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ROADHUNTER: 10 TOP TIPS FOR TAGGING A TOM OR TWO (OR THREE
ROAD HUNTER
Author Scott Haugen has been hunting turkeys throughout the West for over 30 years and credits much of his success to preseason scouting and preparation. He called this lone tom into a pair of Dave Smith Decoys, his favorite faux gobblers to use.
10 TOP TIPS FOR TAGGING A TOM OR TWO
Expert shares three decades’ worth of turkey hunting wisdom for chasing gobblers in the West.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN
Focused on a full-strut decoy 25 yards in front of my blind, the approaching tom had no idea I was near. When his bright red, white and blue head stood at attention, he never knew what hit him.
It was my third and final Oregon tom that spring, and while the mature tom came in as I’d hoped, the hunt – and the season – was far from simple. A lot of preseason scouting and preparation went into making my hunts a success, a theme I’ve grown accustomed to in my more than 30 years of hunting these grand birds. Combined with a month of hunting to fill three tags, my two months of preseason scouting is what ultimately paid off.
While I learn something on each hunt, there are certain details I pay attention to year after year. For me, it’s attention to detail that makes the difference, and it all starts well before the season commences. Here are 10 tips I’ve relied on to help fill spring turkey tags throughout the West, and they can help you, too.
1. START SCOUTING The time to scout for turkeys is now, not a few days before the season. If cold conditions linger, birds may still
A lot happens to turkey flock dynamics during the course of a season, and the closer a hunter can keep track of birds, the better the odds of filling a tag. It all starts with preseason scouting.
be in winter flocks, making it easier to locate and keep track of bachelor groups. Search for flocks of hens and young, together and bachelor flocks of toms. Toms gather in age-class flocks in winter, separating as the turkey breeding season nears.
If turkeys are scattered, locate as many different birds as you can, both toms and hens. Hens will be gravitating to breeding and nesting locales, while toms will split up and follow hens, establishing strutting grounds. Mark every bird you find on a map, as these will be places you’ll want to return to in coming weeks.
When scouting, in addition to live birds, look for sign such as loose turkey feathers, tracks and droppings. Utilizing binoculars and a spotting scope will greatly increase the number of turkeys you find and is a great way to observe their behavior from a distance so as not to alert them.
2. TRAIL CAMERAS One of the best scouting tools for locating and patterning turkeys is a trail camera. The more trail cameras you can set out, the more you’ll learn. Turkeys are very habitual, and situating cameras along trails, forest edges and in fields will reveal exactly how many birds are around and what time of day they are moving.
Keep trail cameras active all season long, as birds will continue moving in and out of areas. Set the cameras to video mode, and the information you’ll learn will help you in seasons to come. My trail camera of choice for the West’s range of conditions is Stealth Cam’s DS4K, as the HD version captures amazing detail and sound. The turkey sounds and behaviors captured on this camera are the best I’ve seen, and greatly help you learn what’s happening in the turkey woods.
3. GEAR ORGANIZATION The more you hunt turkeys, the more gear you’ll acquire, and the more gear you have, the more important it is to stay organized. Be sure clothes, boots and rain gear are all in operating order. Opening day of the season may find you hunting in snow and subfreezing temperatures, while late-season hunts can find the mercury hitting the 80-degree mark. Make sure you have comfortable clothes and footwear to meet your needs and stand up to the West’s changing spring conditions.
Be sure all of your turkey calls are in good shape and any accessories are ready to go. From first aid gear to knee pads, fire starter to an extra facemask, make certain you have all you’ll need for your upcoming hunts.
4. THE TURKEY VEST Also, make sure your turkey vest fits snuggly. One of the biggest mistakes hunters make is buying a turkey vest that’s too large, which results in tangles and hangups during the most inopportune times of the hunt. Turkey vests have a lot of pockets and compartments, so make sure you know what’s in each, and be confident that you can find key items in a pinch.
Having a turkey vest with an attached seat pad is ideal. Out West you might set up in rocks, on roots of big trees or in wet grass, and having a cushion keeps you comfortable and less likely to fidget when a bird is in
view. You might find yourself pinned down for hours by slow-to-approach toms, and being comfortable can make the difference when it comes to sitting still and filling a tag.
