The Do’s And Dont’s of Turkey Season

The Do’s And Dont’s of Turkey Season

By Ryan Graden

The lull of winter is in full swing for me. Fall/winter hunting seasons have all closed and I am finding myself anticipating the next best thing. Turkey season! My mind has shifted. In my daydreaming I now see episodes of turkey hunts. When I’m driving to and from places, I’m no longer looking for the deer in the field. I’m looking for those groups of toms out in the fields gleaning the left over bits and pieces of the last fall’s harvest.

Chasing these birds is becoming a coveted time of year for me. I can’t wait to enter into the timber early in the morning and hear them thunder off their deep-throated gobbles in hopes of chasing a hen in the morning hours. It’s the “sound of spring” to me and I am finding myself yearning for it already.

Along with these thoughts, I can’t help but think through all of my errors in the past that I do not care to repeat. The errors that I vowed I would never make again! The errors that cost me opportunities to fill my tag. The errors that left me feeling defeated and frustrated. Hunting is never a guarantee, but any hunter would like to be more on the “certain” side of a hunt when they have a tag in their pocket.

Therefore, it’s good that I take this time to make mental notes of what to do and what not to do. I need to go through my checklist of blunders to educate and remind myself not to make them again. I am looking for a successful season that will allow me top the grill with some fantastic turkey for the table!

Follow along with me as I share a few of my painful lessons and what I’ve learned from them.

Know Your Turf
Years ago, I ventured out to some new public property that I knew had some turkeys on it. I had been there shed hunting earlier in the season and had seen plenty of turkey signs to entice me to come back in the spring.

There weren’t many hunters that ventured into this area so I thought that I would have a good chance come turkey season to be one of the few that might be hunting this large tract of timber.

I entered into the timber early and made my way down an old roadbed reaching the deeper parts of woods. As the sun began to rise, the gobbles began to echo. I was in the sweet spot!

I setup on the flat with a large-deep ravine just before me. There were at least three toms answering my soft purrs down over the edge below my set. My heart began to beat as I heard them fly down out of their roosts. Any moment now, that white head should pop up over the edge and my tag will be filled. Forty-five minutes later, after much back-and-forth turkey talk, the woods grew silent and I never saw the toms I had talked to.

I grew brave enough to crawl forward to look over the edge of the ravine in hopes that they were just sitting there. To my surprise, I discovered a very old fence still standing in the timber. An old property line left from years before was enough to hold up these turkeys and eventually cause them to leave in frustration. And I, was left with an empty tag.

DO: Know your territory! My mistake that day, I did not take time to scout that timber thoroughly. I did not lay out the areas that I might hunt turkeys in. I didn’t find their roosting areas, feeding areas, and any things in the woods that would hinder a turkey’s path to me.

Don’t: Turkeys will often encounter a small obstacle in their path towards you. These small obstacles can be the ultimate hindrance to your hunt. I’ve seen turkeys hold up behind a fallen tree. One that they could easily hop over or go around. Instead, they strut refusing the cross and then leave. Don’t assume small obstacles will not make a difference. They will!

Old fences, streams, logs, and so much more become impossible barriers for turkeys! You need to know your area of hunting well and place yourself in sets that will not “shoot you in the foot”.

Practice Your Talk
Talking “turkey” is vital to filling your tag. Rarely will you ever just walk upon a turkey and make a harvest. You are chasing one of the smartest survivors in the forest. They aren’t stupid, they can pinpoint a fake in the forest, and you don’t want to be that!

When I started hunting turkeys seriously, I was VERY comfortable with a mouth call or diaphragm call. I had practiced calling quite a bit. Most of my daily commute to and from work was practicing the sounds that I needed to make with that call in my car. Hours and hours led me to be confident in using one and one spring, turkey season had arrived.

Slate calls were also becoming popular at that point in time. They were all the rage and, when seen on TV, seemed so simple to use. So, days before the season I bought one and started scratching away on it. I knew that I was better with my mouth call, but the slates were what my hunting heroes were using so, I carried it into the timber with me.

Opening morning of my season, I located with a box call (as is my routine), sending a loud call echoing through the timber. An answering tom allowed me to choose a place to hunt and the game was on!

My mouth call continued to coax him from his roost. Once I knew that he was on the ground, I was going to “seal the deal” with the popular call of the year. To my surprise, it didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.

I watched that tom (still quite a distance from me) perk his head up when he heard the first few calls from my slate. There was a definite moment of translation going on in his mind. Under a minute later, he was determined to make his way out of there.

