evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Everything pertaining to hunting fall turkeys. From calls to Turkey dogs.
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hawglips
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evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by hawglips »

For many years I equated turkey hunting with spring gobbler hunting. The gobble was everything, so to speak. Seeing a strutting tom ease into shotgun range was what I lived for.

But the last several years, as I have been introduced to fall turkey hunting, my outlook has changed some. Not only have I gained an appreciation for hunting turkeys in a season outside of the spring breeding season, but I have gained a greater appreciation for turkey behavior in general. And that's after having raised turkeys for years to see that behavior day in and day out. It's hard to put it into words, but learning to hunt turkeys successfully in the fall probably is the best thing I've done since getting hooked with that first hard gobbling, drumming, strutting tom as a younger man. And that day in spring changed my life. Springtime changed from the time you go fishing every chance you get, to the time you go turkey hunting every chance you get. Everything else was pushed out to make room for spring gobbler season.

And then I met fall turkeys. Fall turkeys are different. They are more like "real" turkeys. How they act in the fall, unlike spring, is how they act most of the time. And gaining an appreciation of and skills in dealing with turkeys outside of the spring breeding season, not only help one get some success in the fall, but also teach you some skills that come in real handy during the spring season when they aren't acting right.

It has progressed to the point that I find myself looking forward to the fall season about as much as I do spring gobbler. I used to scratch my head a bit when I heard folks like Ray Eye say that they preferred fall to spring hunting. But not anymore. Fall hunting is a blast. And like fishing was pushed out of my springtime life years ago to make room for springtime gobbler season, all other types of hunting are now getting pushed out of the fall to make room for fall turkey season.

I've still got 5 weeks to wait, and I'm starting to get the shakes already...
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by OLE RASPY »

Nothing like hunting fall Turks. I love it. :thumbup:
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by TRKYHTR »

Me to Hal. Don't get me wrong I still love the spring woods and that thunder gobble.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by gophert »

I'd like to hear some of your techniques. Start from the time you get out of your truck. I've always heard you bust a flock or find their roost site.

Me and Leah are going this year to try our luck. I have never hunted in the fall really, but in our county you can kill 6 so why not. I need the ol tried and true technique.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by KPcalls »

Since I live in a state that doesn't allow fall hunting it's been at times hard for me to understand the attraction, but the fall hunters I know look as forward to it just as much as they do the spring season. Listening to there stories assures me that I would love it also. I just don't see myself taking vacation that could be used during the spring to hunt in the fall, but I sure would love to hunt them in the fall.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by hawglips »

gophert wrote:I'd like to hear some of your techniques. Start from the time you get out of your truck. I've always heard you bust a flock or find their roost site.

Me and Leah are going this year to try our luck. I have never hunted in the fall really, but in our county you can kill 6 so why not. I need the ol tried and true technique.
I only have 6 or 7 years of fall experience, but here's my .02.

I'd say that, without dogs, fall turkey hunting is more challenging (by a good margin) than spring gobbler hunting. And that's including calling hens and/or young of the year. If you limit your killing to gobblers, the degree of difficulty goes up some more. Most people have the idea that toms won't respond well in the fall. They'll respond, but they're a lot harder to call in during the fall than in the spring, if you don't bust them up. If you are targeting toms, you don't use hen calls - learn how to make tom yelps and the subdued gobble they use for assembly. Ray Eye and Denny Gulvas have put out some decent fall hunting videos that will give you some good pointers on toms. I personally don't care much what kind of turkey I find/hunt/call/kill in the fall.

I hunt them in the fall similar to the way I hunt in spring - locate, set up on them, and call them in. It's just harder to do in the fall than spring. If you break up the group, it's easier to call them in. But that's easier said than done. When I've been able to get good busts on a group, it's usually because it was a surprise encounter and I just followed through and busted them up good. Usually I ease around calling and listening. And I focus on areas where I've found fresh sign. I try to get out to the area I'm hunting before fly-down time, because they often make a lot of noise flying down and yelping around that time. Sort of like locating a gobbler on the roost and going to him. I never get to scout since I have to hunt out of state, but if you can scout out where they are roosting and feeding, you're way ahead of the game.

Finding them is much more of a challenge in the fall than in the spring, in my experience. But it may be mostly because I always go in blind with no idea whether any turkeys are around. And then getting a good scatter on a group of birds after you find them is much easier said than done. If you can find a group and scatter them, your chances go way up. That's why dog hunting is so popular.

