Addicted

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls, and any of your transgender, gender confused not sure if you have an innie or an outtie.....

My name is Mike and I am officially addicted to turkey hunting. Some of you may have seen my post early about my daughters first turkey hunt, and hunting kill. She went out during deer season and missed everything she shot at with her bow. It was a guided hunting with a good caller, I cannot tell you how much i learned on that hunt.

Since saturday and sunday i have been itching to get back out in the woods and talk to turkeys. So i got up this morning, played hooky from first formation but was accounted for, and went and talked to some turkeys in the woods. Heard three off of the first series of yelps, but they were far away and I did not have the time to sit out there to bring them in.

I want to go back out this afternoon or evening. But i have noticed that it seems incredibly harder to hunt turkeys in the evenings. What are some tips?

I have dabbled in turkey hunting for the past 2 years but really did not have any clue what i was doing, but after the guided hunt, i learned an epic amount, but it was morning hunts what are the tips for evening hunting?


Thank you all, love the comradery here and the comments on my daughters hunt!

Morning hunts can be fun because they tend to be more vocal in my experience. But, don't underestimate afternoon and evening hunts. I've probably killed more afternoon/evening birds then morning birds. My best tip is to stay in the woods longer and hunt hard even when it's miserably hot outside. Do more walking then driving. Learn to call not only loud but quietly. Be patient and learn to call only enough to keep them interested. And last but not least. When you think your at the top of your game, those slick birds will bring you back down to the bottom. It's a fact. Lol

Good luck

My 2 cents...

ALL of our birds this year have been shot between noon and 5:30pm... That being said I did miss one at 8:30 on opening morning and around 9am this past friday.

I have always been a sit and wait kind of turkey hunter. Though, if I had the time and I knew birds were close enough to run and gun you could probably change my mind.

It would help to "try" to learn their movements, which is difficult in and of itself, but even more so if they are henned up. Having heard birds on your morning hunt, it may be a good idea to get closer to where you think they were this evening hoping for the chance that they come back to the same spot to roost.

Also, don't give up just because you don't hear him gobbling. Keep your ears and eyes open. Turkeys make many other noises that we sometimes forget about while hunting. Sometimes the first sign that a gobbler may be close is the sound of hens putting and purring close by. If you hear this... sit still and wait until you can locate them. Often times they will circle around you trying to locate you. They know where "you" are, but they want to see you before they commit... It's the dumb ones who get excited and get shot... Haha!

That being said try being more diverse with your calls. Don't just yelp your head off. Mix in some purring and clucks and putts of your own. Sometimes that's all it takes.

Welcome to the only addiction where breaking the habit just seems, well... stupid.

The turkeys will still be in the same general areas you heard them in the morning. Just not as vocal.

Find a good spot, get comfy and call every 15-30 mins.

Stay alert cause they will probably come in silent. If He does gobble take your safety off.

Any luck, Mike?

I didnt make it out yesterday and its not looking good for afternoon hunts until next week. But all the advice is what i need, like i said i dabbled in it, but DAGUM! it awesome being out there and hearing those toms talk back. I spent last night doing chores around our farm practicing on my mouth calls, yelp, clucks, and whines.... purs are kicking my backside though, also been practicing my box call while sitting the house watching NCIS reruns lol

mhall11B34 said:

I didnt make it out yesterday and its not looking good for afternoon hunts until next week. But all the advice is what i need, like i said i dabbled in it, but DAGUM! it awesome being out there and hearing those toms talk back. I spent last night doing chores around our farm practicing on my mouth calls, yelp, clucks, and whines.... purs are kicking my backside though, also been practicing my box call while sitting the house watching NCIS reruns lol

Click to expand...

I practice with my mouth just about every day on the way home from work, now.

Good luck buddy!.

If you have an idea of the general area they have been roosting in, get in there and soft call every 15 minutes or so. Afternoon hunts are made for ground blinds in my opinion, because they can be long, hot and you need to be able to get comfortable.
I've had great success popping up a ground blind in a creek bottom near water on hot afternoons. Softly clucking and soft 3 to 4 note yelps. Feeding whines (a hard call to master) is deadly to mix in there. Setup a blind and a lone hen decoy (if dekes are your thing) and have patience. He'll probably slip in quiet, so stay alert.
If he does gobble in the afternoon, he's coming and coming in FAST. Good luck.