Originally Posted By FredMan:

I'm fortunate to live on a few hundred acres that has fields, pines, hardwoods, rivers, ponds, and a boatload of turkeys, so keep that in mind as you read what I write.

I like to get out to a listening post about an hour before official sunrise.  I'll just have a seat, get my decoy ready, and just listen.  At first gobble, I don't do a damn thing.  That guy might not be the only bird out there and the last thing you want to do is spook one off the roost.  I'll wait 15-30 minutes, to make sure I'm not sitting under a roost.  I'll then decide which bird to go after (if more than one gobble).  Now, I know the lay of this land like the back of my hand.  I know if a bird gobbles over there, this is how I need to set up on him.  Over here, do it this other way.

My goal is to set up silently 80-100 yards out from a roosted bird.  I won't even look at my call until I'm settled in, decoy out, gun on my knee.  I'll give out a few soft yelps, maybe a cluck or two, and shut up.  I don't care what he's doing on the roost, I shut up.  I'll let him do his thing, maybe softly call again at 10-15 minute intervals, as long as he's on the roost.  At flydown, I try to give a few excited yelps and clucks (fly-down cackle).  he knows where I am from hearing my on the roost, what I'm trying to do is make him think I'm a hot & horny tramp hen, and if he doesn't get here soon some Jake is gonna get all the action.  

Then it's a waiting game.  If he's interested he'll slowly start coming your way.  Might take him 5 minutes, might take him 3 hours.  If he's not interested, it's going to be tough.

Now, on the setup.  It really helps to know the land.  I want to set up so that the FIRST TIME I really see him, is the instant I pull the trigger.  I don't want him to be walking around all in the open, able to eyeball me and decide something doesn't look right.  I like to put my decoy about 20 yards out, and at about a 45 degree angle to the expected approach of Tom.  You don't want to be sitting right "behind" the decoy, because he'll be able to see you while he's eyeballing the deke.

Two things will screw up a hunt faster than anything:

Impatience.  Be patient.  He's got all day, and you're not his only option.  Just because he's silent or seems invisible doesn't mean he's not RIGHT THERE.  I can't say how many times I've gotten frustrated after sitting for 90 minutes, deathly still, and say Fuck it.  That guy is GONE.  Only to stand up and hear the dreaded Put! and watch him as he runs away.

Calling:  Don't call TOO MUCH or TOO LOUDLY.  Granted, every set up is different, but hammering him with yelps and clucks and purrs every time he gobbles will probably not work.  That's making him think one of two things:  Horny hen and he can play hard to get, or that ain't no hen over there and ain't no way he's coming over to find out.

Now, it's not unusual to be doing everything right, and he still won't come in.  Could be he gets henned up, could be he gets suspicious (but not suspicious enough to just run w away).  One tactic that can work pretty good, if you're sure he's outside that 80-100 yard circle, is to sneak back out of the woods, silent as a church mouse, and go get some breakfast.  Take a nap.  Play with the kids.  Bone the wife. Then, maybe 10:30-11:00 in the morning, head back out.  see, the daily mating pattern is:
-Gobbler gobbles on the roost, letting al the hens know wher ehe is.
-Turkeys fly down and hens come to him
-He engages in turkey love
-Hens, once bred, go off to the nest to sit and/or lay

Once the hens have gone off, if he's still looking for action, and you're in the right place, you've got pretty good odds.  It's important to understand that the spring hunting method of calling a gobbler in is the exact opposite of what they are biologically programmed to do.  Hens come to Toms in nature, and you're trying to reverse that process.  Now if you catch him after the hens are gone, THEN it is much more likely he'll come to you with less wariness and increased speed  (I called in a gobbler from about 3/8 of a mile away, across fields and woods, in about 12 minutes one time at 11:00 am.  That bird was LOOKING for action).  I like to go back to the exact spot I was at before (after all, he heard a "hen" over there a few hours ago, right?) and give out a few very loud yelps.  What you're trying to do here is let him know "hey, sailor, I'm still here, and I got a room rented for the next hour!"  If he gobbles, maybe follow up with some soft yelps/clucks/purrs.  I like those same 10-15 minute intervals for calling.

Finally, don't get discouraged.  I hunted for 3 years before I shot my first bird.  Think about everything you see and hear in the woods, regardless of whether you're set up on a bird.  Why do those trees and plants grow there, but not over here?  Is that something that turkeys might like to eat?  What do squirrels and deer sound like when they get spooked?  Why oh why does a murder of crows always want to seem to land in the tree you're sitting under and Caw! Caw! for freaking 20 minutes.

In the end, to be successful, you HAVE TO get out there and fail.  I learn more from my turkey tragedies sometimes than I do from my turkey successes.

You have to be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, and still have a not insignificant measure of luck.