Calling in an intact group of birds (of any age or gender) in the fall is a lot tougher than calling in a spring gobbler, in my experience. They seem to prefer to hang back and wait for you to come to them. And they don't wait around on you if they do step into range like a spring gobbler will, so you better not be messing around.

You still get the auditory back and forth that is the essence of turkey hunting and what makes turkey hunting so much fun. And you often hear a lot more turkey talk in the fall, though not much gobbling.

I can't think of anything I'd rather hunt in the fall than turkeys.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by gophert »

Thanks Hal! I pretty much have a good idea where they roost so I thought we would try there. One of the land owners near us has a feeder on his property so they never get too far from there. They have to cross my property if they plan to head that way.

I've got one boss hen that absolutely whooped me last year and so I would love to take her out. Everytime I had the boss gobbler coming she would take him away. I'm afraid it has gotten personal. I was gonna try some gobbler yelps and things like that.

I know you're probably not much of a decoy person, but would you think a few decoys might bring them in a little closer?
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Turkinator »

Fall has always meant deer. But I am really jazzed about fall turkey hunting this year. Been seeing a lot of sign and birds while squirrel hunting. How do the birds respond in the fall as compared to the spring? Do mature gobblers call much within their group?
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

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gophert wrote: I know you're probably not much of a decoy person, but would you think a few decoys might bring them in a little closer?
I heard a guy claim once that decoys in the fall are more effective than in the spring. But I don't know.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Grumpy »

We have a fall season here but with only being able to buy 1 tag per year here and that one gets done shot in April, kind of a waste to me to even have a fall season here.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by vaturkey »

Tim

By all means use your decoys ! They are VERY effective in the fall ! ! Good luck ! :thumbup:
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by hawglips »

Turkinator wrote:How do the birds respond in the fall as compared to the spring? Do mature gobblers call much within their group?
I hope some more experienced fall hunters start chiming in, but I can tell you my experience.

I have chased a flock of hens/young from flydown, till about 9:30 in the morning, and was constantly in vocal back-and-forth contact the entire time, and finally got them to come close enough to kill one. I have called in flocks and small groups that answered me from a ways off, and called to me as they approached all the way in. I have also had groups come in totally silently to my calls. And I imagine I have had plenty hear me call, but not respond at all.

As for mature gobblers, I had two totally different experiences with them last season. The first experience went like this. I'd been easing around a big area I had never hunted before, calling as I went, and pausing for a while every 50 yds or so. At one point, I had been in one spot for about 20-30 minutes calling, and then slowly turned to leave. As I took a few steps, there was a group of 4 gobblers coming in to me that I had never seen nor heard. So, as they were running off, I ran after them to make them fly and scatter in different directions. After I got them scattered, I waited about 15 minutes, built a make-shift blind at the scene of the scatter, and started calling. I had a tom yelp back at me about 5 minutes later. And we went back and forth a few times over the next few minutes, when he stepped out into the open where I could kill him. This was in early November.

In late January last season, I had a totally different experience. It was the same game plan of easing around calling trying to locate a flock. I found a place with a lot of fresh sign, so I stayed put for a while till a hen answered me. I got her to answer me again, and she was a lot closer, so I sat down just like a spring scenario. In just a few minutes, her she came into view, with a few more hens, and then three gobblers in tow. So, I just waited for an opening for a shot and took one. It was just like an early spring hunt.

I have had a few times getting on a gobbler flock early in the morning right before flydown. The 2 times I can think of (while hunting) ended went down like this. The first one I decided to scatter the toms out of the trees, so I just walked around in a circle a few times making sure I got them all flying different directions. There were 7 or 8 gobblers in that group. I waited about 15 minutes and stared calling. Within 10 minutes of starting to call, I had one fly in over my head and landed on the ridge opposite the one I had just scattered them from. And he immediately started calling - with gobbles. He ended up walking back and forth on that ridge gobbling, until I finally got a chance to ease over on that ridge on the opposite end of his back and forth route. I called and just waited for him to come to me. Well, while I was waiting for him and clicked off the safety as he got close, another bird came up from behind me that I didn't see till it got past, and walked over to him, and I never saw nor heard from either of them again.

