By Huntfishtrap
Most turkey hunters seem to fall into one of two camps – on one side you have the people who prefer to sit in one spot and wait for the turkeys to come to them, while on the other you have the folks who like to keep moving as much as possible. And both camps generally think their way is best. It’s kind of like politics, only (usually!) more polite. They each have their pros and cons, and you can be very successful using either strategy, but I prefer a more situational approach, where I let the needs of a specific hunt dictate what kind of tactics I use. I think the following story illustrates the benefits of this approach very well.
Going into our 2nd shotgun season this past spring, my hopes were high, as I had roosted 3 birds on one of my favorite properties a few days before. I expected a relatively short hunt on opening day, and my expectations were met, although not quite in the way I envisioned. Despite picture-perfect weather that morning, there was very little gobbling on the roost anywhere within earshot, and none at all on the property I was hunting, nor on the neighboring one where I also had permission. I set up anyway, and stayed until 7 AM, but heard nothing close except for a few hen yelps. I knew there had to be gobblers around but was getting impatient, so decided to go elsewhere in search of more cooperative birds.
I drove to another property a couple of miles away from where I’ve often had good luck later in the morning. This is a small farm, only about 35 acres, but I’ve killed a number of gobblers there. They generally roost on the neighboring properties and congregate on this one after fly-down. I set up just inside the woods on the back side of a small cornfield and made a few series of yelps. After my 2nd or 3rd series, a gobbler answered me from the neighboring property to the north. The tom was about 300 yards away, so I decided to cut the distance between us as much as I could, and eased down over the crest of the hill on which I’d been sitting until I was about 75 yards from the property line. I don’t know if he spotted me moving, or just wasn’t that interested, but after the 2 initial gobbles, I never heard from him again. After a fairly dull half-hour, I decided to make a move and headed back up to the ridgetop where I’d started out. I walked to the end of the ridge, which overlooks a very large valley, and pulled out my loudest aluminum friction call. The first series of ear-splitting yelps brought a faint response from a distant gobbler way off down the valley, so I elected to drop down to the valley floor, even though I knew I couldn’t get very close because the property ends just past the base of the hill.
When I got to the bottom of the hill I called again, and the still-distant bird answered again, but this time another, a much closer tom gobbled as well. I quickly found a spot with decent visibility and hunkered down next to a tree. The gobbler answered my next series of calls enthusiastically, then went silent for a few minutes. Finally, he gobbled again, and I could tell he had closed the distance quite a bit, but was circling around me on the hillside above. He continued to gobble as he moved but didn’t deviate from his course, and I was unable to move because I knew he could see down into the valley from his position on the high ground. Eventually, he circled far enough around the shoulder of the bluff that I figured he couldn’t see my position anymore, so I grabbed my pack and gun and took off running around the base of the hill, trying to get ahead of the bird and cut him off. Running up the steep, 300-foot bluff nearly killed me, but I knew I had to beat him to the spot where I wanted to set up. Thankfully he kept gobbling every so often, so I could keep track of his position. I huffed and puffed my way to the top of the bluff about 100 yards in front of the gobbler, and just over the crest of the hill from him. I crawled up behind a large oak tree that offered good cover and scratched out a few soft yelps. He hammered right back, and I thought it would be over quickly. But even though he gobbled heartily every time I touched a call, he wouldn’t budge from what I now assumed to be his strut zone on the ridgetop. I knew I was between where he was and where he probably wanted to go, so I settled in to wait him out.
After a 20-25 minute stalemate, during which time he didn’t seem to move more than a few feet in any direction,
Wonderful Iowa Turkey
I suddenly saw a red head pop over the crest of the hill, peering down the slope in my direction. The head was quickly followed by the rest of the bird, as he came walking down the ridge toward me. I already had my gun up and resting on a fallen tree branch, so it was a simple matter to swing it over a few degrees and track him with the muzzle as he approached. After navigating a patch of thick saplings, he finally popped out into the open at a mere 20 yards and stopped. A trigger squeeze later, and my first turkey of the year was flopping his way down the hillside.
Given his behavior and the fact that it was relatively early in the spring when most older toms would still be flocked up with hens, I assumed I was dealing with a 2-year-old bird. But when I bent over and grabbed a leg to pick him up, I almost fell over in shock. He had perfectly matching 1 9/16” spurs,
Perfectly matching 1 9/16” spurs, both razor-sharp
both razor-sharp. He was otherwise relatively ordinary, weighing just under 24lbs, with a wispy 9” beard. But judging by the spur length, he was definitely an old turkey. That fact made the successful conclusion to the hunt even more rewarding.
Looking back on the hunt later, I realized I had utilized both patient and aggressive tactics to kill that bird, and most likely would not have been successful had I stuck with one or the other. It was a good example of why you should let the turkey’s behavior determine how you hunt, rather than sticking with a predetermined course of action. Planning has its place, but to be a consistently successful turkey hunter, you sometimes need to be able to change things up on the fly and adapt to the situation at hand.
