Turkey Tips for Tough Times

Turkey hunting is a challenging pursuit. As turkey numbers have faltered across the country, many hunters find the challenge of tagging a tom to be increasingly difficult. Although turkey numbers are down in our beloved Show-Me state, there is still a strong population of birds for spring gobbler chasers to hunt. It’s great when toms gobble at our every call and come running to the sweet sounds of that hen in the bush. However, in tough times turkey hunters have to work harder and smarter to find and outwit a wary old gobbler.

Scouting becomes more important to a turkey hunter if numbers are down in your area. Turkeys are still wild creatures with the same basic needs they have always had…food, water, and cover. Determining the best food sources in your given hunting area is key to finding birds. Find a good food source with water within a quarter mile and suitable roosting trees nearby and you have a good chance of finding turkeys. Remember, however, that matters have changed since the heydays of the 1980s. You now may have to scout several “perfect” spots to find birds.

Once you locate a flock of birds, don’t push your luck and scout too much. Pushing birds off of a property is not a good thing but is not necessarily the end of the world. If the food source is substantial, the birds will return, if they are not pressured.

Locator calls are often the undoing of wild gobblers. Once you jerk a gobble from a tom, close the distance and use your locator call once again, but don’t overdo it. You have awakened a gobbler and it will be on full alert. I have great success using a coyote howler. Turkeys hate coyotes and will readily gobble at coyote howlers.

On several occasions, I have witnessed turkeys gobbling at coyotes they can see. On one occasion, I laughed aloud as four big toms gobbled non-stop while chasing a big, male coyote from their strutting field. And, I have actually howled at gobblers in my line of sight and had them gobble. If it is a band of birds, they may approach. However, if it is a lone gobbler, don’t count on it coming any closer.

A million different scenarios may occur on any given morning of turkey hunting. That is precisely what makes it so challenging. One of the most common problems I hear voiced from turkey hunters is the fact that a bird gobbled on the roost and then flew the other way. That’s a bummer. You did not necessarily frighten the bird. Most likely, there were hens roosting in the other direction. The gobbler most likely saw them fly down and it simply hopped off the roost to join them. Hens in sight of a lovesick gobbler are hard to beat. If you hear the tom gobbling and going away, your best bet is to make a wide circle and get in front of the group. Later in the morning, that gobbler will be easier to call as hens lose interest in it.

What if a tom calls at your every call? It is definitely interested. However, the gobbler expects the hen to come to him. Keep calling and the tom is most likely to hold its position while watching for the hen to approach. In most scenarios, you can quit calling and the gobbler will approach your position, because it is afraid the hen is leaving. Silence is often golden in this situation, because the gobbler is on its way. Stay put for at least an hour. Approaching toms may take their time. Often they feed along the way. Should you hear another hen calling, call again. You may be in for a calling competition to win the gobbler.

Henned-up gobblers often discourage hunters, and rightfully so. However, everything is not lost. Some of my most memorable turkey hunts involved boss hens that were bent on running off competing hens. Loud, raucous calling is often the ticket to bring those hens with the gobbler in tow.

Every day in the turkey woods is different. A call that toms love today, they may ignore tomorrow. Carry a variety of calls, including box calls, slate and glass pot calls, and mouth calls. I carry several mouth calls with various reed patterns that cover a wide range of sounds. On occasions, I’ve had success by running a pot call and a mouth call simultaneously.

My favorite turkey hunting scenario is often selfconstructed. I roost birds the evening before and close in to within 75 yards the following morning. Stealth is the name of the game. You will occasionally get busted. However, once you close the distance sit quietly and listen. You may first hear the sounds of feathers raking on tree limbs as birds begin to wake up. I enjoy waking the birds by floating very soft tree yelps in their direction. Often I can determine how many birds are on the roost. I always hope that there are no hens between me and the closest gobbler.

Last season I had this very scenario working for me. After I heard the first hen yelp, I caught movement in a sprawling white oak less than 75 yards away. Two mature gobblers stretched three wings and gobbled in unison. I suspected them to drop from their perch and eat my way. I yelped softly only once to let them know a hen was around.

At the last moment, a hen yelped slightly downhill. I heard her fly down. The gobblers followed. I called, but watched as the small flock headed down the hill. Desperate, I began a 30-yard low crawl to a big brush pile between the birds and me. Shock swept over me when I peeked through the brush to see a third gobbler and two hens walking straight at me.

It would have to be a quick shot. The majestic gobbler stood 9 yards away. In one fluid movement, I rose to one knee, shouldered my shotgun, snagged my sling on a stick and missed. Oh, the greatest laid plans of mice and men.

Bill Cooper