Fall Turkey Hunting Season Tips
Fall turkey hunting season is already here in almost all U.S. states and some Canadian provinces and since Thanksgiving is almost here, it's an splendid opportunity to put a wild turkey on your celebration table this year.
Going out for turkeys on fall is a little bit different than other seasons hunting, thus if you have never been out for turkeys on fall, here you'll find some tips to make the task easier.
Scouting: First thing to do on the season is to locate flocks and for that, scouting and tracking are mandatory. Move slowly on the terrain looking for distant flocks as well sings of turkey activity such as tracks left on muddy or snowy areas, scratching on the areas where the birds have been looking for food and roosting spots such as big branched trees where flocks tend to find cover to sleep; in addition dusting areas are signals of turkey activity.
If you find several signs of turkey presence on an area, keep moving around because sooner or later a flock will show up. To make things even easier, look for food and water sources, if there are turkeys on the area as suggested by your scouting, you'll find a flock near a food source for sure.
Keep in mind that turkeys fall feeding behavior is a little bit different than usual, especially when colder, wild turkeys will spend more time on the woods eating different berries, beechnuts and acorns.
Now you know there are wild turkeys on the area and have identified potential good places to locate them, it's patience time!
You may choose one from two strategies: set up a blind and wait until the flock is on range or actively call turkeys to your area.
If you select the first option, you only have to wait until a flock is close enough (around 20-40 feet) from your blind to use your shotgun, remember to aim the head and neck in order to avoid ruining the best meat areas.
On the other hand, if actively calling is your choice, you need to be familiar with turkeys vocalizing. On this time of the year the use of lures is ineffective since birds are not looking for a partner on this time of the year, instead the birds are very active vocalizing and communicating with different calls, thus if you are able to make a proper interpretation of what they are trying to communicate, you may use a call to catch turkey attention towards you and once in range, you just have to shoot.
It's a risky game since a miss interpretation of the calls may alert the birds about your presence, making them leave; but despite of such bad results, practice will turn you on a call master after some time.
Are you ready now to catch your Thanksgiving turkey this year?
Going out for turkeys on fall is a little bit different than other seasons hunting, thus if you have never been out for turkeys on fall, here you'll find some tips to make the task easier.
Scouting: First thing to do on the season is to locate flocks and for that, scouting and tracking are mandatory. Move slowly on the terrain looking for distant flocks as well sings of turkey activity such as tracks left on muddy or snowy areas, scratching on the areas where the birds have been looking for food and roosting spots such as big branched trees where flocks tend to find cover to sleep; in addition dusting areas are signals of turkey activity.
If you find several signs of turkey presence on an area, keep moving around because sooner or later a flock will show up. To make things even easier, look for food and water sources, if there are turkeys on the area as suggested by your scouting, you'll find a flock near a food source for sure.
Keep in mind that turkeys fall feeding behavior is a little bit different than usual, especially when colder, wild turkeys will spend more time on the woods eating different berries, beechnuts and acorns.
Now you know there are wild turkeys on the area and have identified potential good places to locate them, it's patience time!
You may choose one from two strategies: set up a blind and wait until the flock is on range or actively call turkeys to your area.
If you select the first option, you only have to wait until a flock is close enough (around 20-40 feet) from your blind to use your shotgun, remember to aim the head and neck in order to avoid ruining the best meat areas.
On the other hand, if actively calling is your choice, you need to be familiar with turkeys vocalizing. On this time of the year the use of lures is ineffective since birds are not looking for a partner on this time of the year, instead the birds are very active vocalizing and communicating with different calls, thus if you are able to make a proper interpretation of what they are trying to communicate, you may use a call to catch turkey attention towards you and once in range, you just have to shoot.
It's a risky game since a miss interpretation of the calls may alert the birds about your presence, making them leave; but despite of such bad results, practice will turn you on a call master after some time.
Are you ready now to catch your Thanksgiving turkey this year?
