Save 20% off our CAMO Flannels! I like … Turkey sightings were still relatively uncommon in my neck of the woods in 1999. Calling to hens is especially effective with henned-up gobblers. Mark Hatfield, wildlife biologist and turkey researcher with the NWTF, says turkeys typically gobble the most after the peak of nesting occurs, when there are fewer available hens to breed. Turkey hens often cackle when flying up to or down from the roost. Often as not--especially during the breeding season--a male turkey will gobble at the sound, revealing his location. Thus, even with a dialed-in turkey-specific rig, still, the best range is about 30 yards. It seems to be harder to get a tom to gobble in the morning, making them tougher to hunt. Those quiet birds were the topic of many a conversation among friends and other turkey hunters we ran into over the course of a season. Were the birds really gobbling less? Why Turkeys Strut. It was almost dark and I had just turned 20 years old about a month prior. From experience, I will tell you that turkeys are usually much closer than they sound. https://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2010/04/gobbling-graph It was a time when making a gobbler sound off on the roost in the evening could be as simple as slamming the car door. And since they have great eye sight, you do not want to try to sneak in on them. Turkeys just seem to have a knack for doing things that messes up a day's hunt. With season openers happening earlier and earlier, particularly in the southeastern U.S., many birds never make it to that point of the season now. Once they do fly down, they will alter their daily routine. One, gobblers are more susceptible to shock gobbling in the morning just because they just want to gobble anyway. Rainy days in the spring don’t mean your turkey hunt is a wash out. For example, hens associate with, call to and respond to other hens every day. Lets enjoy the strutter coming in the field. Even when populations are high, the birds simply don’t gobble much on … Spring turkey hunters have a tendency to assume if they hear no gobbles, there are none in the area. “Some of them do and some don’t,” says turkey hunting pro Ernie Calandrelli. As hens start to leave the gobblers to tend to their nests, the gobblers go into panic mode, and many times will come in very quickly in the afternoon. This is the main reason why I typically use a locator first, turkey call second. There are several arguments to afternoon … At Roost Time : Try a very systematic approach to making a tom gobble on roost in the evening. Turkeys will opt to stay in the roost longer. If you fail to get a turkey to gobble, move into a good Strut Zone and do patient turkey calling for at least an hour before moving on to another spot. The talkative ones have been removed from the turkey gene pool and are now decorative fan mounts in hunters' homes. In other states the birds are already nesting when season opens, but the best hunting, or should I say one of the easiest times to call a gobbler to you, is when the hens are nesting. However, if the turkey is a dominant bird, the tom may think that another gobbler has moved into his territory and come-in ready to fight. In the spring, turkeys use yelps, clucks, cutts, cackles and even gobbles to talk back and … How I Kill Afternoon Gobblers, the lessons of many years. It’s an amusing theory, to say the least. “They for sure do not gobble on roost in evening like they did 40 years ago. Just like turkey hunters, gobblers are easily excited in the spring. They are not excellent conditions for turkey hunting since mobility and visibility are hindered. Overall turkey numbers, however, don’t seem to play a role in day-to-day gobbling activities. Anatomy Nature gives turkeys the tools they need to … Two years after there are a large number of brood sightings, gobbling activity is high. This average was lower than the long-term average of 2.5 poults per adult hen. Reports from around the state so far indicate that toms are gobbling on the roost but quit when they hit the ground and do not gobble much afterwards, Hardin said. In the evenings, be in the roost area and be patient. What's worse, they do it all while screaming their location and even their plans. How to Hunt Turkey in the Fall 【7 Proven Tips For Beginners】 This field was really out in the open so my best chance would be to set up along the turkeys path coming into the field. They get so amped up on warm weather and the thought of women that any loud sound will make them send a gobble rumbling through the woods. But turkeys have a vast vocabulary and interact with each other socially in many varied ways. Roosting turkeys is a very important step in building the foundation for all turkey hunting methods. It’s just a big part of it for me, reacting to that first gobble. One of the first steps in becoming a successful turkey hunter is understanding the ins and outs of roosting turkeys. Often, replicating that approach can make a difference. More than 6,000 turkeys were reported during the 2014 survey, with an average of 1.76 young turkeys (poults) per adult hen turkey. Hunt long enough, particularly in the rain, and you’ll discover that turkeys do in fact gobble in the rain. Crow C all. On rainy days, especially cold rainy days, gobblers go quiet. More jakes translates to more gobbling the following season. A group of hens can also have a gobbler or two in tow. Midday hunts can also be very productive, especially if you know of the areas that gobblers like to loaf and you can get to those areas before they do. Foggy mornings will likewise keep birds in the trees usually until the fog lifts. More and more turkey hunters are meeting — and taking on — gobblers that don't gobble. The thump of wings is another distinct sound made by turkeys. The fact that turkeys do not regularly gobble in the afternoon makes simply striking a turkey better than fishing or sitting back at the camp. Why Turkeys Strut – Breaking Down Wild Turkey Displays: Ask any turkey hunting addict what drives their obsession and the answer likely includes the intoxicating rush of calling in a brush-bearded, sunlit strutting tom, gobbling, … A lovesick and lonely gobbler is a gobbler that I’d like to get to know better. It is clearer and less muffled. Rainy evenings and mornings can also produce fog. Calls. As the day fades and the hens disperse and shun his advances while filling their crops for evening, two-year-old gobblers