FirstBubba says
Small properties, mobility issues and an aversion to hunting public property keep me out of the “run ‘n gun” game.
I’ve done some “run ‘n gun” when hunting a larger property. I even enjoyed some successes when I was able to out think or out maneuver a bird…but that’s pretty much behind me.
I spend two or three weeks, pre season, scouting and patterning birds and setting up ambush sites to use after the season opens.
The wife and me ambushed two birds this spring and I called in a third.
FirstBubba says
P.S., htf, if it’s recognized as “legal” by the local jurisdiction, it’s good enough for me! LOL!
N.C.L.W. says
The Rocky Mountain country out here where I chase the Merriam’s Turkey definitely lends itself to Run and Gun. I have been Hunting public land exclusively all my Turkey Huntin’ days thus far as we have massive areas of such all about the place. That said, it seems like the guys who get the most birds (1 per Region per Season. Spring/Fall seasons with extra time for archery Hunters – Crossbows are legal currently. These birds are considered Upland Game Birds, no tag, draw or special license required. Turkey Hunting is available in 2 Regions) around here do so out of a blind with decoys and calling on private land. Anecdotal at best but seems to be how it is around here nowadays Bubba!
Charlie says
Not sure about your excuses, but, I will admit that I don’t run and gun anymore. Nowadays, it’s more like meander and gun. 😉
FirstBubba says
(snicker, snort, chortle!)
JM says
Most of my turkey hunting has been “run’n’gun” due to the fact that most of the days I have the chance to go turkey hunting are limited to around a hour before work in the morning, etc. But I’m definitely in a bit of a unique situation when I have a full day to hunt due the fact that our property is on the larger side, and I would venture to say that I am the least experienced out of everyone on this website at turkey calling/hunting. And quite frankly I do not think that I am good enough to call in a turkey from a long distance, so I tend to take advantage of being in good physical shape to cover ground and in my opinion raise the odds of killing a turkey.
FirstBubba says
JM,
In the spring, turkeys go through “transitions”.
In “Transition 3”, I’ve called turkeys with a handmade box call that sounded, quite literally, like a mouse with one foot in a trap!
I’ve turned out some of the most beautiful turkey notes you can imagine and been rebuffed. Thirty minutes later, they would come to an ungreased windmill!
I’ll help you recognize “Transition 3” if you’d like.
Question:
On the “xray” thread, you opined that you wouldn’t use #8’s on a turkey, even at 30 yards.
With all due respect, may I ask why?
JM says
I am very tired, so hopefully this doesn’t come off as gibberish haha….
–
This might be a bad analogy, but I am going to try it and see if it sticks/makes any sense…whenever my girlfriend goes deer hunting she uses one of my 2 deer rifles(.30-30 or 7mm mag). Only difference is that she uses a reduced recoil ammunition for both to reduce recoil(and she doesn’t shoot as far so no re-sighting in required). She has killed multiple deer with these loads, and quite honestly the damage looks the exact same upon close inspection. I have 0 doubt in my mind that if she hits the vital area the deer will be dead. That doesn’t mean I am going to be using a managed recoil load when I hunt. You have picture(and x-ray) evidence that 8 shot can and will kill a turkey, but I am going to pick a 4/5/6 over 8 shot if given the choice. Looking back at my post I do think I should’ve worded it differently…it’s not so much that I don’t think 8 would work at 30 yards. as much as I would just rather have a 4-6 shot locked and ready to go.
–
-And trust me…after reading your post if I have a turkey at 30 yards I now have no doubts that #8 will do the job, so your post was successful in “convincing” me of that.
FirstBubba says
Thank you.
Just curious.
WRC says
I prefer to be a squatter, because of the small wood lots I hunt (20 acres or less) or open fields with only a couple of trees or bushes on the fence lines. When I do hunt bigger wooded areas, I like to keep mobile and move around until I find a bird that wants to play. If I strike a bird that’s a long ways off, I keep moving until I close the distance down to a couple hundred yards or less, before I set up on him.
N.C.L.W. says
Excellent stuff, very enjoyable and well presented article, Huntfishtrap!
Surely. this article is a fine highlighted example of the importance of improvisation both afield and in life generally, likewise.
Thank You HTF and Charlie.
huntfishtrap says
Thanks. Another thing that I neglected to highlight in this post was the importance of being familiar with the property you’re hunting. If I hadn’t know this piece of ground like the back of my hand, I probably wouldn’t have killed this bird. I knew the exact spot I wanted to set up, and how I had to get there. It doesn’t always work like that, but it’s nice when it does.
N.C.L.W. says
Very true, likewise!
Cheers
FirstBubba says
Before I forget hft!
THAT, mi amigo, is one awesome set of hooks that thunder chicken was sporting!
Charlie says
Thanks for contributing HFT, I’m sure all the readers appreciate your stories and insights.