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Turkey Hunting 101

--Phases--

• Phase 1- is at the start of the breeding season. Birds are hot and heavy, but still may be ranging in larger flocks rather than being sorted out according to dominance. At this time birds are establishing the pecking/breeding order, and can be very easily patterned. In this instance. understanding what a turkey wants to hear and getting into the right mode of hunting is crucial. Scouting and patterning turkeys is something that goes a long way in bagging a big gobbler.

• Phase 2- occurs when the birds have sorted out “who is who” amongst their turkey family. Friends and family before in the gobbler world can quickly become enemies all in hot pursuit of willing hens that need to be bred. Many times you still may see adult gobblers in pairs and triples, but most likely these are not the dominant birds, but 2-3 year old's from the same clutch. In some cases these can even be young and old gobblers together that have been pushed away from the main flock by a feisty old tom that has a knack for kicking some serious butt when it comes to protecting his hens. These smaller “satellite” singles and groups are sometimes easier to call into gunning range, but often may come in silent to the call because they are afraid of who else may be standing around. Other times these birds that run in packs may be the dominant force and gobble their heads off as they round up to their girls each morning. And yet other times they will gobble their heads off all day, but stay in the open and look for hens coming to their gobble while having the ability to see if the big boy is in tow and be able to make a quick exit. Scouting these birds and sorting out their dominance as it comes into play is crucial in understanding how to hunt them.

• Phase 3- occurs after many of the hens have been bred and the dominant tom no longer has a flock of hens at his disposal, and he is still looking for hens to breed. In my mind, this is the time to kill the big boy with the call. Up until know, he is so well surrounded by his hens, it is hard to kill him unless you get in his “box¹” and get him interested. Right now he is looking for more hens and is ready to take down anyone in his path. Using gobbler calls, a full strut gobbler, and taking advantage of the mid-morning hunt time can make this bird as easy as a jake. Knowing when this phase switched is key to successfully bagging a mature bird in the field. Duting this time, he may gobble 100 times and come right to the call off of the roost, when weeks previously he would gobble very little on the roost and never be heard from again. This is also the time when the sub-dominant gobblers will take advantage of the big boy due to him being starined/weak from the breeding season, They are no longer scared of him, but very agreesive towards him and will fight for every hen available.

Now, with all of this being said, turkeys are strange creatures. While this is the formula, I have come up with from experience and interpreting other people's ideas over the years; I have killed birds outside of these parameters many different times. In order to stay in the game, being adapt to change is what makes turkey hunting so much fun. When the pressure of other hunters starts to hit the woods, understanding how the birds are reacting to the numerous new bodies in the woods is key.

¹box- I refer to this as the area close to a Gobbler’s home territory. This is where he feels safe and in many cases may gobble like crazy, but won’t cross his self-made boundaries. If you can sneak into his home and get into his zone, he will most likely present himself with a little coaxing from the call, even if he has hens in the area.

The Author with a PA Eastern Spring Gobbler..

©David Rearick, Game Hogg Hunt Club^TM