and waiting before the tom appears. This tactic
can backfire if you can't keep track of the tom, and
it comes in silent, when you aren't ready, or you
get too close. You have to move slowly at all times,
stay under cover, move silently and stay alert and
ready to shoot. If you're ready when the toms comes
in you may be able to ambush him when he comes toward
you, or you may get a shot as he sneaks off into the
woods. The ideal situation is to move in, set up,
and call the bird to you.
Ambush
Toms often feed and gobble in open areas late
in the morning, after the hens have gone to their
nests. If you have done your fieldwork in observing
and patterning the birds, you may know where these
late morning feeding/strutting sites are. These
late morning feeding/strutting sites are a good
spots for permanent blinds, especially for archery
hunters. You can take along a book and a lunch,
call every few minutes, and wait for the birds to
appear.
I set up a flock of decoys, as
many as six including a jake, and make a day of it.
If you are in a "high use" area you can
use the calls and decoys to attract the tom into shooting
position. This is the same technique used by many
deer hunters who sit long hours on a deer stand. You
have to be patient and have perseverance. The key
is to be in a spot the toms use regularly.
Hunting Flocked-Up Turkeys
Turkeys may be in large mixed flocks when food sources
are scarce, and when the birds are still on the wintering
grounds; or after they migrate, but before they breakup.
Turkeys are hard to hunt in large flocks. It's hard
to get them in close, because there are so many eyes
and ears watching and listening for danger; it's even
harder to get ready for a shot. It's also hard to
call the toms in, because what they are looking for
they already have; hens.
I use two main tactics in this situation. No matter
when I hunt I try to pattern the birds, so I know
where the roosting and feeding areas are, and the
routes they use between those areas. Then I try to
get between the roost and the food source, to call,
decoy or ambush the birds when they come by. If that
doesn't work you can scatter the birds like you would
in the fall, then set up a few decoys and call the
toms back by using Assembly Yelps or Lost Yelps to
imitate a hen trying to gather her year old female
offspring. If the birds begin calling by themselves,
try to get between them, and let them do the calling
for you.
Hunting Henned-Up Toms
During the breeding phase the toms
may follow the hens throughout the day, rather than
spend the day on the strut. This is especially true
if the hens leave the feeding/strutting areas in groups,
rather than by themselves. If the toms are still with
the hens in the late afternoon/early evening, there's
a good chance they'll roost near the hens. This usually
results in less pre-dawn gobbling, because the toms
know where the hens are. It also results in the toms
getting together with the hens shortly after they
fly down. This makes the toms difficult to call, because
they've already found what they're looking for.
If the toms have roosted far enough
away from the hens you may be able to get between
them, and call the toms in as they go to the hens.
If the toms have roosted close to the hens, and you
have previously patterned the birds, or think you
know where they will go to feed when they fly down,
you can setup between the roost and the feeding area.
You can also use a dominant hen call to try to get
the hens to come to you and bring the toms with them.
Or you can use a Fighting Purr to bring in the whole
flock.
One of my favorite techniques is to scatter the birds
off the roost after they have flown up in the evening.
Then I go back the next morning and wait until the
toms start gobbling (so I know where they are). If
the toms don't gobble by themselves I try to get them
to shock gobble. Then I setup nearby, put out a couple
of decoys, and use a Flydown Cackle, a few soft Yelps,
some Cutts, and try to get the toms to come in.
This article is based on the Turkey
Addict's Manual, by T.R. Michels.
T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized wildlife researcher,
outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the
Whitetail, Elk, Turkey and Goose Addict's Manuals,
and the Deer Addict's Manuals. He is also the innovator
of the Moon Indicator, which predicts peak monthly
movement of deer and elk, based on the forces of the
moon; the Daily Deer Movement Indicator, which helps
hunters decide when and where to hunt, based on current
meteorological conditions; the Rut Indicator, which
predicts peak rut activity, based on the forces of
the moon; and the Rut Phase Indicator, which helps
hunters determine the stage of the rut, and when and
where to hunt, by the current deer activity and sign.
T.R.'s latest books, available for 2003, are the Revised
editions of the Deer Addict's Manual, Turkey Addict's
Manual, the Ducks& Goose Addict's Manual and the
Elk Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other
hunting aids contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain
Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983.
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