And for God's sake, leave that phone in your pocket!  I don't care how bored you are, if your nose is in your phone, you WILL NOT see him coming in.  Eyes up,. ears open, and s-l-o-w-l-y scan the area.

https://live.staticflickr.com/5493/30836848971_3968abd62c_h.jpgFlock Entire by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/362/31525249772_108a35a6f0_h.jpgFlock by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/2767/32014489224_bd752a35f7_h.jpgTurkeys 20170212 by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/2912/33814978215_bb6fe81ecd_h.jpgStrut 20170403 by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/4469/23772182808_16be40ab24_h.jpgFront Yard Flock by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/4450/36992029583_be0e6c180f_h.jpgFrontfield Flock Bunched by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51944821450_784432fe66_h.jpgGobbler Strut 2022-03-17 by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53109960113_8a9c427563_h.jpgFlock in the Yard by FredMan, on Flickr

Originally Posted By FredMan:

I'm fortunate to live on a few hundred acres that has fields, pines, hardwoods, rivers, ponds, and a boatload of turkeys, so keep that in mind as you read what I write.

I like to get out to a listening post about an hour before official sunrise.  I'll just have a seat, get my decoy ready, and just listen.  At first gobble, I don't do a damn thing.  That guy might not be the only bird out there and the last thing you want to do is spook one off the roost.  I'll wait 15-30 minutes, to make sure I'm not sitting under a roost.  I'll then decide which bird to go after (if more than one gobble).  Now, I know the lay of this land like the back of my hand.  I know if a bird gobbles over there, this is how I need to set up on him.  Over here, do it this other way.

My goal is to set up silently 80-100 yards out from a roosted bird.  I won't even look at my call until I'm settled in, decoy out, gun on my knee.  I'll give out a few soft yelps, maybe a cluck or two, and shut up.  I don't care what he's doing on the roost, I shut up.  I'll let him do his thing, maybe softly call again at 10-15 minute intervals, as long as he's on the roost.  At flydown, I try to give a few excited yelps and clucks (fly-down cackle).  he knows where I am from hearing my on the roost, what I'm trying to do is make him think I'm a hot & horny tramp hen, and if he doesn't get here soon some Jake is gonna get all the action.  

Then it's a waiting game.  If he's interested he'll slowly start coming your way.  Might take him 5 minutes, might take him 3 hours.  If he's not interested, it's going to be tough.

Now, on the setup.  It really helps to know the land.  I want to set up so that the FIRST TIME I really see him, is the instant I pull the trigger.  I don't want him to be walking around all in the open, able to eyeball me and decide something doesn't look right.  I like to put my decoy about 20 yards out, and at about a 45 degree angle to the expected approach of Tom.  You don't want to be sitting right "behind" the decoy, because he'll be able to see you while he's eyeballing the deke.

Two things will screw up a hunt faster than anything:

Impatience.  Be patient.  He's got all day, and you're not his only option.  Just because he's silent or seems invisible doesn't mean he's not RIGHT THERE.  I can't say how many times I've gotten frustrated after sitting for 90 minutes, deathly still, and say Fuck it.  That guy is GONE.  Only to stand up and hear the dreaded Put! and watch him as he runs away.

Calling:  Don't call TOO MUCH or TOO LOUDLY.  Granted, every set up is different, but hammering him with yelps and clucks and purrs every time he gobbles will probably not work.  That's making him think one of two things:  Horny hen and he can play hard to get, or that ain't no hen over there and ain't no way he's coming over to find out.

Now, it's not unusual to be doing everything right, and he still won't come in.  Could be he gets henned up, could be he gets suspicious (but not suspicious enough to just run w away).  One tactic that can work pretty good, if you're sure he's outside that 80-100 yard circle, is to sneak back out of the woods, silent as a church mouse, and go get some breakfast.  Take a nap.  Play with the kids.  Bone the wife. Then, maybe 10:30-11:00 in the morning, head back out.  see, the daily mating pattern is:
-Gobbler gobbles on the roost, letting al the hens know wher ehe is.
-Turkeys fly down and hens come to him
-He engages in turkey love
-Hens, once bred, go off to the nest to sit and/or lay

Once the hens have gone off, if he's still looking for action, and you're in the right place, you've got pretty good odds.  It's important to understand that the spring hunting method of calling a gobbler in is the exact opposite of what they are biologically programmed to do.  Hens come to Toms in nature, and you're trying to reverse that process.  Now if you catch him after the hens are gone, THEN it is much more likely he'll come to you with less wariness and increased speed  (I called in a gobbler from about 3/8 of a mile away, across fields and woods, in about 12 minutes one time at 11:00 am.  That bird was LOOKING for action).  I like to go back to the exact spot I was at before (after all, he heard a "hen" over there a few hours ago, right?) and give out a few very loud yelps.  What you're trying to do here is let him know "hey, sailor, I'm still here, and I got a room rented for the next hour!"  If he gobbles, maybe follow up with some soft yelps/clucks/purrs.  I like those same 10-15 minute intervals for calling.

