Last chance at turkeys this year

[jnoonan22]

We have one last shot at bagging a bird or two next week. I haven't had any luck so far this year (I'm a hunting newbie) and I'd really appreciate some insight or pointers to up my chances. I've read what I could find and realize that fall/winter turkey hunting is much different than the spring season. It drives me nuts because I see them all the time when I'm inside with my wife and her family on the farm. The horses have been eating corn and the turkeys seem to enjoy recycling that corn. Ironically, a group of both hens and toms/jakes were probably as close as 50 yards from the house on Thanksgiving day, feeding in the pouring rain. I saw too decent size toms hanging out on the edge of a driveway when heading home after patterning my shotgun this past weekend. But every time I get in the field, nothing!!!

During deer season (also no luck) I heard gobblers in the early AM as well as hens cutting or making the calls that hens make... I would catch a glimpse of them in the evenings in the field behind my inlaw's farm. What are the best ideas or tactics to use to get one of these suckers? I have a box call and a mouth call (not good with the mouth call really). It feels like I have the proverbial monkey on my back since I haven't had any luck with hunting so far and my inlaws and family are all pulling for me. Help please!

 

[jnoonan22]

Also, I have both 2 3/4 shells and 3" shells. As I've never pulled the trigger on a turkey before, what kind of yardage is typical? When patterning, i put the bead as close to the bullseye as I could manage from about 20 or 25 yards and both shells seemed to pepper a good portion of the target. I know to aim for the head and try and keep the shot out of the meat, but I'm not familiar with how much a shot spreads at given distances. They are winchester turkey loads. Thanks.

 

[natman]

Use the tightest choke you have, full is good, extra full is better. Aim just below the head. You shouldn't shoot past 40 yards and 25 is better.

Best of luck.

 

[jnoonan22]

Well I certainly had a more eventful couple of hunts this weekend, but failed to get a turkey. It's very frustrating but I concede that at least I'm learning every time I get out there. I learned first hand how difficult fall hunting can be, and how well these birds can actually see.

Friday evening, I scattered a group of jakes and toms into the trees. Before sun up the saturday morning (in the snow, it was very pretty and humbling) I talked to them for over an hour before they finally flew down, into a field behind the property i was on. Since i have permission to go on that land, I hopped the barbed wire and spent two and half hours stalking the group, but they kept moving away from me, definitely spotting me a time or two.

Yesterday afternoon, I sat up early behind some trees in the back of the field again, attempting to catch the group as they move through before roosting. Sure enough, I spot the group in the field behind me again, but I stayed put knowing they would probably circle around to me. 20 or 30 minutes later and here they come. Someone had been emptying one of the barns spreading soiled hay and stuff, leaving a large fresh track of mud through the snow. The group got on the tracks and stayed on them. Unfortunately, the tracks veered of probably 50 or 60 yards from where I was set up, so when the group disappeared behind a small hill, I moved on my stomach to a small flat to try and get a little closer. I still couldn't get close enough to the tracks but remained patient and hopeful. The group kept moving towards me. When the group was within 50 yards, I knew I was in trouble because i had to grab and should my gun. I tried to do this ever so slowly, but it was no use. I was busted immediately and they quickly made their way back down the tracks.

I was cursing at myself and frustrated by what felt like another failed hunt, but in retrospect, I think I'm learning more and more and have some different ideas to get a little closer and remain hidden, so "failed" is not necessarily accurate. I remain determined and hopeful.

Can any of you tell me how you get your gun in position when turkeys a getting close. I know the best thing would probably be to have the gun ready before they get that close, but I feel like that increases my profile too much and gives them something extra to spot moving. My gun is not camo by the way, so a black barrel stuck out like a sore thumb against the snow...

 

[WalkAbout]

Fall turkey hunting is a tad different from spring as the birds will be way more call shy. Stalking them has never been effective for me because they can hear and see too well. Figure out where they're at and then loudly and quickly rush in and bust up the flock. They'll scatter in every direction. Then take up a comfortable position with your back against a tree and use the mouth call to make some cutting noises. Keep it soft and don't call too much. The flock will reassemble over the next 30-60 minutes very near where you busted them up. Take a shot when it presents itself. I believe some people even use dogs for this kind of hunting.

Hope that helps! good luck!

b

PS- wrap some gauze around your gun. It'll lighten t up and help it blend with the snow some more.

 

[buck460XVR]

I shot a double beaded jake on Friday night.........I was wearing blaze orange because of the muzzle loader season going on. Sit still and have a backdrop and camo is not that important. Beside....a black gun looks just like a stick to a turkey.

IMHO, you can NOT call too much in the fall. If you have ever heard the boss hen trying to reassemble her flock, you will know she'll use 30-40 yelps in a sequence. She will do this at the top of her lungs. If I scatter birds, I will call long and hard till they start to get near(remember, you generally are competing against the boss hen). Then I will go more subtle. Most of the time, since fall birds are easier to pattern, I'll set up between their feeding area and their roost and call aggressively till I get a response. Once I get a response I will imitate whatever the other bird is saying. Toms and year old jakes may or may not reassemble when scattered, as they are not as anxious to get back together as young birds of the year and hens, but will come to feeding calls thinking they are missin' out on somethin'. Again, whenever you get a response, try to imitate exactly whatever the other bird is doing.....the tone is not as important as the sequence or cadence. Calls and a their sequences you learn in the fall also work well in the spring.

 

[jnoonan22]

Thanks for the tips guys. I was trying to cut using the mouth call but don't think I did very well. Would cuts on the box call fill this role well?

 

[buck460XVR]

I was trying to cut using the mouth call but don't think I did very well.

Bad cutting can sound like alarm putts. Yelps and clucks are the calls used by turkeys for assembling. They are also the easiest to master. Get good at yelping...........most times that's all you need. When you get good at yelping move on to clucks. When you have that down move on to a whines and purrs. These are the sounds of a content, and/or feeding turkey. Cutting and cackling are finesse calls that require a lot of tongue control when done with a mouth call. They are basically just loud clucks and yelps done very quickly. These are sounds made by excited or impatient turkeys. Most turkey's cut or cackle right before or during flydown. Slate type or pot calls are one of the easiest of the friction calls to use. They are not as loud as box calls but require less movement and tend to be more consistent for the beginner. Push button calls are by far the easiest to use and most make good turkey sounds. What ever you use, master one call at a time. I know turkey hunters that are successful year after year....and the only call they make is a yelp, but they do it well.

In the fall, most times, where turkeys are today at noon, they will be there or close at noon tomorrow. Unless someone or something(like coyotes) has screwed them up and changed this pattern. If you see them in the same spot two days in a row....this is a pattern. Use it. Be there tomorrow at the same time, using some kind of cover to break up your shape and call aggressively till you get an answer or they appear. Next time the neighbor spreads manure again in the field, odds are the birds will be back. Late fall/winter birds have limited food sources, so an easy meal of semi-digested corn is a welcome treat. Be patient. Turkeys are used to predators trying to sneak up on them.....that is why shapes coming towards them spooks them so easily. Shapes that sit still generally do not alarm them unless they are already spooked. Bringing up your gun can be done but must be done slowly and smoothly. The best bet is to have the gun in position as soon as possible. If you can hear a fall turkey, they are already close......and your gun should be at ready.