DO: Practice! Practice! Practice! Box calls, mouth calls, slate calls, and even the newer “blow through” calls are all great calls to use in the timber. However, unless you practice with them and master them to a certain degree, you will not talk the talk.
Take your call of choice and spend some time with it. Make sure that you are practiced enough to fool a tom into a shootable distance.

Don’t: Do not give in to peer pressure. Commercials and the outdoor industry will try to sell you on the latest-greatest call out there. Maybe even guys you know will tell you, “Oh, don’t use that! Use this.” You will be left questioning what is best to use for your hunting.

Use what YOU are comfortable with. What suits you? What can you master? What can you use to sound the most like a turkey? When you find what you are comfortable with, put in the hours to build your confidence.

Become Your Surroundings
The importance of proper camouflage is vital! A turkey hunter should be present, but not! You get it?

Turkey’s best sense is their sense of eyesight. Unlike a deer, they do not depend on their sense of smell to detect danger. But, their eyesight will pin you down from miles away! Most likely, a turkey is going to see you before you see them. If that happens, you will never ever see one while looking down your barrel.

It took me years to fine tune this area of turkey hunting. And, truthfully, I had to spend a little money in order to get there. Now, you don’t have to break the bank to meet some standards here. However, if you are hunting like me, you have to think it through.
In Iowa, there are four turkey seasons to choose from. I typically choose the first and the fourth. With those choices, however, I need different types of camo!

DO: Know your seasons and surroundings! My first season hunts are typically happening before much of the green colors begin to emerge. I use a camo with more browns in the pattern. By the fourth turkey season, I need to have a pattern with more green in it. When I hunt in Nebraska, I need a lighter color green to match the color of the greenery in the Sandhills.

Make a study of your area and think of what’s happening during your hunting dates. Cover yourself in the correct color.

Don’t: Don’t assume that you will “get by” without being completely covered. Cover hands, face, head, and body! Don’t assume that you can be free to make little movements, sounds, etc. If your nose is running, let it drip! If you need to clear your throat, avoid it! If you want to look around, stay frozen! Don’t give your hiding spot away. One mess-up in any of these areas will cause those turkeys to go running!

Be Patient
My grandfather used to sit in one spot for an entire day during turkey season. A few of those years, he was successful, but most years he was not.

I’m not telling you to pick a spot and stick to it till you kill a turkey. I’m reminding you to be patient enough to know that a turkey you are coaxing in is either coming or has totally left the area.

Just last spring, I located a turkey before sunup and was able to move quietly near his roost. As the sun began to rise, I began to call with some soft clucks and purrs. I was also scratching the ground mimicking a hen scratching the earth to find some breakfast.

He was interested! So interested that I could barely get a “word” in edgewise. I heard him fly down, and then, he became quiet. I called, and no answer. 10 minutes went by and still, no answer.

At that point, my mind began to race. I replayed what I knew. He was no more than 50 yards from me. He was answering. He seemed eager. He flew down. And now..?

I rushed through all this information and came to the quick conclusion that he had flown down and followed another hen away from my setup. I was convinced! 10 minutes of “action” and 30 seconds of analysis told me this set was over and I might as well move on to locating another gobbler.

I stood up and leaned my gun on a tree in order to stretch. It was at that moment I heard the quick alarm clucks from a giant tom that had crested the edge of the ravine to my back left. He was being cautious and had I been patient, I’m sure I would have filled my tag that morning and been back to my house in time to have coffee with my wife.

DO: Listen to all the cues in order to determine if you have a turkey coming in. Is he anxious in his calls? Are his calls getting faint? Are they getting louder? Do you year any other turkeys/hens talking too?

DON’T: Do not rush to make a judgement. Take time to assess your situation. Sitting somewhere for another 20-30 minutes when nothing is calling is worth it! Make VERY sure that your target turkey has truly walked away. Listen for calls as he’s leaving. Remain still through all of this. Move only your eyes from side to side. Continue to call during this time, but listen intently. He might still be coming. Maybe he’s got eyes on your decoys and is strutting and drumming instead of calling.

Patience will give you the answers you need and will keep you from botching up a perfect situation.

Final Preparation
Turkey hunting is a game of chess. The patient and careful player will win…..most of the time. However, sometimes, that tom is just too smart.

Over the years, I’ve had many successes and many failures. I’m not sure there’s a true turkey hunter out there that hasn’t blown it at least once in their turkey hunting adventures. I’ve botched some “chip shots” because of my poor decisions with camo, calling, moving, and more.

However, there’s been a fair amount of successes that keeps me interested in the game!

But the hunt and the pursuit is what entices me to give this a try over and over again! It’s a battle of wits and skill. Who will win? I guess you’ll have to see how the season plays out! Good luck!