Finally, don't get discouraged.  I hunted for 3 years before I shot my first bird.  Think about everything you see and hear in the woods, regardless of whether you're set up on a bird.  Why do those trees and plants grow there, but not over here?  Is that something that turkeys might like to eat?  What do squirrels and deer sound like when they get spooked?  Why oh why does a murder of crows always want to seem to land in the tree you're sitting under and Caw! Caw! for freaking 20 minutes.

In the end, to be successful, you HAVE TO get out there and fail.  I learn more from my turkey tragedies sometimes than I do from my turkey successes.

You have to be in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, and still have a not insignificant measure of luck.

And for God's sake, leave that phone in your pocket!  I don't care how bored you are, if your nose is in your phone, you WILL NOT see him coming in.  Eyes up,. ears open, and s-l-o-w-l-y scan the area.

https://live.staticflickr.com/5493/30836848971_3968abd62c_h.jpgFlock Entire by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/362/31525249772_108a35a6f0_h.jpgFlock by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/2767/32014489224_bd752a35f7_h.jpgTurkeys 20170212 by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/2912/33814978215_bb6fe81ecd_h.jpgStrut 20170403 by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/4469/23772182808_16be40ab24_h.jpgFront Yard Flock by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/4450/36992029583_be0e6c180f_h.jpgFrontfield Flock Bunched by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51944821450_784432fe66_h.jpgGobbler Strut 2022-03-17 by FredMan, on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53109960113_8a9c427563_h.jpgFlock in the Yard by FredMan, on Flickr

Originally Posted By 20229mm:
Went scouting yesterday. Found 6 birds on public.  Funny part is they were right in the middle of the disc golf course.  
Park employee saw me checking them out and stopped to talk.
Apparently they never leave there and it’s an are open to hunting.  I joked that I was not sure I would hunt with a bunch of frisbees zooming by me.

I could get there at first light before everyone else.
But it’s in a pretty karened up area.

Originally Posted By Zurk:
Took my boy out for his 1st time hunting. Just got the Winchester model 37 .410 a couple months ago(had a thread about it). Federal TSS. Proud dad for sure.

Bearded hen
Doesnt look like it in the pic but, 7 1/4" beard

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/396181/20240422_195220_jpg-3195418.JPG

Originally Posted By TradWoodsman:
State land Michigan bird this morning
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4363-3195244.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4366-3195246.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4365-3195249.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4383-3195252.jpg

Originally Posted By Zurk:
Took my boy out for his 1st time hunting. Just got the Winchester model 37 .410 a couple months ago(had a thread about it). Federal TSS. Proud dad for sure.

Bearded hen
Doesnt look like it in the pic but, 7 1/4" beard

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/396181/20240422_195220_jpg-3195418.JPG

Originally Posted By Zurk:
Took my boy out for his 1st time hunting. Just got the Winchester model 37 .410 a couple months ago(had a thread about it). Federal TSS. Proud dad for sure.

Bearded hen
Doesnt look like it in the pic but, 7 1/4" beard

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/396181/20240422_195220_jpg-3195418.JPG

Originally Posted By TradWoodsman:
State land Michigan bird this morning
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4363-3195244.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4366-3195246.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4365-3195249.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4383-3195252.jpg

Originally Posted By buckfever34:
Hey guys, sorry I am late to post.  Our youth weekend was last weekend and my favorite little hunting buddy is tagged out

We had deep-fried Turkey nuggets for dinner last night. All the friends and family showed up.  Made my little man proud to feed everyone (he’s 8).  

23.3 pounds
12.4 inch beard
1 and 3/8” Spurs

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55554/462D44C6-DCC8-45A5-B128-1E24E29946C8-3195478.jpg

Originally Posted By Zurk:
Took my boy out for his 1st time hunting. Just got the Winchester model 37 .410 a couple months ago(had a thread about it). Federal TSS. Proud dad for sure.

Bearded hen
Doesnt look like it in the pic but, 7 1/4" beard

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/396181/20240422_195220_jpg-3195418.JPG

Originally Posted By buckfever34:
Hey guys, sorry I am late to post.  Our youth weekend was last weekend and my favorite little hunting buddy is tagged out

We had deep-fried Turkey nuggets for dinner last night. All the friends and family showed up.  Made my little man proud to feed everyone (he’s 8).  

23.3 pounds
12.4 inch beard
1 and 3/8” Spurs

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55554/462D44C6-DCC8-45A5-B128-1E24E29946C8-3195478.jpg

Originally Posted By _B_:
Can't even get the right species to come in.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/236052/IMG_1376_jpeg-3195975.JPG

Originally Posted By _B_:
Can't even get the right species to come in.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/236052/IMG_1376_jpeg-3195975.JPG

Originally Posted By arowneragain:
No pics - if you've seen one trapped coon you've seen them all - but I got another coon this morning.

