Most turkey hunters are not equipped with the gear or tactics to hunt turkeys on super cold spring mornings. But gear can be acquired or improvised, and the strategy changes are not hard to adapt to. On this podcast episode I talk about how to successfully hunt turkeys on the coldest days of the season.
Remember the turkeys are always out there. They can be hunted, even if they don’t gobble. They are still doing many of the same things even if they are not vocal. The key is being extra alert, expecting them to come in without making a sound. You can have great success on fridged days, especially if the cold keeps other hunters out of the woods.
Ice cold spring turkey hunting gear needs are rather unique. The ideal gear is something between deer and elk hunting in nature to accommodate covering rough terrain as well as long sits. Most of the time, turkey hunters are not buying premium base layers and outer layers optimized for the job. Their gear is either not warm enough or not wind proof enough, or maybe it is too noisy or too bulky. Or perhaps their gear causes them to overheat when moving and then freeze from sweat when sitting.
You can overcome both of these challenges however with smart thinking and paying careful attention to gear you can find good deals on in the off season. Some gear can be improvised if you know exactly what you need it to do and what qualities it should have.
However, if you don’t have the equipment and the strategies, the easiest way to deal with these cold days is just stay home and hunt another day. That is not a terrible option. Why risk being miserable or getting sick? If its only a couple days a year, you can easily just skip them and hunt turkeys on the better days. Remember, hunting is ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN and if this kind of hunting isn’t fun, just hold out for better days. There is no shame in that at all.
But if you want to hunt these days, you can, and you can be effective. That drive can push you to cobble together the needed equipment and be patient enough to effectivity use the strategies I discuss in this episode.
Listen to this podcast episode to hear about how to hunt gobblers in the cold.