Turkey Hunting Scenarios

Turkey Hunting Scenarios

By Ryan Graden

Turkey season is just around the corner and I have the turkey hunting bug! I can’t wait for that first morning when I can get out in the timber here in Iowa to chase the big Easterns that make the hardwoods their home. I enjoy engaging them in a challenge of wits hoping that I will come out on top providing a turkey for our Thanksgiving turkey dinner!

But my success has come from countless situations that have ended in the joy of success and the frustration in failure. But, if you call yourself a turkey hunter, you will surely understand that is the way the game goes. You make a plan, play your cards, and you’ll win some and lose some. You just hope that your winnings are more than your losses.

As the seasons come to Iowa, I would like to lead you through a few of the most common situations and scenarios that an Iowa turkey hunter can expect to deal with. Along with these situations I’d like to offer up a few choices to choose from as well as my advice on the choice that I would make.

Please know, these aren’t ALL of the things you will in encounter as a serious turkey hunter. But my hope is this might offer a little assistance in easing your frustration and boosting your success.

Beginning Advice
Before I lead you through any of the following situations there are a few things that I think you need to consider before hunting a turkey.

First, choose a method of calling that you are confident with. For turkey hunting there are three primary calling tools. A mouth diaphragm, a slate call, or a box call. You need to discover which one suites you best and practice to gain a degree of mastery with. Trust me, you don’t want to sound like a sick and wounded dog when calling out to these wise old birds. You’ll be busted before you even start!

Second, I would suggest finding yourself one good decoy. If you only want to buy one, get a hen decoy. I’ve hunted with the cheap $10 decoy you might get a Wal Mart and have had some success. But when I made the investment to purchase one of the “realistic” decoys that are now on the market now, the difference was night and day! Toms are magnetized with these and will rush right in with very little hesitation. Trust me, it’s worth the investment.

Scenario #1 – How to Handle the Roost
Personally, I am a “Roost” hunter! I’ve had a TON of success catching the ear of that early morning Tom and bringing him in for a shot. Probably 80% of the birds I’ve harvested have been done in this way. Remember though, there’s a few things you need to make sure of for this type of scenario.

First, know your terrain. These birds are roosting in certain areas for a reason. And when they are ready, they will go a certain direction. Play to their favor. If they are roosting on the edge of a hayfield or bean field, it’s a good bet that’s where they are planning to fly down to those areas. If there’s a clearing in a timber, that might be where they are aiming. You’re goal is to sound like the very first bird in that target area. And it’s that “birds” (your) job to indicate, “All is clear. Come join me.”

Second, you have to know where the birds are roosted. The best way to do that is to visit areas later in the evening the day before. Now, don’t get too close to where you think the birds might be roosting. Keep a distance of 200-400 yards. When you find a place, use a loud box call or a coyote howler and let out a call that “disturbs the peace”. Something sudden and shocking. With hope, you’ll hear a response of a gobble. Do this a couple of times to make sure they are all coming from the same area signifying they are roosted. That will determine your setup the next morning.

At this point, you know where the toms are roosted. You have a general idea where they will be the next morning. Now you need to pick where the right place is for your setup. I would suggest getting to your setup choice no later than 30 minutes prior to shooting hours. (1/2 hour prior to sunup) Try to choose a place within 100 yards of the roosted tom, but not closer than 50. This is a delicate situation and you don’t want to create too much “spook” factor when you are coming in during the dark.

How do you coax this big Iowa Eastern into your setup?
A. Set your decoy out where you hope he will travel through and see it?
B. Wait till he makes a move and determine what to do next?
C. Begin to coax him before he leaves the roost?

All situations might offer some success. But for me, “C” is what I do! Once shooting time hits, I’m letting off some very quiet clucks and purrs. (I prefer a mouth diaphragm) If he answers, I don’t answer right back. Give it some time before you call again. Then, after a bit, do the same thing again. If you’re the only “hen” in the area, there’s no doubt he will give aim to his direction and fly down for a visit. Remember, don’t get too excited and don’t call too often. Once he’s on the ground and calling on his own, keep him interested with a few prompt responses. As soon as you see his head, give him a headache!

Scenario #2 – All Henned Up
During the middle seasons of the Iowa Turkey seasons (seasons 2 and 3), I feel this is a common frustration among turkey hunters. I agree. A tom with a bunch of hens is going to be one of the toughest situations to deal with. However, it’s not impossible. Here’s what’s happening and here’s what you need to try.

A tom turkey will gather up a group of hens to breed with consistently for a short period of time. Maybe it’s an ego thing with turkeys. If you have more hens, you’re a tougher turkey. I don’t know for sure, but it does make it tough to hunt. You might, if you’re lucky, see this Tom breed hen after hen. When the hens are ready, he will be a busy guy.

At the same time, hens do a pretty good job of keeping each other safe as well as tom that is with them. Many eyes make for a safe watch. In this situation, as a hunter, that’s hard to deal with. At the same time, a strong and determined tom will keep all other males at bay. Fights and displaying will keep other males away and leave the hens all to himself.

