How-To Hunt Stubborn Spring Gobblers

By: Michael Collins

Thunderous gobbles from the end of the field ring out as that old tom struts your way. Your heart is pounding out of your chest while beads of sweat trickle down your nose. His large fan appears over the ridge and the sun is gleaming off of his glistening brown feathers. Using your diaphragm call, you softly yelp to try and coax the long beard with in shooting range. The gobbler’s red, white and blue head peers over the hill in your direction, but he doesn’t see the hen that he thinks he heard. He struts back and forth for a moment and then moves off in the other direction.

Every hunter has had to tell a story about “the one that got away” at some point in time during their time in the turkey woods. Opening day of turkey season is April 18 in Kentucky this year. Hunters should begin to prepare for the upcoming season by doing some pre-season scouting on the land that they hunt. Finding and locating the areas that the turkeys are using can be a key element for success. When the season begins and birds are located, the hunter must create a plan. Decoys and calling are essential when hunting stubborn gobblers. Combining the decoys and calling with a good setup can increase the odds of bagging that long beard. Patience is the last key element that every hunter has struggled with more times than not. Following the four steps on how- to hunt gobblers could increase the chances of tagging a bird this season.

Pre-Season Scouting

Hunters should prepare for the upcoming turkey season through pre-season scouting. During the month of February the turkeys are flocked up, according to Mossy Oak Pro Staff member Bill Epeards, who has been hunting turkeys across the United States since 1970. By the end of March the birds will start to break up during a time called the transition period. Use any opportunities to hike the land that you hunt on to find where the turkeys are feeding or where they might be spending a lot of time. Look for areas where there may be acorns on the ground. Turkeys will scratch at the leaves to find acorns to eat. If there are winter wheat food plots or corn fields on the property, scavenge the area for turkey feathers or tracks. Look for turkey droppings in these areas to help you determine how much time the turkeys are spending there. Turkeys like to roost in bigger trees on ridge tops or close to these feeding areas. Pay attention to the ground when you stroll up on some big trees. You might find turkey droppings and feathers under the tree. Collecting this information before the season begins can help you decide where you need to set up on opening day.

“The transition period is the reason that scouting is very important because all of the gobblers will be in one spot,” Epeards said. “To know when the turkeys bust up from the flock, you’ll know where those gobblers are.”

Talking to Turkeys

An essential ingredient for any hunter to bring home a gobbler is the art of calling. Calls give hunters the opportunity to talk and interact with stubborn toms. You don’t have to be a world champion turkey caller to harvest a turkey, according to Epeards, host for “In the Timber Whitetail Reality Series.” The types of calls that are efficient are box calls, slate calls and diaphragm calls. The box calls are very effective for long range use. You may use this call to entice a bird that may be several hundred yards away. The box call is also an efficient tool to use to make a quiet bird gobble so that you may locate his position. Slate calls are extremely articulate and can be used for long range and close range calling. Moving the friction stick slowly in a circular motion will allow you to produce the yelping noise that a hen would make. Diaphragm calls are extremely valuable for hunters to carry in their pockets. These calls can allow you to call hands free in a situation where the gobbler is strutting close enough to get a shot. Hunters have found that using these calls can be fun and successful when you’re talking to turkeys.

“I like to use a Lynch Call which is a one sided box call and the Quaker Boy Easy Yelper,” said Diane Cook, who has been hunting turkeys in Kentucky for nine years. “I do use a slate call, but those are the calls that have most effective for me.”

Decoys

Calling won’t always work on a stubborn gobbler if he comes to you and doesn’t see the bird that called to him. Decoys are vital for situations like this because they can help entice the gobbler to come into range, according to Cook. Using a jake decoy a few yards behind a hen decoy will make it appear that the jake is moving in to breed the hen. A gobbler that comes into the area will want to confront the decoy to defend his turf. A long beard tom will come to a jake 99 percent of the time, according to Epeards. Finding a field that turkeys frequently visit is the ideal set up for decoy placement. The old tom won’t be able to resist the conflict. However, hunters must take safety precautions when using a jake decoy or a strutting tom decoy. Other hunters that may be in the area could mistake your decoys for real birds which can be dangerous. It is important to put your safety and the safety of others first.

“I like to use the jake and the hen combination because the gobbler will see the jake and come in to run him off,” said Doug Clayton a turkey hunter from Crittenden, Ky. “I have seen this work many times throughout the six years that I have been hunting turkeys.”

Patience is a Virtue

Patience is the fourth and final element that could help hunters bag a stubborn gobbler this spring. A hunter’s patience is extremely important in times when action might be slow or when turkeys aren’t gobbling in the area. Pressuring the birds by walking around and not sitting and letting your hunting techniques take over, can spook the birds, making them near impossible to hunt, according to Epeards. Hunters must remember that you have a chance as long as you’re out there. If you are hunting an area that turkeys use, but there is no activity, stay patient because the turkeys will not abandon that spot.

“If you start pressuring these birds, trying to hunt a turkey that won’t gobble can make for a very, very long day,” Epeards said. “When you’re busting bird’s that means you’re spooking them and believe me, they’ll shut down in a heartbeat.”

Pre-season scouting, calling, decoys and patience are all helpful tips that can increase your chances of bagging a gobbler this spring. A total of 26,813 turkeys were harvested in Kentucky for the 2008 spring season, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Turkey Harvest Results. The 2009 spring turkey season is expected to exceed the total number of harvests from 2008, according to the February Edition of Kentucky Fish and Game Magazine. Follow these tips and tactics to help put you in position to tag a stubborn long beard. Good luck this season!