Turkey Tips for Some Clueless Canadians

[Arizona Morning]

Hey guys,

Some buddies and I are heading down from Alberta to Montana for a public land turkey hunt this spring (First week of May). I have been researching areas and think I have it narrowed down to some decent public land options, but I am more interested in actual turkey tactics. Turkeys are a tough draw in the great white North, so we have never hunted them (read: Clueless). I have watched plenty of youtube videos and listened to a few podcasts, and researched a few forums, but I was hoping to get some insight from a few of the experts out there. What time should a guy be in the woods? Is there a particular call that is better for shock gobbling than others? Is it better to try and spot them first and then move in to setup or are blind setups every few hundred yards the way to go? Is there situations that are better for a box call, mouth reed, slate call or is it a personal preference thing? Is there particular terrain or habitat that we should be looking for to find birds? I plan to take my bow on the trip and I have been studying bird anatomy to try and figure out shot angles etc, but any archery specific tips are also appreciated.

We are pumped for the challenge, but want to try and go in with as much basic knowledge as possible. Hope to report back with some birds on the ground.

 

[Fireman03]

Best too be in the woods just before daylight when they are coming out of the roost. They are normally pretty vocal when they are coming down. I've found about anything noisy will make them shock gobble. I've got them to do it by simply slamming the door on a truck or honking the horn, just to see if they would gobble, and they did. My normal calls are either a coyote howl, owl hoot, or a crow call. From my experience it's hard to call a bird down (ridges,knobs,ect). But they seem to come up to you from below. I normally use a box call for long distance, and a slate or reed for bringing them in close. Best of luck

 

[npm352]

The biggest thing to understand is to be still. They can see 300 degrees around and bob their heads back and forth so it makes it a 360. They see movement better than any ungulates and have almost zero curiosity.

 

[bdg848]

Go in at around dusk the day before and listen for gobbles. Try to figure out exactly where they are. Then come back the next morning and try to sneak within 100 yards of the tree they are in without spooking them. You may not be able to get as close if cover is sparse. From their roost they have an excellent vantage point so don't push it too much but 100 yards is a good number. Be sitting in your spot ready to go while it is still dark, at least 30 minutes before first light. Let them tell you how much you should call. If they are coming in on a line, keep doing what you're doing. If they are gobbling but not coming in, try sitting silent for a solid 45 minutes or an hour or even more. They might have a hen with them and when they are done with her, they might come to see where that mystery hen they heard went off to.

I like to have birds roosted for the morning hunt and then will cover ground from 11am and later and listen for gobbles then try to move in on them.

 

[bdg848]

Also don't under estimate their senses. You will need to move slowly and silently.

 

[Arizona Morning]

Best too be in the woods just before daylight when they are coming out of the roost. They are normally pretty vocal when they are coming down. I've found about anything noisy will make them shock gobble. I've got them to do it by simply slamming the door on a truck or honking the horn, just to see if they would gobble, and they did. My normal calls are either a coyote howl, owl hoot, or a crow call. From my experience it's hard to call a bird down (ridges,knobs,ect). But they seem to come up to you from below. I normally use a box call for long distance, and a slate or reed for bringing them in close. Best of luck

Really appreciate the insight. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Arizona Morning]

The biggest thing to understand is to be still. They can see 300 degrees around and bob their heads back and forth so it makes it a 360. They see movement better than any ungulates and have almost zero curiosity.

Good to know. So if I can't get a response early am, do you do blind calling setups to avoid being busted or do you still hunt until you see them and then setup. I have read colour and camo is big deal for turkeys. Is that true or do you find movement is the bigger issue?

 

[Arizona Morning]

Go in at around dusk the day before and listen for gobbles. Try to figure out exactly where they are. Then come back the next morning and try to sneak within 100 yards of the tree they are in without spooking them. You may not be able to get as close if cover is sparse. From their roost they have an excellent vantage point so don't push it too much but 100 yards is a good number. Be sitting in your spot ready to go while it is still dark, at least 30 minutes before first light. Let them tell you how much you should call. If they are coming in on a line, keep doing what you're doing. If they are gobbling but not coming in, try sitting silent for a solid 45 minutes or an hour or even more. They might have a hen with them and when they are done with her, they might come to see where that mystery hen they heard went off to.

