GIVE THANKS FOR AUTUMN TURKEY HUNTS

Calling in a big beautiful gobbler like this during the spring is certainly a thrill, but author Cal Kellogg asserts that fall hunting is more challenging than the spring if your goal is consistent success. (CAL KELLOGG)

DON’T FORGET THE FALL

THE LATE TURKEY SEASON IS LESS GLAMOROUS THAN SPRING, BUT STILL WORTH A SHOT

By Cal Kellogg

Here in California, we are blessed with both fall and spring turkey seasons. The spring season claims most of the excitement among hunters. The fall season is an “also ran” of sorts.

Spring gobbler hunting offers a lot of glitz and excitement. It comes at the end of a long, drab winter, when the woods are green and full of life. Hunters decked out in the latest camo run from ridge to ridge, hammering with a crow call here and ripping off yelps on a friction call there.

If all goes right, you locate a big bad gobbler with a long black beard and

A MEMORABLE AUTUMN HUNT

Istarted hiking about 30 minutes before daybreak. By the time I reached the gully I could see the milky glow of dawn in the eastern sky. I turned uphill, left the old logging road, walked about 30 yards, cleared a spot to sit beneath a mature oak tree and settled in for what might be a long wait.

Considering it was November, it was chilly but not cold; it promised to be a perfect fall day for hunting turkeys, with blue skies and little wind.

I retrieved a box call and a mouth call from the chest pack. I set the box to my left, slipped the diaphragm into my mouth, slid down the face mask and laid the Remington 12-gauge across my legs.

When songbirds started sounding off, I scratched off a few sleepy yelps on the box and listened. At first, I only heard woodpeckers and blue jays. Several minutes passed before I heard some faint yelps in the distance. I was in business!

I’d been aware that there were turkeys in the drainage for a couple months. I hadn’t actually seen them, but I’d heard them, and I’d seen their tracks on multiple occasions. They had been traveling down the old two-track road. At times they moved single file. At other times the tracks spread out, apparently when the birds slowed down to feed.

I based the ambush on the tracks. The problem was I had no idea what time of day the turkeys were walking the road. Was it at dawn, midmorning or early afternoon? Hearing those yelps confirmed there were turkeys in the area and hardened my resolve to stay put under the oak until the birds showed or until shooting time ended at 4 p.m. If I were hunting a spring gobbler, I’d try to simulate the sound of hens flying off the roost, but the fall season is different.

Periodically I’d make a few light yelps and scratch in the fallen leaves a bit. Rather than trying to call in the turkeys, I was just using turkey sounds to put the birds at ease.

Minutes turned into an hour. I’d seen a pair of does ghost by, but I hadn’t detected any turkeys. Things changed around 10 when I heard some rustling behind and below my position.

There would be periods of quiet and then more rustling. I was contemplating if it was the deer I’d seen earlier or the turkeys when I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my left eye.

It was the turkeys, and they were walking right down the road like I hoped they would. Ever so slowly they came into view. I was expecting a group of hens. Instead, it was a string of seven jakes.

With the gun laying across my thighs, I’d have to scoop it up to my shoulder and shoot in one fluid motion since they were sure to see the movement. I waited until the lead bird moved well past my position and then made my move. They saw me but didn’t spook immediately; that was a mistake.

The third jake in line was about 40 yards away. When the red fiber optic front sight covered his head, the shotgun went off and chaos ensued. Some birds flew and some ran, but not turkey number three. Instead, he flipped, flopped and flapped on the far side of the two-track – dead on impact. The heavy payload of tungsten shot had done flawless work! CK

The author’s prehunt scouting and a solid ambush strategy converted this tender fall jake into a fond memory and several outstanding meals. (CAL KELLOGG)

an iridescent red head, call him into handshaking range and close the deal. The rest is all back slaps, photos and turkey for lunch and dinner for a week!

But the fall season, while not as glamorous as spring hunting, offers unique challenges and rewards for the hardcore turkey enthusiast. As a lifelong and consistently successful public land turkey hunter, I’m going to tell you straight away that fall hunting is tougher than spring hunting, even though you can harvest birds of both sexes. Why?

First, while fall turkeys can be called to some degree, calling isn’t a key component of a successful hunt this time of year. Second, fall turkeys tend to move around in groups. Turkeys are wary and there is safety in numbers. Think you have to sit still to elude the sharp eyes of a spring gobbler? The challenge of remaining undetected increases exponentially when you are dealing with the keen senses of five or 10 or 20 turkeys traveling as a group!

FALL TURKEY TACTICS

Successful fall turkey hunting depends on good old-fashioned woodsmanship and scouting. The first thing you need to do is locate areas that hold turkeys. In 2022, the general fall season kicks off on November 12, but your scouting should have begun well in advance. August and September are prime times for scouting. This might seem too early to pin down a bird for November, but it’s not. In fact, early scouting offers a distinct advantage.

