Turkeys on my lease

[Doghunter]

http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/curtispittman/Turkey259.jpg

http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/curtispittman/Turkey277.jpg

http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii474/curtispittman/Turkey244.jpg

[angeluscorpion]

Wow, happy turkey season to you! That tom looks to be pretty good size.

[Doghunter]

He's about 2-2 and 1/2 years old. That beard is about 9 inches but it is a heck of a paint brush. I like the thicker beards but I like for them to be about 11 inches on a 3-4 year old bird.

[angeluscorpion]

I don't know a whole lot about turkey hunting (first season last year), but did you do anything special like food plots or are they just there?

[Doghunter]

The federation stocked the birds in the area about 10 years ago and they have expoded in numbers. The lease is ideal habitat as we have food plots and feed about 30k lbs of corn each year so they have plenty to eat.

[angeluscorpion]

There were about 20 put out by my moms house about two years ago, last time I saw them was deer season before last. On base last year I only saw two hens, but they say there's alot out there. Any tips for a new comer? I have a mossberg 835, a few diaframe calls, a box call, crow and owl calls, a "stake out" blind. I went turkey hunting about 10 times last season, and never saw a bird.

[Doghunter]

If I had to make one suggestion, it would be to go easy on the birds. Avoid a box call when at all possible. Also, I would recommend a pot type friction call as opposed to the mouth calls as they are more forgiving and easier to use. While I am pretty decent with a mouth call, I still predominantly use a slate with a striker. I keep a call in my mouth in case a bird hangs up after I've laid my pot down. also, don't call to the birds while they are roosted. A 4 second tree yelp is sufficient to let the tom know where you are. Once he flies down, do some limited soft calls every 5 minutes or so until he starts coming in. Once he commits, just a little soft purring or an ocassional cluck is enough. Too much stuff will turn him off and send him back to the hens. Also, in the early season, try hunting between 10am and noon. This is the time to hit the box a couple of times with some loud yelps or cuts to locate a gobbler that has lost his hens. They go to their nests around this time. Later in the afternoon, he will get back up with them and the game is tougher again. Lots of guys hammer the toms on the roost while they are henned up. He will gobble on the roost at your calls but shuts up as soon as he flies down with the hens. You are only wasting your time if you keep calling once he starts moving off with the hens, unless they start working toward you. If they do, listen to the hens and try to imitate whatever they are saying. Too much agressive calling here will make the hens jealous and they will march him right around you.
Don't get me wrong, I have called a few Gobblers off the hens but it is not an easy feat and might take 2 hours of careful manipulation with a series of different calls and some stealthy moving around to get a strategic advantage. Too much for a novice turkey hunter! Be patient and learn the easy stuff first. The best service you can do yourself is to listen for the hens and imitate them whenever possible. Once you can duplicate the raspy yelping of his dominant hen, your chances of pulling him off are much improved, especially if he is in sight of your decoys.

Lastly, in the early season, leave the Jake and Gobbler decoys home and use just a couple of hens. Mature hens travel in small groups and the jeuveniles are normally more in number. He knows this and is not likely to come running to a half dozen decoys. Young gobblers and Jakes are often intimidated by Jake and Gobbler decoys in the early season. The Jakes tend to hang out with the non-breeding hens and he also knows this. Later on when the hens get scarce due to nesting is the time to bring out the competition decoys.

Hope some of this helps. It has never failed me!

[angeluscorpion]

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully I can put it to use if I can get in the woods this season.