As I write this, the 2023 Spring Gobbler season is less than a week old, and, as usual, a variety of reports have been coming in – everything from “I haven’t seen or heard a gobbler yet,” to hunters who have been working gobblers every morning they have been out. One hunter reported calling in four longbeards in a group on opening day, and he and his son doubled on the group! What a great experience that was! Then, the same hunter went out on Wednesday of the first week and tagged his second long beard of the season! Now, he’ll be spending time working on his “Honey-do” list!
For the majority of spring turkey hunters who have been bitten by this spring-time addiction, there is good news in that we are still in the prime time of the season, and there are still a lot of good days ahead — through this coming Saturday, May 13th, the legal hunting hours run from 1/2 hour before sunrise until noon, with hunters asked to be out of the woods by 1 p.m. On the bright side, there is no legal restriction or ethical reason that you cannot return to the woods or field (without your gun, of course) to do some scouting! In fact, it is the perfect opportunity to combine some afternoon or evening scouting with spending some quality time trout fishing one of your favorite mountain streams!
Keep in mind that if you spot a gobbler in a field setting and can watch where he enters the woods to go to roost, he will often re-enter the field at the same location the next morning. If you are able to slip in closer to his roost site to identify the actual roost tree, make a few mental notes – where might he fly down to in the morning, where would be one or two best spots for you to set up the next morning in the dark and what is your best travel route to reach those setup spots.
If you are still chasing longbeards after this coming Saturday, for the rest of the season (Monday, May 15 through Tuesday, May 30), you will be able to hunt all day, with legal shooting times from ½ hour before sunrise to ½ hour after sunset. Gobblers will be most active during the first few hours of daylight but then tend to loaf a bit later in the morning. The afternoon hours through the late evening, as they head to roost, will find them more active again. Thus, if your time afield is limited, focus your hunting in the earlier and later hours of the day.
The weather can be a factor, with windy days being the most difficult to call in a wise old bird. Windy conditions that reduce the ability of a bird to hear a predator and the constant movement of grasses and leaves in the wind keep turkeys on edge and very wary of their surroundings. Rainy days can provide some of the best opportunities since turkeys tend to prefer spending time in the open field areas in the rain, thus avoiding the noisy conditions produced by rain in forest settings. If you cannot set up and call to the birds in a field, stay put and observe where they enter the woods to go to roost, then set up at the edge of the woods before daylight and intercept the gobbler as he returns the next morning.
Particularly as the season continues and if you are hunting public hunting areas, you should begin to limit your calling since hunting pressure will begin to make the gobblers more cautious as time goes on. Believe it or not, merely making the sound of a turkey scratching in the leaves can be a very effective technique. Rake a branch through the dry leaves three times; pause, then repeat this 4 or 5 times to simulate a bird looking for food.
One last tip – if you are using a decoy, place it at a 45-degree angle from you on the opposite side you think the gobbler will be coming from, and once the bird is in view, stop calling and let the decoy do its job of luring him within range.
Good luck, and please remember to “Always Positively Identify Your Target and That the Area is Clear Around and Beyond” before taking a shot!