The other time I got on some early went like this. I was walking in early, and bumped one off the roost. So I elected to sit down right there, hoping there were others roosting there. In other words, doing the opposite tactic I tried above. As it started to get light, I found that I was in the middle of 6 gobblers, yelping and gobbling to each other. I had two of them fly down within 30 yds of me, but I couldn't get a shot off, and they gathered up, and disappeared like ghosts. I never heard from them again, and I hunted till dark.

I have never heard gobblers talk much while in a group. But I don't have all that much experience, and hope some more experienced fall hunters join in with their perspective.

The most responsive turkeys seem to be when you scatter the flock and call them back. If you can do that, the odds seem to go way up. I can only count on one hand the times I've got a good scatter like that, and each time, dead turkey pretty quickly. Mostly, I just hunt for an intact flock and try to call them in. Like I said earlier, it's a lot harder to do that than call in a spring gobbler, in my experience.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by OLE RASPY »

I have killed more hens in the fall than I have gobblers. I've killed a few jakes to back when I first started. 90% of the time it's more or less a ambush for me. I hunt food sources in the fall such as cut cornfield or soybean fields. I have called them to me though. Ive called gobblers in just like I would have in the spring by cutting and yelping. As Hal stated though it's rare to call gobblers in like that using hen vocals. I hunt large cornfields in the fall so if the turks come in the field opposite end I'm on and I know there not gonna come my way I'll take off running and bust them up to where they take off flying then I'll sit down pretty close to that spot and give it 30 minutes or so and start calling. Most effective call that I have seen in this meathod is the kee kee. It don't always work but most of the time it does. You won't call all of them back but chances are good one or more will come back looking. ive killed gobblers and hens this way. Sometimes I don't use calls at all if I know where there at and where they are going to and from roost. Most of the time I observe what there doing during deer season especially during bow season. They are pretty repetitive in the fall on the food sources. This helps me out for when shotgun opens. I've killed several while just bow hunting deer. All hens never killed gobbler with my bow. I've heard them gobble in the fall while deer hunting but not often. Never have used decoys in the fall but I might try it. Some states I'm sure they gobble year round. Hope this helps. This is way I huntem in the fall. It's a little different than spring but they are still turkeys either way. Sometimes and days it works and sometimes it don't.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Roy »

Fall turkey hunting is a lot of fun. I used to go a lot with my dad in the 80's and early 90's. People were fall hunting long before they were spring hunting. My grandfather killed his first turkey in the fall of 1951, in Pocahontas Co., WV. Bow hunting for deer didn't get popular until sometime in the 80's, so guys were turkey hunting in the fall. I really like fall turkey, plus October is a gorgeous month to be in the woods. The birds can get pretty vocal in too. We just always looked for fresh scratching, with the nuts falling. I want to see some pics!!! Also, gobbler yelping with a box call is a lot of fun.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by allaboutshooting »

Great topic Hal. I was introduced to fall turkey hunting in the mid 1980s. Three of us went on a fall hunt knowing nothing about how to do it. I don't recall seeing anything about fall hunting in or on any type of media but my friend Glynn said we were supposed to find a flock, break it up and then call them back. That didn't make much sense to me but in reality, it made no difference since in 4 days of fall hunting, we did not see a bird.

Gradually, we all learned and started looking forward as much to fall hunts as those in the spring.

Some outstanding differences to me at least are that the more hunters you have with you, the better. I never mind and actually enjoy hunting with others during the fall.

I have seen and heard more birds in the fall than I have ever seen or heard in the spring. Where I hunted in Southern Illinois, flocks of over 100 were not at all uncommon and 50 or more birds was pretty common. I've learned so much about turkey behavior by watching and listening to flocks of fall birds. I've seen how they relate to each other, both in sounds and other "body language" clues. I've learned how to communicate with them and to call them in and back.

I always try to locate a flock the night before the first day of the season and will do the classic "bust 'em up and call them back" when I can do that. If I have not located a flock, I'll simply set and call. When a bird answers, I just repeat what he says and that works well for me.

Turkeys have such a desire to be together in the fall that they will come from a long way. I've called birds from distances where I could barely hear them to 25 yards or less.

Lastly, the fall is a great time to introduce new hunters, young or old, to the sport. It's easy to double-up with a less experienced hunter and whisper to him what you're doing and why.