5. CALLS While it only takes a few basic sounds to bring a turkey within shooting range, the more realistic those sounds are, the better your chances of attracting a wise tom. The best way to achieve precise turkey sounds is through practice, and making sure your calls are in good shape is the place to start.
Make certain no reeds in diaphragm calls are split, and that there are no oils or residue on the surface of friction calls that may inhibit their ability to produce quality sounds. Practice making authentic-sounding yelps and clucks and you’ll greatly increase the odds of success. You don’t have to be a master caller to fool a turkey; you just need to know what sounds to make, when.
6. ASSUME SUCCESS Turkey hunting can be physically and mentally taxing throughout the West. Big country, scattered birds and rugged terrain make turkey hunting in this part of the country challenging. Be in shape and your chances of success greatly rise.
No matter how many hours a day – or days a season – you hunt, always expect success. The moment you let your guard down is when an opportunity could present itself, and you don’t want to miss it. The mental game of turkey hunting out West should never be underestimated; think of it like big game hunting, and you’re on the right track.
7. TURKEY DECOYS With years of turkey hunting under your belt comes a collection of turkey decoys. If you can get only one decoy, a feeding hen or upright is tough to beat. These hen decoys can attract toms all season long. Just be sure to position them where approaching toms can see them from afar.
If wanting to invest in a second decoy, consider a strutting tom. While this decoy can work wonders in the latter half of the season, it can also pull in aggressive toms all season long. I’ve had my best success with Dave Smith Decoys. These turkey decoys are not cheap, but they’ll last for years and their lifelike postures and paint jobs
Glassing plays a big part of turkey hunting throughout the West, both during the season and on preseason scouting missions.
Ground blinds offer a big advantage to turkey hunters. Make sure you know the parameters of the blind and get comfortable with it before the season starts. Haugen relied on hen calls and a full-strut tom decoy to pull this big tom from the timber.
have fooled more toms than any decoy I’ve used.
8. GROUND BLINDS Ground blinds are a wonderful tool for the simple reason they offer a 360-degree field of view. If you’re a bowhunter, nothing will increase your chances of getting a clean shot more than hunting from a popup ground blind. If you’re a shotgun hunter, blinds allow you to move and work calls, stretch and stay comfortable for hours.
Get a comfy, quiet stool and make sure the forest floor is cleared of potentially noisy debris before starting a calling sequence. You don’t want to accidentally drag your boots across dry leaves or snap a twig at the most inopportune time. Practice setting up, sitting in and shooting from your blind before you head afield, so there are no surprises when it’s game time.
9. TURKEY LOADS Turkey shotgun loads are way ahead of where they were a decade ago. Whatever brand gun and choke you use, make sure the loads you hunt with achieve their designed pattern. The only way to decipher this is through patterning your gun and studying its point of impact.
Two seasons ago, I shot toms with Federal’s 3rd Degree (a mix of size 5, 6 and 7 shot), their TSS in size 7 shot, and Browning’s TSS in size 7 and 9 shot. I shoot a Weatherby SA-459 with an extra-full choke, and it’s topped with Trijicon’s MRO. For me, every load performed flawlessly in extensive pattern tests, as well as on hunts. Patterning should be done well before the season so you know exactly how loads perform.
10. FINAL PREP Before the hunt, try on all your gear, including the turkey vest. Make sure boots fit with the socks you intend to wear, that base layers aren’t too confining, and that your turkey vest is efficiently loaded and fits properly. Be sure the vest isn’t too loose and
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Once the season starts, hunters want to concentrate on filling tags, and that’s where preparation comes in. This hunter is in perfect position, with a big tom focused on a hen decoy. key pieces of gear can be accessed while walking, standing or sitting.
If bowhunting, practice shooting with all your gear on from various positions inside a ground blind; if hunting with a shotgun, shoulder your gun in multiple positions and swing in both directions to make sure there’s no binding or catching on clothing. Consider using shooting sticks with your shotgun, as this will greatly decrease movement and increase your ability for precise target acquisition.
The time to begin your spring turkey season is now, by scouting and preparing every piece of gear. Scout all season long, for what you learn each time you’re out there won’t just yield immediate rewards; it will help increase your chances of success for seasons to come. Editor’s note: Scott Haugen is author of the popular book, Turkey Hunting The West: Strategies For All Levels. Order your signed copy at scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
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