What is the best method?

[lab]

What have you found to be the best method to killing a turkey in the fall? I have not been that successful in the fall hunts. Is it better to call or just set and wait? Decoys or no decoys?

[CVN71 Ordnance]

Ok Fall turkey hunting is nothing like spring Turkey hunting. First you have to locate the flock. Them bust them up, after the turkies have run in all diffrent directions, you need to sit down and start doing a Kee-Kee run, this is the assembly call, Young turkies have never been hunted and will try to re-group and then you can kill one. Hope this helps, therre is a lot of good infor at TNTurkey.com

[schuyler olt]

One way I prefer is to find them roosted, and bust them at dark so they can't regroup. Get in early next morning, go where you busted them, and start calling as soon as you hear the first bird fly down. Coarse assembly yelps work best here, as do kee kees. This is a good place to use a variety of calls, so that you sound like a group of different birds, and have a nice flock conversation between your imaginary friends. The other birds are looking to rejoin the flock, and you definitely want to be the flock. Don't bother with decoys unless you have about ten.

Ambushing travel and roost areas can also be productive. Fall turkeys are habitual. They roost in the same general areas and travel about the same routes. Look at torn up leaves--the pointed end is the way they were going. Remember, turkeys generally don't like to walk into a sun that is low on the horizon. If you find the roost, find a nice comfy spot and just wait. DO NOT CALL. Leave 'em in the truck. Remember, they probably won't be coming with the sun in front of them.

If it starts to rain, hightail it to an open field--turks don't like to be in the woods in the rain unless it's a gullywasher, and then I'd look at pines or cedars.

Above all, be safe. I have a Ronald McDonald House obligation Saturday, so I'll miss the opener, but I'll be with everybody in spirit. I worked hard for this October season, so share your thoughts with us about how it went, and GOOD LUCK!

[joekat46]

I can't wait for Saturday. This October season should be fun. The biggest trick is finding them. I usually just walk around until something happens. I'm going to be hunting Clarks River and wouldn't even think of taking a decoy in there. I'm planning on a lot of company since the fall turkey tag was included with the Sportsmans License. I know of at least two hunters that are going to be fall turkey hunting for the first time because they have the tag.

[turk2di]

Great advice here[;)] Joekat46 u lucky dog[:p] Gotta work Saturday[:(]Sunday will be my only day 2 hunt[:(][:(]

what u get out, is what u put in

[lab]

Thanks for the info. I have a spot that has recently been sowed down in wheat. There is a lot of scratching in the field. I had thought about going there and seeing what happens. What kind of calls should I give? Or should I remain quite and simply wait?

[schuyler olt]

If you are going to sit on that field, leave your calls in the truck. Note the times you've looked at the field, because you can pretty well bet the birds won't come through there at that time. Although turkeys usually don't lay up and rest in the fall at midday like they do in late spring and summer, they probably won't be in that field in mid afternoon if the day is warm and sunny. My guess would be they come in during morning hours or late afternoon. If you know about where they roost, that will help you some on better guessing what time they may stroll through.

One added thought. If you know where they are coming in and out of that field, hunting them in the woods on their line of travel may be a better option. The reason I say that is that you'll be dealing with a number of birds and lots of eyes. You probably can find better cover back in the trees, and you'll have the advantage of hearing them in the leaves.

[Ralph]

Keep talkin, Sky[:p] I'm gonna print this all out & keep it. MORE TIPS PLEASE!! Though I have a group patterned pretty good, I still need at least one plan "B". I'm still gonna take my bow & deer hunt Saturday morning, but I have a good chance of seeing turkeys from the stand. Here goes another tree-----[:(]

Ralph

[lab]

Thanks for the info. The plot that I am hunting is located in a powerline. Thick cover on both sides with a 50 yard maximum shot. The first turkey that walks out is going to get a hurtin' put on it!

[schuyler olt]

Ralph,

Thanks for your comments. I love to hunt them with sticks, myself. However, I hunt them from the ground because there's a lot more cover. Turkeys can almost see 360 degrees, their only blind spots being a narrow band behind their heads and directly above them. Short of a squirrel, the only things moving above them are bad news--hawks, owls, crows, etc. As a result, they quickly zero in on overhead movement, and they do so on red alert. Taking one from a treestand is definitely the hardest way to do it.

On the ground, though, they see stuff moving all the time. Yeah, they approach it with extreme caution, but they'll usually hang around just a tick longer. And for an experienced and skilled guy like you, you know that extra second can make all the difference in the world.

I've been thinking hard about getting one of the bows they're using for the school program, and going to a light, fast arrow. Granted, it's no good for deer, but the bows have more than enough whammy for a turkey--in fact, not having a pass through shot is actually an advantage. Plus, with the light weight, you can pull it and hold it all day, which cuts down that abrupt movement when the birds are close. What do you think?

[CVN71 Ordnance]

Sky, That sounds like a great ideal. You guys ever make Turkey Jerky? That is some good stuff.

GO NAVY!!!

[Ralph]

Sorry to take so long to get back here Sky! I've been doing the Fall Shotgun thing[;)] It was fun! Yeah, I like the idea of a low poundage bow for turkey. No pass-thru would, I think, be an advantage. A well-placed arrow is the BEST medicine. My son got a nice Gobbler a few weeks back. He shot it from a treestand. Got him from behind, right below the base of the neck. Needless to say, he didn't go anywhere[;)]

Ralph

[schuyler olt]

Congrats to your son, Ralph! Now follow him up!

I've had turkey jerky before and it's great. I just have this thing, though, for fried turkey! Mine never seem to get past the fryer.