Since I now live in SC which has no fall season, I'll need to travel to a state that has one but I really hate to miss a fall without hunting turkeys.

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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by HuntnMa »

Great topic... :)
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Wolframfan »

Great topic Hal!

I like to bust up the hen flocks and wait about a half hour or so til they start talkin and call em back. If you have never experienced a hunt of this kind, you don't know what you're missing. If you think there is a good chance that you have heard every sound that a turkey could ever make, go get a good break on a group of hens and young ones in the fall and you may just learn something new. The birds are very vocal as they work to regroup and the sounds are truly mesmerizing.

Do your best to get the jump on the flock and do whatever you need to in order to get the birds to scatter in all directions. If you blow the break and they all head in the same general direction I would search for another flock to bust or if you're limited attempt to re-break them. I'm not saying that you can't be successful on those particular birds but the WOW factor decreases in my opinion because it turns into a different kind of hunt.
Once the birds are busted move towards the center of the different directions that they flew and gain a bit of ground depending on terrain. Find a comfy spot to sit and enjoy the fall woods while the birds calm down for a half hour to 45 minutes. Wait for them to start their calling in order to regroup and then join in. If you can keekee with a yelper that's a bonus but it's definitely not a deal breaker if you can't. If you unable to keekee and are unsure of what to say, do your best to mimic what they saying and get your gun up.

Hunters that are new to the turkey woods can gain loads of knowledge by hunting fall birds. The amount of calling that they do after the bust is more than enough reason to give it a try.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Rockhound »

I have my best luck with gobblers if they are flocked up with hens, and for me that varies by year. If I have toms and hens together in a flock I get pretty excited because they will respond to me and other hens better.

The most effective way to kill a fall bird is to buse the flock, no doubt. But I prefer either an off the roost hunt when they are trying to flock up, or a midday ambush
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Bigspurs68 »

Great topic and info. It seems odd to me that I can be so obsessed and consumed by spring gobblers yet I rarely turkey hunt in the fall. I have plenty of opportunities but I just can't find the spark to get after them.
I'm kind of envious of those who enjoy it and I hope it kicks in for me someday.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by allaboutshooting »

Seeing lots of birds here now.

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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by paboxcall »

hawglips wrote:And like fishing was pushed out of my springtime life years ago to make room for springtime gobbler season, all other types of hunting are now getting pushed out of the fall to make room for fall turkey season..
Agreed, I haven't touched a fishing rod in 20+ years, and gave up archery few years back too. Listening to a fall flock wake up, fly down, mess around, then regroup after a good break is just too addictive!
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evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by KYFrid »

Just came across this thread and I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way.

It seems as the seasons pass, I'm drawn more towards turkey hunting spring & fall than anything else.

I still bow hunt for deer but that is only if I'm not able to turkey hunt at that time.


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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Fatmo »

I love all turkey hunting and yes fall turkeys are a lot different than the spring. Here in Pa. fall hunting is a lot more dangerous with everyone sneaking around to get close to the flock. I've killed many a longbeards in the fall just gobbler yelping and have even gotten them gobbling by gobbling in the fall.
It is a great time to be in the woods and most of the time I kill my fall bird archery hunting. I also love taking kids out fall hunting because they can make a lot of mistakes and you just call another one in.
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by luvtahunt »

I started chasing fall birds in the mid 1960's. At that time very little was written or known about the hunting of this great bird. A few old timers had their techniques, and if you knew one of these fellows you could learn some of their ways. Or you might have go on the job training trial and error. In 2008 I started hunting with a dog and that was a total blast......having your best friend with you....Fall hunting has a special alure about it and there are the sounds of a fall flock and oh yes there is gobbling
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Re: evolution of a fall turkey hunter

Post by Uncle Nicky »

luvtahunt wrote:I started chasing fall birds in the mid 1960's. At that time very little was written or known about the hunting of this great bird. A few old timers had their techniques, and if you knew one of these fellows you could learn some of their ways. Or you might have go on the job training trial and error. In 2008 I started hunting with a dog and that was a total blast......having your best friend with you....Fall hunting has a special alure about it and there are the sounds of a fall flock and oh yes there is gobbling
I've fall hunted with other guys' dogs for years, I finally took the plunge a couple years ago and trained my own dog. It's a blast, and every time out the pup learns a little bit more.
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