Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine

Tactics that work for fall turkeys

As of late more and more hunters are taking advantage of fall turkey hunting opportunities. In my county alone a hunter can get six to nine tags for fall birds. Most of the time these birds can be hunted with either a shotgun or a bow. Which ever is your forte a fall bird is no walk in the park, so to speak.
Fall birds can be much different than what most turkey hunters are accustomed to dealing with.

The first thing a hunter must understand is that being aggressive is key to fall hunting. You can’t call the birds to you and they are not focused on breeding, they are now worried about food and water in preparation for winter. During the fall turkeys are still vocal but they are talking a different language in the fall. Instead of thundering gobbles and impressive fan displays, you will hear much more subtle tones from a flock. Flocks are what you will be hunting. That translates into 20-plus eyes all looking for danger at the same time.
Basically there are two time-tested ways to hunt a fall bird. First and generally most accepted is to “pattern” the flock as they ease through their daily movements. As most bow hunters have found turkeys love acorns as much as any deer you have ever hunted. If you can find where the birds are roosting and where they are scratching for acorns you can set up the dreaded ambush. The birds are, generally speaking, either going to be flocks of hens mixed with poults or flocks of gobblers. No matter which flock you find, be it hens or long beards, they will travel the same routes to and from feeding areas day after day. Setting up is rather simple for a shotgun hunter. Find yourself a secluded tree, set down and wait. For a bowhunter things can get a little complicated at this point. Once you have located the travel corridor you need to find a place that affords you cover and the ability to draw your bow undetected. Recently I have taken to using Ameristep Blinds for this very purpose. The blind gives me cover and conceals the movement required to come to full draw with my trusty Alpine Denali.

A few other praises for pop up ground blinds are that they allow you to hunt pretty comfortably during a slow, steady rain, which does not hinder turkey movement in the least. Keep in mind that a hard rain or thunderstorm will send the birds running for cover but they will come back to the fields to dry off afterwards. The blinds also keep the mosquitoes and gnats off you. The shot through mesh windows allow a bowhunter to set in relative comfort while waiting on birds to appear.
No matter if you’re a bow or shotgun hunter keep in mind that the birds are not pressured like in the spring so set up close.

Once you have the flock in range try to pick the last bird in the flock. This will allow the rest of those wary eyes to be out of range of any movement you let slip.
The second method is also very productive. The first thing is to find the flocks when they are bunched up feeding. Once you have found a flock, and for this the bigger the flock the better, simply scatter them, I mean put the Mochican sneak on them until your close then pop up and charge the flock on foot. This will scatter the flock in every conceivable direction. Once they have scattered move 20 or so yards into cover and set up a single hen decoy. Wait 15-20 minutes and start soft calling using a Kee-Kee and a Kee-Kee yelp. These are the sounds the younger poults use to locate the flock when separated. Try not to call to much, especially if your have others birds Kee-keeing back at you. Let the hen decoy lure the flock back into a false sense of security. Sooner or later the birds should start to move back toward the sounds of your calls and the decoy. Once again a bowhunter can make good use of a ground blind in the scenario as well.

Of course there is always spot and stalk for turkeys. Yes it works and is a valuable tool to the fall turkey hunter, but you better bring your “A” game when your planning to sneak up and shoot a bird.

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Troy Basso, of Shelbyville, Tenn., is an avid bowhunter and fly fisherman. He’s been fly fishing since he was nine years old. Basso grew up in Michigan and has been an outdoor writer for six years. He’s also an instructor for the National Bowhunter Education Program. Basso can be reached at tntmobile@united.net.