Mid to late season tactics...
05-04-2004, 11:39 AM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Calif
Posts: 1,894
Mid to late season tactics...
I've always felt if you want to meet a true turkey hunter than talk to those who bag gobblers on a consistent basis during the second season or inotherwords after the initial rush of hunters to the turkey woods is over.At this point in the season its common for many a hunter who have ventured into there favorite spots to become frusterated, finding hunter sign everywhere,piles of feathers,silent woods,rising temps,and uncooperative gobblers. Many of the turkeys we scouted have been harvested, and the others are highly educated now.Many of us have growled "You'd better pack a lunch" just before an all-out brawl.
This rings true when you hit the middle of turkey season, no matter where you hunt.
Mature toms and even jakes have gained a formal education in the ways of running to lovesick yelps coming from a hen who has the paint rubbed off her back.
A couple of years ago I worked a bird in the roost tree, when he hit the ground he henned up and walked away.
I looked at my watch; it was 8:30 a.m. I was seriously thinking of bagging it since I was 300 miles from home and needed to get back.
Picking up my decoy, I decided to make a loop around the valley I was hunting.
Walking and calling, I found some ridge tops that would be great places to locate a traveling tom.
Calling every hundred yards produced no action whatsoever, but I pressed on. I was there, and I'd make the best of it.
I decided to give a few quick yelps and instantly heard a gobble. This broke the three-hour silence.
Glassing across the ridge, I spotted a decent Rio making his way up to the top of the opposite hill.
Gathering my gear, I made my way over to where I believed he was. I caught some movement and spotted a bright red head staring right at me.
I had a diaphragm in my mouth, so I quickly gave two rapid clucks.
The tom gobbled and charged in my direction. The only thing separating me and him was about 30 yards of open air.
As the tom came in to look for the source of the clucks, he stepped in a small depression, and that gave me the chance to raise the gun.
There's still some hope for those of us who have yet to fill our turkey tags as our seasons come to a close...
Here are some mid- to late-season tactics that have helped fill many tags over the years.
#1.Come up with a plan: And not just one plan, have two or three. If you want to bag a bird, it's going to take some legwork, maybe more than you like. Know where you're going to hunt in advance.Effective preseason scouting can turn a long frusterating season into a short fulfilling one.By scouting out a toms/flocks travel routes,roost areas,strutzones,feeding areas,etc,combined with knowing your terrain can give you the edge in knowing where to set-up ambush points as well as setting up tight in that he doesn't have to travel very far to come to your calls.
#2.Look at your map: Look at the areas you like to hunt and then go over a ridge or two.If it's good turkey habitat in those areas, pressured turkeys may end up there. Consider getting away from any roads, and find areas that most people would never venture into.Keep your options open about where you hunt too. Keep a couple back-up areas to yourself that you can check out.
#3.Don't go in yelping: After a couple days of turkey hunting on public land, the standard yelp might as well be a fog horn.Be persistent and confident in your calling,dont be afraid in switching techniques as often times just a little change in tone,cadence,and volume,can produce surprising responses.
#4.Early morning, sit tight and let the show start. If you can get a bird to work to your calls, you're in luck. If you don't find a roost tree, spend some time looking in good habitat for sign.Scout in a low impact manner such as using optics/binos instead of your eyes and use your ears instead of your legs walking around your turkey woods.
#5.Eventually hens will go to nest and ole longbeard will be left all alone.Those hens that kept him out of harms way for most of the season come mid to late season eventually will nest and this is where digging into the pockets of your vest may produce a call that will bring in one of those ole woodwise monarchs.More often times than not on these pressured type gobblers,think soft and seductive: Take your time and do some really soft clucks and purrs. Make him feel content. Scratches in the leaves combined with some soft calling may have you wrapping a tag on his leg.
#6.At this point in the season its a neccessity to work him from the front and not from behind.Chasing results in long frusterating mornings and bumped birds.Best bet is to work him from a spot he's already comfortable with such as a strutzone or a daily travel route.Don't expect a lot of gobbling. Toms may only gobble occasionally as they work there way in especially pressured birds.Be patient,dont move,and listen for drumming,and walking in the leaves as a gobbler approach's.
#7.Forget decoys: After the first couple of days in the season, I'll usually retire mine. Toms that have been educated will turn away at the first glimpse of a decoy. Unless I know the area hasn't been hunted, I prefer to leave it at home.
#8.Patience is a virtue: Turkey season in many states now is a very long season; use this to your advantage. Many hunters will take to the woods during the first couple weeks and then bag it.Also make use of all your legal time to spend afield if you have too.Its very common at this junture in the season for a morning to start slow only to have a gobbler left alone late morning or even early afternoon.