I like to have birds roosted for the morning hunt and then will cover ground from 11am and later and listen for gobbles then try to move in on them.

Thanks, man. What kind of range does a bird have on a gobble? 300 yards? 500? I know it depends on terrain, but a rough sense of how far the sound carries so that when I hear one the night before I have a better sense of their location.

Do you tend to use a combination of hen calls and the occassional gobble or is it best to stick with hen sounds? I am thinking along the lines of a challenge bugle for elk.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I typically dont gobble at all.. for shock gobbles I normally get them with a few excited hen yelps and cackles and maybe a fighty purr. I have gobbles from wellnover. Half mile away he was on one ridge top i was in another.
If im confident birds are in the area. Ill do a blind call set up. Call a few times and just sit for an hour maybe letting out a few soft purrs or excites yelps every so often. Ive gotten alot of silent toms comming in this way. Like said above though biggest thing is dont move! You cant get away with movement like you can deer and elk.

 

[alexanderg23]

Check with the game and fish. In different areas there’s private farms that will let people turkey hunt. Western turkey are stupid, don’t over think it.

 

[Carlos Bersabe]

I'll be going turkey hunting here in Nebraska and joining up with a buddy in South Dakota. Best thing I've seen that gives me the most confidence is "roosting" them, meaning going out the sunset before and seeing where they roost. I'm pretty sure another fella mentioned that earlier. I'll set up 50-100 yards from where they roost 30 or so minutes before I expect them to fly down. If possible, I'll hunt from a ground blind. I set my decoys up pretty close, around 10 yards or so.

 

[fatlander]

I wouldn’t try to spot and stalk turkeys. The vast majority of the time, if you see them they’ve already seen you. You quite literally cannot move unless their line of sight to you is completely blocked.

Turkeys are really stupid birds, they’re just scared of everything and have unbelievable hearing and even better eye sight. Soft clucks, purrs and scratching the leaves will kill a truckload more turkeys than excited cutting and yelping. Don’t over do calling, if he answers you, he knows where you are down to a couple feet.

Best advice I’ve ever heard with turkey hunting is this: sit until you cannot sit any longer then sit 10 more minutes. A lot of birds have died in that extra ten minutes. And when you think you should do something, don’t.

Turkeys have no where to be and and all day to get there. If he answers you, he’s going to eventually come to where you are. It may be 5 hours from the time you’re there, but he’s going to come to that spot to try to find that hen.


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[chippewawarrior]

Once they are located, use a fan if safe to do so. Coupled with some calls it is crazy deadly.

 

[wannabemountainman]

My personal favorite call choice is a good slate/glass call. There’s not a whole lot that a slate call can’t do and they’re easier to master than mouth calls. That said, a mouth call once you figure it out can be extremely useful when that turkey is within 100yds or can see you.
The best archery tip I can give you is to bring a shotgun unless you’re in a blind. I’ve been trying to kill one with a bow for a couple years without blind or decoys and it seems like there’s always something that happens to prevent you from drawing or drawing undetected. Maybe birds out west can be bow hunted easier than the Easterns I chase but that’s just my experience.
Best of luck!

 

[Mike Islander]

I would use a box call, because you are a beginner. Do Not try to call a Tom out of a tree in the morning. He will likely call back until you are tired of it, but not come down. If you aren't under/near their roost tree where you can shoot them when they land, wait until after sunrise and then call once every 10 minutes or so. Use decoys if legal and absolutely get behind a blind if legal. Be there well before dawn. Some turkeys will come down from the roost before dawn, when you or I can barely see. Cover your face and you can use a simple camo fence style blind, cheap, light, simple to set up by sticking the poles in the ground. A low chair is worth its weight in gold and will help sit motionless. Relax and enjoy the day. Stay still, with any motion below the fence.
I've called them in over 500 yard, but our terrain is 2D. So the mountain hunters will have better advice for that terrain.

