Month: April 2021

Show Notes:

Turkeys behave differently as the day wears on, so to boost your odds of success you need to adjust your strategies right along with them. On this episode I talk about a variety of late morning turkey hunting tactics.

Take Aways

• Prime turkey hunting is usually the first hour or two of daylight, but it is only prime because birds make the most noise and are the easiest to locate.
• Turkeys can be called and taken just as well as the morning goes on. But the game changes as the sun rises.
• Late morning you need to hunt sign, travel areas, and where you heard the birds and called to them early on.
• Tom will at times come back after the hens have left them, if you were close to them early, you have a chance in that same general area later.
• Covering ground becomes a different game as the day wears on. But patience and persistence are both rewarded.
• Listen to the episode to hear a variety of late morning tactics.

Show Notes:

Hunting where turkeys are supersedes all gear and every skill, nothing can help you unless you hunt near birds. On this episode I explain how to find a great spot to hunt gobblers be it on public or private land.

Take Aways

• Turkeys need food, and occasionally take a drink as well.
• Turkeys love three main habitat features; open hardwoods, cover, and grassy fields. 
• If you hunt where turkey’s want to be and spend their time you will have drastically more success than if you just hunt random areas.
• Turkey’s are upland birds, so focus your search on places that are dry and support good tree growth.
• Whenever you are hunting you should also be scouting, trying to determine where your next hunt should be.
• Turkeys are perhaps most visible when flying up to a high tree to sleep, if you can catch a glimpse in the evening you have found a spot.
• Birds can move quite a bit of distance in a day, but they often roost in the same areas, look for roosting evidence.
• Every time of day has its advantages for scouting. Try scout early in the morning to listen for gobbles, or mid day to look for ground sign, and late in the day to see them going to roost.
• Listen to the episode to learn how to find a great turkey hunting spot.

Show Notes:

Different tactics are needed to be successful hunting silent turkeys. Lots of gobbling sure helps, but you can still take a turkey even on a quite morning. On this episode I talk about the strategies needed to be successful when birds give you the silent treatment.

Take Aways

• Quiet turkeys is not the same as no turkeys. There must be birds around for you to have a chance.
• Before making a decision on what to do on a silent morning, review the evidence in your mind about why you believe gobblers are in the area.
• If turkeys are quiet you need to be quiet. Call sparingly and do not make any identifiable human noises at all.
• Patience is the biggest skill on quiet mornings.
• The two kinds of birds you are mostly likely to call in are the ones that heard you early and joined up with real hens off the roost or birds that are traveling through the area.
• There is no such thing as a bad day in the turkey woods!
• Listen to the episode to learn how to hunt silent turkeys

It is an age-old turkey hunting question, should you take a shot on the jake that comes by, or hold out for a mature tom? On this episode I examine the ins and outs of this question and heartedly answer it from the perspective of the new hunter.

A jake is a juvenile male turkey that is 1 year old, they have a shorter beard, staggered tail fan feathers, no spurs, and weigh a couple pounds less. Jakes are still large birds and are bigger than the largest hens most of the time. They gobble and can be very excited, although their gobble is not as a full sounding as a mature turkey.

A tom is a mature male turkey that is 2+ years old, they have a longer beard, uniform tail feathers, developed spurs, and are a bit larger. Toms are the kings of the turkey world. They fight for breeding rights; they can defend themselves with their spurs and they strut majestically in full plumage to show off their stuff for prospective mates.  So many of the turkeys taken every year are the full grown but less experienced 2-year-old toms. They are eagle to breed and strut their stuff but are not as crafty or cautious as older toms tend to be. 

Turkeys do get a little heavier the older they get, but diet matters much more than age. A five-year-old Tom is not necessarily going to be bigger than a three-year-old tom. Access to food and lesser winter severity will do more to add weight to a gobbler than age alone. Well-fed birds can keep getting larger every year to a point, but it has more to do with food than age.

Younger birds are usually more tender and tasty than older birds. Everyone wants to hunt old boss toms, but jakes and two-year old toms tend to make better table fare. The older they get the more slowcooking you need to get the same results.

Jakes tend to be a little less cautious than mature birds but may also not react as strongly to calls. These birds do not want to cross a boss tom and get beat up on. So while they may be more likely to make rash decisions they can also be strangely weary. Their behavior will often depend on the number of other older birds around and their place in the pecking order.  

Jakes often travel in pairs and groups, even during the season. They can breed but it is unlikely they will unless there are no toms in the area. If you see one jake, there is a good chance there is another close by. Sometimes they will move with older gobblers, but it is very common to see jakes in pairs. Don’t hesitate to take one of a pair, it should not impact the survivability of the jake left behind. 

Listen to the episode to hear the answer to the question of whether you should shoot jakes, and the reasons behind it.