#9.Persistence is also a virtue: The people I know who fill tags every year do two things: They hunt a lot, and they cover ground. Being in the woods is the best way to fill a tag.
I know it sounds a little corny, but I know lots of people who always say they meant to go, but got busy.
#10.Finally, dedication is another virtue: There are many days when I venture into the woods and never hear a gobble. Usually I'm following a bird with hens who will ignore every call I produce, but I still get out there. You never know when it's going to happen, but by being dedicated you have a better chance of making it happen. You'll never know unless you go.
These are just a couple of tricks that I've used over the years to find success year after year.Nothing is ever garunttee'd on a fare chase hunt in the turkey woods,but instead of crying over 'spilled milk' and giving up,we all learn by experiences in the field,make application to some of these points and it will help you on these late season veteran birds...
Good luck!Bob
This rings true when you hit the middle of turkey season, no matter where you hunt.
Mature toms and even jakes have gained a formal education in the ways of running to lovesick yelps coming from a hen who has the paint rubbed off her back.
A couple of years ago I worked a bird in the roost tree, when he hit the ground he henned up and walked away.
I looked at my watch; it was 8:30 a.m. I was seriously thinking of bagging it since I was 300 miles from home and needed to get back.
Picking up my decoy, I decided to make a loop around the valley I was hunting.
Walking and calling, I found some ridge tops that would be great places to locate a traveling tom.
Calling every hundred yards produced no action whatsoever, but I pressed on. I was there, and I'd make the best of it.
I decided to give a few quick yelps and instantly heard a gobble. This broke the three-hour silence.
Glassing across the ridge, I spotted a decent Rio making his way up to the top of the opposite hill.
Gathering my gear, I made my way over to where I believed he was. I caught some movement and spotted a bright red head staring right at me.
I had a diaphragm in my mouth, so I quickly gave two rapid clucks.
The tom gobbled and charged in my direction. The only thing separating me and him was about 30 yards of open air.
As the tom came in to look for the source of the clucks, he stepped in a small depression, and that gave me the chance to raise the gun.
There's still some hope for those of us who have yet to fill our turkey tags as our seasons come to a close...
Here are some mid- to late-season tactics that have helped fill many tags over the years.
#1.Come up with a plan: And not just one plan, have two or three. If you want to bag a bird, it's going to take some legwork, maybe more than you like. Know where you're going to hunt in advance.Effective preseason scouting can turn a long frusterating season into a short fulfilling one.By scouting out a toms/flocks travel routes,roost areas,strutzones,feeding areas,etc,combined with knowing your terrain can give you the edge in knowing where to set-up ambush points as well as setting up tight in that he doesn't have to travel very far to come to your calls.
#2.Look at your map: Look at the areas you like to hunt and then go over a ridge or two.If it's good turkey habitat in those areas, pressured turkeys may end up there. Consider getting away from any roads, and find areas that most people would never venture into.Keep your options open about where you hunt too. Keep a couple back-up areas to yourself that you can check out.
#3.Don't go in yelping: After a couple days of turkey hunting on public land, the standard yelp might as well be a fog horn.Be persistent and confident in your calling,dont be afraid in switching techniques as often times just a little change in tone,cadence,and volume,can produce surprising responses.
#4.Early morning, sit tight and let the show start. If you can get a bird to work to your calls, you're in luck. If you don't find a roost tree, spend some time looking in good habitat for sign.Scout in a low impact manner such as using optics/binos instead of your eyes and use your ears instead of your legs walking around your turkey woods.
#5.Eventually hens will go to nest and ole longbeard will be left all alone.Those hens that kept him out of harms way for most of the season come mid to late season eventually will nest and this is where digging into the pockets of your vest may produce a call that will bring in one of those ole woodwise monarchs.More often times than not on these pressured type gobblers,think soft and seductive: Take your time and do some really soft clucks and purrs. Make him feel content. Scratches in the leaves combined with some soft calling may have you wrapping a tag on his leg.
#6.At this point in the season its a neccessity to work him from the front and not from behind.Chasing results in long frusterating mornings and bumped birds.Best bet is to work him from a spot he's already comfortable with such as a strutzone or a daily travel route.Don't expect a lot of gobbling. Toms may only gobble occasionally as they work there way in especially pressured birds.Be patient,dont move,and listen for drumming,and walking in the leaves as a gobbler approach's.
#7.Forget decoys: After the first couple of days in the season, I'll usually retire mine. Toms that have been educated will turn away at the first glimpse of a decoy. Unless I know the area hasn't been hunted, I prefer to leave it at home.
