From humorous experiences to proven in-depth methods, the SHE Safari Team provides a unique perspective on turkey hunting with these valuable tips and techniques.
Tes Randle Jolly, freelance outdoor photographer, writer and active member POMA & SEOPA provides these tips for hunting pressured turkeys.
"Pattern other hunters. This is as important as scouting turkeys in heavily hunted areas. Note locations where you hear or see other hunters calling to turkeys. Avoid using the same locations. Be creative. Approach and setup from a new direction and use calls the birds have not heard."
"Hunt non-peak times. Many hunters head to camp for breakfast and a nap when the gobbling ends. Remain in the turkey woods during the mid-morning lull. Get comfortable and take a nap. During the peak breeding phase hen and gobbler flocks stay together all day. Toms are busy strutting and breeding during the early morning hours. By late morning as temps rise the flock usually retreats to shady areas for loafing and preening. Timber around pastures and green fields are ideal setup sites for late morning. Carry a quality compact binocular such as offered by Nikon or Alpen for glassing. Gobblers often use this time to break away to feed. Try soft calling and/or a hen decoy during this time of light hunting pressure. Toms are especially vulnerable midday during the hen's egg laying phase."
"Hunt all day. Comfort is key for this method. Must-have equipment includes an insect repelling Thermacell and a lounge type vest for comfortable setups when no tree is available. To prevent numb buns and back strain bring a Hunter's Comfort Cushion or Breedlove's Supreme Air Cushion. For the lady hunter SHE Safari Realtree camo clothing provides effective concealment and a comfortable unrestricting fit for long setups. Don't forget to pack a lunch, snacks and water."
"Hunt silent and undetected. Utility vehicles and ATVs are notorious for alerting game when traveling through hunting areas. Bad Boy Buggies are perfect for hunting high-pressure areas. The all-electric 4 wheel drive design allows silent travel, spooks less game, and won't give away your position to other hunters. Another advantage of a silent ride is the ability to hear a turkey gobble while driving."
Brenda Valentine, The First Lady of Hunting gives this advice. "As hunters, there is no way we can ever improve on nature. This is why I take my cue and pattern my calling after the real thing - the hens in the immediate area I'm hunting. The mood of a wild turkey hen in the spring will change daily, if not hourly. Her mood will dictate her calling style and frequency. These sudden mood swings are probably hormonal, as we can all relate to. Many changes take place in the vocal personality of a hen during the mating, laying, and nesting season which usually coincide with spring hunting season."
"Similar changes can also be triggered by weather, food, or hunting pressure and they can vary from one area to another at any given time. This is why I gauge my calling by whatever the hens happen to be doing that day. If they wake up mouthy I jump right in and try to join in on their conversation or perhaps more accurately, I try to be the sexiest hussy in the woods for all the gobblers within hearing distance. If the hens are all clammed up and sneak around tight lipped I tone it down to just an occasional sweet purr. It takes a while for anxious jakes to figure all of this out which is why they'll usually run in to anything that remotely resembles a yelp, but to fool an old Tom you'd better become one of the flock."
Lisa Price, outdoor writer, highlight's turkey hunting's humorous side with these tips. "Ah, turkey hunting, where optimism and dejection trot hand-in-hand with you through brambles, fast-moving bodies of water, poison ivy patches, drastic elevation climbs and slides, and cattle pastures filled with mob-mentality large black steers. Each year, the demands of turkey hunting stealthily rob me of the ability to make rational decisions, leading me into actions which in retrospect appear stunningly stupid - shooting my own truck with an arrow, walking along a stream bed while holding a hen decoy over my head at bank level a la puppet show, and brawling with a not-quite-dead jake inside a double-bull blind. I have most definitely learned these tips the hard way."
"Decoy Set Ups: Do not attempt to use inflatable decoys. If you attempt to deploy these while a turkey is gobbling, you will hyperventilate. You will also waste a lot of energy chasing them as they tumbleweed through the forest."
"Calling: While turkey hunting and in your personal life, it's not a bad rule of thumb to make the male call twice before you respond. If you lay your diaphragm calls on the ground, check them for slugs before putting them back in your mouth. My favorite call is the Woods Wise Mystic, a box call that works when it's wet. You can also make the Mystic call at any volume, from really soft to really throwing it out there on windy days. I also use the Woods Wise diaphragm calls - for some reason it's not a big stretch for me to sound like a raspy old hen, what's up with that?"
"Late Season: After a few weeks, turkeys have been lied to in every possible way. I'll set out decoys but rarely call."
"First Timers: Invest in a blind because turkey hunting can be a game of exciting action, followed by hours of mind-numbing inaction. It is a given that even if you have been sitting completely still for hours, a turkey will be looking at you when you move a finger to dislodge an ant."
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Media Contact: Brenda Potts (217) 836-1688 or brendapotts@mchsi.com