Turkeys must drink at least once per day and prefer to drink twice, once after leaving the roost and again before turning in for the night. Most parts of Northern and Central California are arid during the late summer and early fall. Find water, and if there are turkeys around, they will be nearby.

By November it may well be raining with water more widespread, but apart from the spring breeding season, turkeys tend to be homebodies. They form groups and

Finding tracks allows you to pattern the movements of fall turkeys. (CAL KELLOGG)

are reluctant to leave their home range unless they must. Deep snow that lingers or heavy pressure will cause them to move, but most of the time turkeys you locate in September will be in the same general area when the fall season kicks off.

For maximum fall success you’ll want to locate more than one group of turkeys. This gives you options once the season opens. Finding birds in the late summer and early fall can take time and boot leather. First identify yearround water sources in turkey country and then spend some time either at dawn or just before dusk listening for turkey sounds from the ridges above the streams. At times you might hear a gobble or two, but most of the time you’ll hear clucks and yelps.

When your listening posts pay off, make a mental note of the location of the roost. The next step is to move in and try to identify sign in the form of tracks, droppings or areas where the birds have been scratching and feeding. The presence of a dirt road makes finding tracks an easy proposition if birds are in the vicinity.

Once you locate some signs, try to piece together the general direction of the turkey’s travel and, if possible, keep track of what the birds are feeding on. Since you’re scouting early, you’ll want to drop in on the birds occasionally to keep tabs on them and stay informed as to their movements.

It’s possible to glass for turkeys successfully in open country. Most of the terrain I hunt features thick vegetation, so I’m restricted to listening for birds and hiking to locate ground sign.

THE HUNT

Conventional wisdom dictates the best way to hunt fall turkeys is to locate a flock, run into their midst to scatter the birds, then set up and call them back in. The idea is that turkeys are so eager to flock up that they will move toward turkey sounds once they’ve been scattered.

This strategy may work great; I don’t know because I’ve never been in a position to try it. If the season is open and I’m close enough to a group of birds to run into the flock and spook them, why wouldn’t I just pick out a nice plump hen and take the shot?

For me, ambush hunting and spotand-stalk hunting have been the most effective approaches for harvesting fall turkeys. It takes time and effort to pattern a flock’s movements, but once you do the chances of ambushing them is very good. The fact that you have the luxury of sitting and waiting in a camouflaged position negates the turkey’s two most important senses for sensing danger: their keen vision and sense of hearing.

When I’m sitting on a stand, I like to incorporate a little calling into the game in the form of light clucks and yelps, just to put any approaching birds at ease. But when it comes to calling, don’t overdo it. Zero calling is

Calling should be part of your fall turkey strategy, but it’s not as critical as during the spring season. Just remember not to

overdo it. (CAL KELLOGG)

better than calling too much.

If a general area is holding birds but you can’t pattern them, spot-andstalk hunting is an option, but you’ve got to bring your A game. You must move very slowly and avoid making any noise.

Binoculars are an important tool for this work even in thick country, since it’s critical that you see the turkeys before they see you. If the birds are within range when you see them, it’s game on. Move fast, pick your target and take your shot.

If the turkeys are out of range, freeze and evaluate what they are doing. If you stay put, will they move into range? If not, watch them and

Turkeys of either sex are legal during the fall season. If you get lucky you might find a bachelor group of gobblers and harvest a big heavy tom like this. Shots also can be longer than those typically taken in the spring, so it’s important to know your gun and choose a load that allows you to reach out at least 45 yards. (CAL KELLOGG)

plan your next move. If you know the country, you might be able to let them move out of sight and then move quickly to cut them off or ambush them as they move through the woods.

One time I spooked a flock of about 40 hens. They took off running, but I had a pretty good idea where they were headed. I took off at a sprint to cut them off, and when I reached the spot I figured they’d push through, I just dropped to my knees behind an uprooted pine tree when the first bird trotted into the opening. The first few made it past as I gathered myself, but when a big mature hen stopped about 35 yards away, dinner was served! SHOTGUN SPECIFICS

Fall hunting often requires longer shots than spring hunting and at times you’ll be shooting at spooked birds that are on the move. For this reason, it’s important to know your gun. I wouldn’t be comfortable with a fall turkey rig that doesn’t allow me to reach out to the 45- or 50-yard mark with confidence.

I’ve been shooting the same pump Remington for 25 years, simply because I know how it shoots. I loved the old Remington copper-plated lead turkey loads. When the state outlawed lead, I learned my shotgun loves 2-ounce payloads of tungsten even better.

The load I’m using now makes use of No. 5, 6 and 7 shots, and it hits like Thor’s hammer. Those loads paired with an old Dead Coyote vented choke have killed birds out to 55 yards for me. That’s a long, long way out in the turkey woods. But sometimes you’ve got to go long or go without a wild turkey on the Thanksgiving table! CS

Editor’s note: Cal Kellogg is a longtime Northern California outdoors writer. Subscribe to his YouTube channel Fish Hunt Shoot Productions at youtube.com/ user/KelloggOutdoors.

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