#8.Patience is a virtue: Turkey season in many states now is a very long season; use this to your advantage. Many hunters will take to the woods during the first couple weeks and then bag it.Also make use of all your legal time to spend afield if you have too.Its very common at this junture in the season for a morning to start slow only to have a gobbler left alone late morning or even early afternoon.
#9.Persistence is also a virtue: The people I know who fill tags every year do two things: They hunt a lot, and they cover ground. Being in the woods is the best way to fill a tag.
I know it sounds a little corny, but I know lots of people who always say they meant to go, but got busy.
#10.Finally, dedication is another virtue: There are many days when I venture into the woods and never hear a gobble. Usually I'm following a bird with hens who will ignore every call I produce, but I still get out there. You never know when it's going to happen, but by being dedicated you have a better chance of making it happen. You'll never know unless you go.
These are just a couple of tricks that I've used over the years to find success year after year.Nothing is ever garunttee'd on a fare chase hunt in the turkey woods,but instead of crying over 'spilled milk' and giving up,we all learn by experiences in the field,make application to some of these points and it will help you on these late season veteran birds...
Good luck!Bob
05-04-2004, 03:54 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 1,906
RE: Mid to late season tactics...
I'd like to keep the list going...
#11) Mix it up and take chances! At this point in the season, you're hunting partner is falling asleep at the base of a tree on a regular basis, your dog has taken over your side of the bed, and the family is totally convinced that "the old man" is completely off his rocker... Don't be afraid to take chances, and definitely do not be shy about calling aggressively. When a young hen comes into "heat", she yelps higher and longer than an old wise hen...
#12) Sleep in and hunt later. If your job allows it, go to work till 10 then hunt the last few hours of the mid-morning. Not only will you feel much better with the sleep, but the birds may be more ameniable to your lovesick calls...
#13) Dig an old call out of your spares at home and use it in the woods. It will be a different sound, and may be the deal. If not, you can justify the need, to buy new calls, to the wife
#14) Try the stupidest stuff you can think of...and then go beyond. On the last day, 3 years ago, I had hunted a large tom all season. That morning was perfect---chilly, little wind and clear---but no gobbles. The bird had roosted just off my private property the entire season, and I could not coerce him over. I used 2 rounds from my 12 gauge ~7:30 to get him to shock gobble, whereby I then proceeded to carry on 5+ minutes with continuous yelping. It was too much, and within 10 minutes he was finally 20 yards from the end of the muzzle, in full strut and gobbling like mad...
#15) Look for new property. Many times guys tag out on a large property, and towards the end of the season you can get permission from the landowner, especially on larger farms where the farmers are seeing the birds on a daily basis. I've come to learn over the years that to farmers, turkeys are the second biggest menace (#1 still Mr. Woodie) to their crops, fields and fences, and therefore usually are glad to give permission later in the season---which in the Northern climates, coincides with corn planting...
S&R
#11) Mix it up and take chances! At this point in the season, you're hunting partner is falling asleep at the base of a tree on a regular basis, your dog has taken over your side of the bed, and the family is totally convinced that "the old man" is completely off his rocker... Don't be afraid to take chances, and definitely do not be shy about calling aggressively. When a young hen comes into "heat", she yelps higher and longer than an old wise hen...
#12) Sleep in and hunt later. If your job allows it, go to work till 10 then hunt the last few hours of the mid-morning. Not only will you feel much better with the sleep, but the birds may be more ameniable to your lovesick calls...
#13) Dig an old call out of your spares at home and use it in the woods. It will be a different sound, and may be the deal. If not, you can justify the need, to buy new calls, to the wife
#14) Try the stupidest stuff you can think of...and then go beyond. On the last day, 3 years ago, I had hunted a large tom all season. That morning was perfect---chilly, little wind and clear---but no gobbles. The bird had roosted just off my private property the entire season, and I could not coerce him over. I used 2 rounds from my 12 gauge ~7:30 to get him to shock gobble, whereby I then proceeded to carry on 5+ minutes with continuous yelping. It was too much, and within 10 minutes he was finally 20 yards from the end of the muzzle, in full strut and gobbling like mad...
#15) Look for new property. Many times guys tag out on a large property, and towards the end of the season you can get permission from the landowner, especially on larger farms where the farmers are seeing the birds on a daily basis. I've come to learn over the years that to farmers, turkeys are the second biggest menace (#1 still Mr. Woodie) to their crops, fields and fences, and therefore usually are glad to give permission later in the season---which in the Northern climates, coincides with corn planting...
S&R