Good luck! Easy to get lost in the turkey rabbit hole, and for your sake I hope you do!

 

[Arizona Morning]

I typically dont gobble at all.. for shock gobbles I normally get them with a few excited hen yelps and cackles and maybe a fighty purr. I have gobbles from wellnover. Half mile away he was on one ridge top i was in another.
If im confident birds are in the area. Ill do a blind call set up. Call a few times and just sit for an hour maybe letting out a few soft purrs or excites yelps every so often. Ive gotten alot of silent toms comming in this way. Like said above though biggest thing is dont move! You cant get away with movement like you can deer and elk.

perfect. Thanks.

 

[Arizona Morning]

I'll be going turkey hunting here in Nebraska and joining up with a buddy in South Dakota. Best thing I've seen that gives me the most confidence is "roosting" them, meaning going out the sunset before and seeing where they roost. I'm pretty sure another fella mentioned that earlier. I'll set up 50-100 yards from where they roost 30 or so minutes before I expect them to fly down. If possible, I'll hunt from a ground blind. I set my decoys up pretty close, around 10 yards or so.

Great thanks. I did not think about how close to put decoys, but thanks for the insight.

 

[Arizona Morning]

Once they are located, use a fan if safe to do so. Coupled with some calls it is crazy deadly.

Awesome photo, man. Looks like a great morning!

 

[Arizona Morning]

I would use a box call, because you are a beginner. Do Not try to call a Tom out of a tree in the morning. He will likely call back until you are tired of it, but not come down. If you aren't under/near their roost tree where you can shoot them when they land, wait until after sunrise and then call once every 10 minutes or so. Use decoys if legal and absolutely get behind a blind if legal. Be there well before dawn. Some turkeys will come down from the roost before dawn, when you or I can barely see. Cover your face and you can use a simple camo fence style blind, cheap, light, simple to set up by sticking the poles in the ground. A low chair is worth its weight in gold and will help sit motionless. Relax and enjoy the day. Stay still, with any motion below the fence.
I've called them in over 500 yard, but our terrain is 2D. So the mountain hunters will have better advice for that terrain.

Good luck! Easy to get lost in the turkey rabbit hole, and for your sake I hope you do!

Thanks, man. Super pumped for it. We spring bear hunt, but it is always fun to try something new, and I hope this can be the first of many trips (while staying married).

Sounds like finding where they roost is a critical component of bird hunting. Neat that they seem to prefer being called uphill.

On the calling front, the mouth reed hasn't been too hard to pick-up, but we do a fair bit of elk hunting. I figured I needed to at least familiarize myself with something hands free to seal the deal with a bow. I am never going to win any calling competitions, but I think it sounds passably like a bird..... it did take a while to adjust to the sharpness of the turkey reed vs elk though. I did buy a box call and a slate to make sure we have our bases covered and those seem pretty easy to grasp. I think the hardest thing is going to be getting a feel for when to call and when to sit tight. I get the sense from everyone's reverence for the bird's vision, that we are not exactly going to be able to charge at them like an elk. Seems like patience could be a virtue.

 

[Arizona Morning]

I wouldn’t try to spot and stalk turkeys. The vast majority of the time, if you see them they’ve already seen you. You quite literally cannot move unless their line of sight to you is completely blocked.

Turkeys are really stupid birds, they’re just scared of everything and have unbelievable hearing and even better eye sight. Soft clucks, purrs and scratching the leaves will kill a truckload more turkeys than excited cutting and yelping. Don’t over do calling, if he answers you, he knows where you are down to a couple feet.

Best advice I’ve ever heard with turkey hunting is this: sit until you cannot sit any longer then sit 10 more minutes. A lot of birds have died in that extra ten minutes. And when you think you should do something, don’t.

Turkeys have no where to be and and all day to get there. If he answers you, he’s going to eventually come to where you are. It may be 5 hours from the time you’re there, but he’s going to come to that spot to try to find that hen.


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Thanks, man. I definitely think patience will be a virtue. Sounds like we can't be charging around the woods like it is a youtube elk hunt.