How To Hunt Wild Turkey

If you are a turkey hunter then you know the feeling of a spring morning with turkeys hammering oyur calls as the day breaks. If you don't know what Im talking about then you will want to learn how to hunt turkeys.The wild turkey is one of the most sought after game animals in North America. Its keen sense of sight and its uncanny ability to hear have made the turkey very difficult to hunt. It is because of this reason that the wild turkey draws hunters into the woods year after year in the spring.

As I stated earlier the turkey has excellent eye site and hearing. Therefore it is important to have camo that matches your surrounding, a homemade ground blind or tent, and to hold very still. Turkey season in most states begins in the spring, when foliage is lush and green. So camo patterns that have some green in them will help to blend your figure into the surroundings. You cant go wrong with some realtree or mossy oak spring time camouflage. Oh yea, I also forgot to mention that the wild turkey can see in color - which makes them even harder to harvest.

Common techniques used to hunt turkey include "roosting" a bird the night before. That is, going into the woods in the evening and listening for a gobbler to fly up in a tree and going back to that position the next morning. The two main ways to roost a bird are to listen for it to fly up on the roost or gobble. Turkey make a bunch of racket when they fly up to their roost in a tree, so when you hear this you should have a good idea of where to set up in the morning. Also, before going to bed, a male turkey will gobble a few times before roosting and after. After you have successfully roosted a bird, try to sneak up within a hundred and fifty yards if possible and wait for day break. The turkey will gobble before coming down off of the roost, this is where your calling abilities will have to kick in. I forgot to mention that you can use an owl call right before dark to locate where turkey's have roosted. You can find these calls at your local bass pro shop.

The next way to hunt turkey is my favorite way to do it. I refer to this method as the "run and gun" technique. I belong to a hunting club with thousands of acres so I am fortunate enough to be able to do this. When I know where some turkeys have roosted, I simply wait for them to gobble early in the morning and then set up on them. Sometimes I will walk 500 yards to set up on a turkey. I just drive up in the morning and wait for a some action. If I don't hear any turkeys, I simply go to the club house and find another area that is open and go there. The most common ways to call a turkey are by using a diaphragm call, a slate call, or a box call. One of the most common mistakes that turkey hunters make is to "over call." I have tested and heard from so many professionals that "less is more" when it comes to calling in big toms. Tom is a nickname for a mature turkey and Jake is for young turkeys.

So when that turkey gobbles and comes down from the roost, try to let out a few yelps.....................if he answers with a gobble.....SHUT UP! This is very important! 99% of the time that tom has heard you and knows exactly where you are. If you just wait, more times than not, that turkey will come to check things out. Its just like playing hard to get and it works.

Now for some more expert advice. I hear this one all of the time: Why will a turkey answer my call over and over again, but not come in? Okay this one I can answer form experience. After a male turkey has been "henned up" or has found some females and can see them - its going to take a lot to get him away from them. However, there is a proven solution for this kind of problem. Try to call aggressive to get the gobblers attention. If he is with a hen then she will probably start raising you know what cause your trying to steal her man. Now here is what you do, try to repeat her calls - only more aggressive. If you hit the spot, that gobbler may come to check you out and you may get lucky. However, turkeys are unpredictable and leave hunters with a giant question mark over their heads year after year. So the best way to learn is to get out there and hunt. Good luck turkey hunting.