How do you pull a male turkey away from his hens for a close enough shot? What’s best to do?
A. Wait him out. As a flock moves around a feeding area, there’s a chance he’ll venture close enough for a shot. Just have patience and hours of time.
B. Challenge him. Make him believe that he has to defend what he has.
C. Give up. There’s no way that he’ll leave his hens and come to your calls.

Although you could wait him out hoping for a shot. Or you could stop wasting your time and venture elsewhere. I would choose “B”.

Remember this tom is defending his ladies and he will be ready to battle for it. Switching a call to a “gobble” call would be a great option. Let off a few gobbles to get his attention. Next, show him a fan. That’s right, he needs to see some fanned out feathers mimicking a challenger.

Nowadays you can buy those photographed decoy umbrellas if you wish. But, easier and cheaper would be to use a dried out tail fan from a tom that you harvested in years past. Whatever you choose, show him that fan, and if he’s serious, he’ll come strutting right to you.

Is there any other way to draw that tom closer for a shot? I’m not confident in gobbling or using a fan decoy?
A. Continue to hen call in hopes of upsetting the “Boss Hen” causing her to come and challenge a foreign hen.
B. Move in for a closer shot using the terrain to get into a better position for a shot.
C. Wait it out. Hope that the hens will return to their nests and the tom will come to you.

Waiting it out will work. So could moving. But again, if I was to share from my experience, “A” is my choice here.

It’s hard work, but I’ve had it work a few times over the years. Typically when you have a larger group of hens that are keeping that tom to themselves, there will be one dominant hen that is giving direction to the rest of the flock. Usually, older and louder. If you’re confident in your calling, get her riled up! Usually, when you call, she will call back. It’s a “You’re wasting your time.

He’s not interested.” type of response to the hen you are pretending to be.

But that’s when the tactic comes in to play. Continue to call. Be that obnoxious hen that won’t take “no” for an answer. Keep calling. Call loud. Call often. Do anything that you can to get her angry. Eventually, if the trick works, she will come to investigate. And who do you think will follow her? That’s right! Your tom! Just remember, you’ll deal with many other eyes, and typically he’ll be at the back of the pack. If you’re confident in your cover, camo, and ability to shoot, take the chance! It just might work!

Scenario #3 – Obstacles Between You and Him
A situation like this can often times be one of the most frustrating things for us as hunters to witness and deal with. In my experience, streams and barb wire fences become my greatest enemy when I’m trying to call in a tom. It seems silly, but sometimes the smallest obstacles become monumental obstacles for a tom turkey to tackle.

I’ve seen turkeys come right up to a fence and begin to pace left and then right as if they are deciding what to do. For me, I’m looking at the situation and saying in my head, “just duck under the stinking fence!” But no! For them, that’s too hard. Nine times out of ten, they will turn around and begin to ignore you.

Streams too! I’ve been in timbers when I’ve struck up a tom and he’s answering my calls very well. I will set up to bring him in only to have him hang up for some reason. We will call back and forth only to end up with an empty conversation and a tom venturing off to find somebody else. Upon investigating those situations, a small stream at the bottom of a ravine had halted his travels and I was left with pure frustration.

How do you get a turkey to side-step an obstacle to come into your calls?
A. Continue to call. Hoping to drive his interest to a peak causing him to conquer the obstacle.
B. Set up a “flock” of decoys hoping that safety in numbers will coax him in.
C. Allow him to leave and reposition yourself closer to the obstacle allowing you a shot.

Again, as I said, It’s so hard to understand why something like this will halt and turkey from coming into your setup and calls. But, if you hunt enough, this scenario will happend at one time or another. My suggestion is option “C”. Allow the tom/jake to become uninterested hoping that he will walk away. When he does, quickly reposition and call him in again.

I remember one year I was hunting the last day of Iowa’s third turkey season. I was faced with a “double challenge”. I had a flock of jakes interested across the ravine on our neighbors property. The property lines were divided by a fence and just past the fence, on our property, was a flowing stream.

As I called to them, I was sitting half way up the ravine on our property. I could tell they came down to the fence but WOULD NOT come under and commit to finding the “hen” that they were hearing. So I sat silent. I really had no other option. As I listened, I heard them cluck and gobble as they returned back up their side of the ravine.

I quickly and quietly moved down to the bottom of the ravine on the edge of the stream and a mere 20 yards from the fence that was the property divide. I began to call again and that flock of Jakes got all fired up again! Before I knew it, they came running down their ravine and pushed up against the fence. I was well hidden and continued to call. After about 5 minutes, one Jake (to my surprise) broke from the flock, came under the fence and came to the edge of the stream. Standing at less than 15 feet, I made the shot and filled my tag.

Turkey hunting is truly a battle of wits and endurance. These large birds that roam through the timbers of Iowa are no dumb animals. They know how to play the game, but you will learn how to play it too. Continue to try different ideas, fix your mistakes, and listen to the wisdom and experience of other seasoned hunters. In time, you will have your own bag of tricks to pull from.

Keep hunting and good luck!