No wonder nesting success is so low here.

Originally Posted By arowneragain:
No pics - if you’ve seen one trapped coon you’ve seen them all - but I got another coon this morning.

No wonder nesting success is so low here.

Originally Posted By rock71:


Have you had a chance to tell if trapping is helping nest survival?

Originally Posted By arowneragain:


Not with any statistical certainty.

I'll give you some background before I say more:

20+ years ago I got a degree in forestry/wildlife management, then lost interest in working as a biologist, and pursued other stuff.

But I have been involved in private-land habitat management for deer, turkeys, quail, and various nongame critters, for ~30 years now. I've seen a few things and read a few journals and I absolutely believe that in *perfect* habitat intense predator management wouldn't be needed - turkeys could produce larger numbers of poults than the raccoons, opossums, skunks, snakes, hawks, owls, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and....people....could consume. But we don't have perfect habitat, and probably never will.

The anti-trapping crowd will tell you - rightly so, I must add - that trapped populations rebound quickly and therefore intermittent trapping doesn't accomplish much in the long term. They're correct, but that's only part of the truth. The rest of the story is this:

-If we're trapping and only impacting predator populations to a level they can easily rebound from, then we are NOT hurting them, from a species stability standpoint, by trapping. Period.
-Trapping must be a long-term effort to make large-scale improvements. It does little good for me to trap a few coons on one property if I don't do it every year and my neighbors don't do it also.
-But even short-term efforts can help. Will my local coons rebound from what I've done this week? Yep, guaranteed. And the local coyote population will rebound from the two I've killed in the last few months and the bobcat population will rebound from the one I killed a few months ago. This is virtually guaranteed. *HOWEVER* it is absolutely certain that the three hens I believe to be nested right now, on my property, are in less danger now than they would have been had I not killed the half-dozen aforementioned predators. Sure, the predators will rebound, because when you suppress their numbers there's more food to go around - but having more food to go around means that there are more prey animals.

Yeah, the population will rebound - but hopefully by then a clutch of turkey eggs will be half-grown poults. The hens I have nested here have acres of clover to eat and find bugs in. They have acres of knee-high brushy cover that hawks have a hard time hunting. We do still have coyotes and bobcats (I have traps out for them too...) but all considered, 'my' hens lead a pretty sheltered life right now.

Of course, there's no way I can do enough to have a landscape-level impact. That would require either a full-time paid trapper, or a whole bunch of very committed neighbors that could each maintain a trapline on their respective properties. Nobody has time for that. And I absolutely understand that when people do have free time, they'd rather spend it hunting than trapping. And fur isn't worth a whole lot.

*shrug*

Originally Posted By buckfever34:
Hey guys, sorry I am late to post.  Our youth weekend was last weekend and my favorite little hunting buddy is tagged out

We had deep-fried Turkey nuggets for dinner last night. All the friends and family showed up.  Made my little man proud to feed everyone (he’s 8).  

23.3 pounds
12.4 inch beard
1 and 3/8” Spurs

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/55554/462D44C6-DCC8-45A5-B128-1E24E29946C8-3195478.jpg

Originally Posted By Earl_Basset:
Well, jack shit at our first spot this morning. Headed into the woods Instead of a field at 9am, watching a nice knoll I have seen them run a lot in the fall. Sure enough at 9:30 we hear a decent gobble. I soft called with a hen and his Jake decoy as I left the funky chicken in a bag in the other spot and his were lighter to run n gun (my right shoulder is in a sling from surgery). He pops into view at 75 yards away, full strut, proceeds to give us a show for a solid hour but will not leave his strut zone. Instead of risk bumping him out with some half ass stalk I'm sure we would have failed at, we let him get out of sight and leave at noon.  We'll be set up on that knoll tomorrow morning.

Damn fine show we watched though, he's a serious gobbler, I'm guessing at least a 3 year old, HUGE head and fan, didn't have a chance to see the spurs.

Originally Posted By Earl_Basset:
My other buddy killed the gobbler we saw the day after we left. Huge hooks, 11" beard, 18.5 pounds, must have been working himself ragged.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/133760/1000000174_jpg-3199202.JPG

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/133760/1000000178_jpg-3199203.JPG

Originally Posted By _B_:
Can't even get the right species to come in.

https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/236052/IMG_1376_jpeg-3195975.JPG

Originally Posted By TradWoodsman:
State land Michigan bird this morning
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4363-3195244.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4366-3195246.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4365-3195249.jpghttps://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/281590/IMG_4383-3195252.jpg

Originally Posted By 20229mm:
https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/438654/IMG_9025_jpeg-3201325.JPG

Buddy and I are having a debate.   Farm bird or wild?