often try to squeeze in a few more romantic encounters before fly-up. Biologists began tracking summer observations of wild turkeys in 1962. So using the owl call just may do the trick. In the early morning, hooting like a barred owl or cawing like a crow can be adequate to make a turkey gobble. Here are some of the best turkey calls to use to make a turkey shock gobble back. Harold Knight and David Hale have called to more gobblers than most. Ruffed grouse were added to the survey in 1999. Poop tells the genders apart. Here's how: Let conditions dictate your afternoon strategies. In most cases a gobble in the tree has a different sound than a gobble made on the ground. If the gobbler sounds less than 200 yard away I will set up right where I am at. It wasn’t a booming gobble in the classic predawn tranquility of early April. It was on a cold evening in late February, with a few inches of crunchy old snow on the ground. The most sure method, however, of finding a gobbler roost is to elicit gobbles from roosted toms, which are prone to gobbling in the evening to alert hens in the area of their presence. Spring Turkey … I’ve known enthusiastic toms to gobble in response to passing trains, early morning thunder, and even the sound of the truck door slamming. The gobblers that have kept their bills shut and their heads down have lived long and grown gray beards. Most studies of gobbling activity show that the evening, though it sees more gobbling than midday, has only 10 to 30 percent of the gobbling a typical morning sees. The toms might be tuckered out after a long day, much of it spent waddling after hens. Surprisingly, many spring gobbler hunters hunt only one or two woodlots. Lonely gobblers will frequently check areas where hens like to hang out midday in search of a hot hen. Other turkeys may see the decoys from a distance and move in to join them. Locate turkey scat to find hunting areas. Turkey Hunting Examining a turkey's droppings can tell you if a male or a female bird … Finally, if I’m hopeless at midday with no turkeys in sight, I occasionally let out a gobble while … Predawn turkey hunting can even turn dangerous as when chasing gobbles in West Virginia, a cliff drops off in front in the early morning fog. That means a lot of the gobblers in an area get killed before they would hit their busiest gobbling time of the year. These early seasons can also alter turkey breeding behavior. “Turkeys spend all winter and early spring establishing a pecking order among toms,” says Hatfield. Knowing where they are on the roost the night before allows you the chance to strategize from multiple angles on how and where to make your plan of attack under the bleeding rays of first light. The action you experience in an afternoon hunt may not be as reliable as the action at daylight, but turkeys can still be killed, and great hunts can be had. March 26, 2016 by Charlie Leave a Comment. Sometimes, even your best job calling turkeys won’t get them to give up their position While it’s rare, they have been known to call in a coyote from time to time that is something that could quickly ruin your day, especially if you are working a gobbler. In most states, the turkey opener teeters on the … When turkeys want to get together with other turkeys, they make noise, no matter when it is during the season. Use the gobble call as a last resort. Aaron, Jake, and Brody have an awesome evening hunt! If you can elicit an early evening gobble in response to your call, beat feet towards that bird. In some states, turkeys might not start nesting until the last few days of the season. Part of it for me is hearing that first gobble in the morning, and knowing how to set up on it, how to get to it. Set the decoys about 15- to 20- yards out from the blind. They do not gobble much during rainy mornings, but you can still try for your luck. Many hunters avoid the late shift because turkeys usually aren’t as active or vocal during afternoons, especially if it’s warm and sunny. But, gobblers don’t vanish after lunchtime, and you can tag one if you adjust your approach. And it gets rubbed in the wound, when after a grueling hunt, we learn of a nice woods road easy access, winding around the hill. However, locating turkeys the evening before your morning hunt drastically increases the chances you have of closing the distance on your target gobbler. You can get a roosted tom to gobble by hooting like an owl, howling like a coyote and cutting like a wild turkey hen. If the turkey sounds far off, I will move closer before setting up. The shock gobble response, though, has nothing to do with mating and everything to do with toms experiencing some serious sensory overload. If they are really hot for a hen they will gobble good. I think timing of season has lots to do with it. As the sun began to set, a subtle yelp interrupted my day dreaming. “Roosting” a turkey means finding where it sleeps and using this information to plan a successful hunt. In the event of heavy rains, the turkeys may go into hiding. Secondly, just as the atmospheric ceiling is high in the evening from the warmth of the day, it’s lower in the morning because of the cooler ground. GZ: No. The thing about afternoon turkey hunting that gives hunters fits is the lack of, or significantly reduced gobbling. Turkeys gobble, yelp, cackle and drum in the tree and on the ground. A group of gobblers soon waltzed up the road, and tag number one was filled with a flopping turkey at 27 steps. JP: Out West, we always try roosting birds in the evening to give us confidence for morning. If they are content, they just gobble because it is near the right time of year. Turkey Hunting: How to Hunt Gobblers in Rain, Wind, Snow, or Unseasonably Hot Weather. It makes no sense. During one especially rainy day one spring, I made a decision to go turkey hunting a little after noon and try to be there later that afternoon or evening when the birds hit the field. While they are effective in shocking a gobble out of a turkey, they can be somewhat difficult to use and do take some practice. Do you roost turkeys in the evening? Back then, decoys were not part of the picture, turkey vests had yet to become fashionable and no one in his right mind would have considered using a gobble tube to call up a tom–that is, if the gobble tube had even been invented. Also, turkey hunters will want to utilize a couple of decoys. Jakes and gobblers do the same.
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