LAST-CHANCE GOBBLERS

from California Sportsman Mag - April 2022

by Media Index Publishing Group

A CASE OF THE DROPS

FROM FIELD...

Though turkey season is winding down and fewer gobblers are available, making the right moves can still put a tom on your table. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

STAR IN THE LATE SHOW

QUALITY CALLS, DIFFERENT DECOYS CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE WHEN HUNTING APRIL GOBBLERS

By Scott Haugen

As turkey season winds down, don’t give up hope. If there’s still a tag in your pocket, getting out and trying different approaches than what you used early in the season can be the key to success.

DECOY CHANGEUPS

Start by revisiting places you hunted earlier in the season, where you know toms were. But when revisiting such areas, base your approach on what’s happening in the woods, along with turkey behavior, now that it’s in the late season.

Early in the season, hens are breeding, the grass is short, and jakes and young toms are aggressive in their attempts to breed, which sets off aggressive behaviors among mature toms.

Late in the season, hens tend their broods, the grass is tall and surrounding vegetation thick, and jakes and 2- to 3-year-old toms are in the early stages of forming bachelor flocks. On top of that, mature toms become more sedentary in their movement, as food, moisture and cover are often available in one place.

Based on what’s happening this time of year, use decoy combinations that make sense to turkeys, and situate them so they’re highly visible.

“In the last half of the season I’m using a full-body strutter decoy,” shares guide Jody Smith (jodysmithguideservice.com). “I use a strutting tom and an upright hen and place the hen between my blind and the tom, with both walking toward me. I position the strutting tom decoy so a distant tom can easily see the fanned tail. This will often catch the attention of mature toms late in the season and get them coming. Once they get close enough to see the hen decoy, it’s game over!”

In most of the situations where I’ve

... TO FIRE

HOW TO CREATE THE RIGHT STUFF

By Tiffany Haugen

Cooking stuffing alongside a wild turkey breast not only adds a delicious side dish, but it helps keep the lean bird moist while baking. Whether pounded flat, rolled up and filled with stuffing, or butterflied with stuffing in the middle – or like this recipe, sliced and stuffed – stuffing adds lots of flavor.

Separating the wild turkey breast from the legs, thighs and back of the bird will get the best results, as the breast meat can be cooked using many methods but the legs, thighs and back always benefit from “low and slow,” or pressure-cooked, heat. Depending on the time of year you choose to cook your bird, this recipe can be varied to include different herbs and spices. The key ingredients are butter and Parmesan cheese, but even the breadcrumbs could be changed to crackers, cornbread or a gluten-free option.

BUTTER PARMESAN-STUFFED TURKEY BREAST

One 3-pound skinless wild turkey breast ½ cup butter, divided One onion, diced 1/3 cup grated carrot 2 cloves minced garlic 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley Five to seven fresh sage leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried) 3 inches fresh rosemary (or ½ teaspoon dried) 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried) 1 teaspoon orange zest 1 cup panko breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons orange juice One beaten egg ½ cup Parmesan cheese Salt and black pepper

Clean any silver skin, fat or sinuous tissues from the turkey breast. Lay a wooden skewer on each side of the turkey breast, preferably on a cutting board. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut ½-inch crossgrain slices in the turkey breast. When making the cuts, the wooden skewers will stop the knife from cutting all the way through the meat. This should leave about a quarter inch of meat attached at the bottom of the entire turkey breast, allowing the stuffing to fit in the “pockets” you are making. Discard skewers and place turkey breast on a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet.

In a large skillet, caramelize onion and carrots in ¼ cup butter on medium heat. Add garlic, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and orange zest, and sauté for a few more minutes. Remove from heat, let cool slightly. Stir in panko, orange juice, beaten egg and Parmesan cheese; mix until combined.

Divide stuffing equally in between each slice of turkey; tuck any leftover stuffing under the breast. Drizzle remaining ¼-cup butter over stuffed turkey and sprinkle with salt, pepper and additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until internal temp reaches 160 degrees. Let turkey sit for five minutes before slicing and serving.

Great stuffing doesn’t only have to be a Thanksgiving concoction. Make your spring turkey hunt meat sing with its flavor, as Tiffany Haugen explains. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Tiffany Haugen's popular book, Cooking Game Birds, visit scotthaugen.com for this and other titles.

Author Scott Haugen has been hunting turkeys throughout the West for 36 years and believes in changing decoys, calling and even blind setups as the season progresses. He moved to timber’s edge and used a strutter decoy to bring in this late-season tom. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

hunted turkeys throughout the West, the terrain is not flat. This makes the set important, as you want the decoys in a position that’s visible to distant toms. Avoid placing decoys in swales, low spots, on the backside of knolls, or along creek bottoms. These are locations that can work earlier in the season, but are perhaps less effective later in the season.

In my experience, the odds of luring a late-season tom within shooting range dramatically increases if it can see the decoy from a few hundred yards away – even more. Remember, turkeys see in color and have eyesight equivalent to 8x binoculars.

BIG GAME APPROACH

My approach to turkey hunting late in the season is much like that of big game. I scout year-round, both physically and through the use of trail cameras. I run more than a dozen trail cameras all hunting season, which are set on video mode. Observing and hearing the shifts in turkey behavior throughout the season offers a major advantage to hunters.

In fact, trail cameras could top the list of the most important pieces of turkey hunting gear I use, as they allow me to learn a great deal about these birds. Based on clarity and resistance to extreme weather, the best trail camera I’ve used is Stealth Cam’s DS4K. I set trail cameras on video mode in order to see and hear what’s happening.

When it comes to turkeys, the rapid changes they go through in spring are impressive. When trail cameras are set on video mode, you can see, hear and fully understand what’s happening in the turkey woods.

As the season progresses, my scouting efforts shift to patterning toms. I’ll find where they roost, where they fly down to, where they feed and where they get water. This time of year turkeys often get the moisture they need from early-morning dew and the foods they consume. Grass seeds are a primary turkey food source late in the season, and they’ll often hang out in meadows and fields all day long, as the tall stalks offer shade and cover.

“Just like big game, the more turkeys get pressured, the more educated they become, especially late in the season,” says Smith. “For this reason – and the fact hens are with broods and not vocal late in the season – I call very little. I’ll offer a few yelps, and if a tom gobbles or lifts its head to look in my direction, I might not call again for a couple hours. I want the bird to know I’m there and it takes very little calling to do this. I treat the situation more like big game hunting, where stealth and moving smart are important.”

Like Smith, I switched to fullstrutter decoys and have had great success with them in multiple states. The more real a decoy looks to birds that have been hunted, the better the odds of fooling them.

Pressured toms are wise and not easy to fool late in the season, which means changing your hunting approach could be the key to success. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

Over the years I’ve become more of a patient turkey hunter, something that’s of great benefit late in the season. Rarely will I use loud clucks, cackles or cutting calls, and almost never gobbles, in the final weeks of the season. Instead, I offer soft yelps and purrs, and let the decoys do the rest.

As the season winds down, fooling a mature tom becomes tougher, so stay confident and keep after it. Watch what turkeys are doing and make your moves accordingly. Be prepared to sit a long time and hunt one, maybe two spots a day, unlike early in the season, where running and gunning can find you setting up in a half-dozen locations. By hunting smart, the chance of punching a tag in the final days of spring turkey season can become reality. CS

Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen's bestselling book, Western Turkey Hunting: Strategies For All Levels, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.

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