2nd year bowhunting turkeys..Couple ?s

[Lastcast#1]

Try to make this short..So I have a beat on a few birds..Season starts on Monday..I just started last year..7 day hunt..Bought a tag on the third day, leaving me with 4 days to hunt..Zero experience. Only reason I found birds was from all of my post season deer scouting..Anyway, missed a tom..Chest feathers...

So this year I am pumped and prepared as I can be.I have a question about a possible opening day scenario..


Half mile by half mile piece of property..Ag field which is private borders the public..Birds roost on the public in the oaks then hit the fields..Plan is to get in tight to the roost and try to kill him before hes on the private..My question is if I dont get a chance and I am then watchin a couple toms struttin around with hens 60 yards out in the field, should I move on? Is it possible to call one back? Or should I move on and hit em on their way back in the evening?

Thanks in advance,

Chad

[Nocturnal]

Patience kills birds. I'd hold tight and see what they do. If he's with some hens and the hens are vocal/interested. You could pull the girls in with him in tow.

[hunter10]

Patience goes a long ways. A lot of birds are killed mid to late morning after the hens have left the toms to go sit on their eggs. Those toms now break strut and go looking for the next available hen. I think it's a good idea to get close to the roost and if you can determine where they hit the field, you may be better off not calling much to them on the roost. Many times the hens wil lead them away. You can try a couple things in your scenario.. be patient and wait till the hens break away, go out mid morning, try early afternoon on their way back to roost etc

[thwack16]

First of all, I'm taking zero experience to mean not only bowhunting turkeys, but hunting turkeys at all. I'm a bowhunting nut when it comes to deer, but have really never had an ounce of thought of bowhunting turkeys. I believe it's a shotgun sport and for a newbie, I think hunting with a shotgun would help the learning curve. With that said, if you can pull it off with a bow and no blind, more power to you.

To answer your questions, getting between the gobbler and where he wants to go is the easiest way to kill a turkey. Hunting a bird off the roost is a lot like bed hunting a buck. Obviously, the closer you can get to his tree, the better your percentages go up that your weapons effective range covers the area that he wants to go to. If you already know he wants to enter the field, then you've won half the battle.

If he gets past you and into the field, then that's where the chess match begins. If your turkeys are still in the early season phase where they're grouped up and not nesting, you can very much call them in. At that point, you're calling the boss hen more so than the gobbler.

If you're at the phase where the hens are already going to nest, you're playing a waiting game as trying to call them away from the field is probably going to go fruitless. Once he breeds the hens and they take off for their nests, he's going to be looking for the next hen that is ready. That's when you let him know where you are.

[tbunao]

I'm by no means a turkey expert but had great success when I was younger. Since I began to hunt again I was h*** bent on turkey hunting with a bow and no blind, and I don't own a shotgun. I had at least one opportunity each of my first 3 years, and we do not have the greatest number of birds. Miss judged yardage on all of them. I was finally successful last year and will continue on hunting with a bow and no blind. If you need to harvest a bird to feel success then a shotgun would be the way to go. I know of one guy on here that he had to take a break for a year or two before he went back to trying and was finally harvested one this way.

Like I said I'm no expert but I love the challenge, I'll sleep just fine if I go another season with a tag in my pocket at the end of the day.. Deer on the other hand is a different story. Just my thoughts on it all.

As what others have stated, patience is key
Good luck my fiend

[Lastcast#1]

Thanks Tbuano. Yep bow and no blind for me to...Blew a few chances last year before I got my set up right so I could actually draw on one..Released an arrow on a nice tom and missed..I love the challenge..I have 2 spots that I will be using my saddle..About 6 inches off the ground in a thicket along a field edge..Tryin to think outside the box! :)

Chad

[backstraps]

I gave myself that challenge, and added no decoys to the list and limited myself to slate and a mouth call only. To make things even more challenging, I decided my season would be spent after one particular bird that I located prior to opener. The area I was hunting consisted of 4 separate landowners, all had given me permission to hunt, so keeping track of him wasnt easy, but having that territory to roam helped!!

I took me the first 12 days of my season to finally release the string on my target. I had him in front of me within range 7 times before I could draw back on him undetected. It was well worth the challenge and the most difficult turkey hunting I have ever set out to accomplish. When I walked up to him and picked him up, I almost teared up! Since of relief, since of joy, sadness the hunt was over, heck I was like an emotional teenage girl

At any rate, he was, and still is the best bird I have ever taken, and I took him on my terms. At the time he was TN's #2 bow kill gobbler in A-typical class. I think last time I looked he was 4th or 5th. Has two solid full beards that were within small fractions of 12" each



I am by far any type of a turkey hunter to give advice, but knowing the area you hunt inside and out, knowing spots you can get concealed enough to aid in drawing back, knowing preferred roosting areas, dusting areas, mid day feeding-traveling areas, watering patterns, routes you can move through the woods with the least amount of detection....all these thing will help in your challenge.

Most of all, I would suggest KEEP IT FUN and dont let yourself get worked up. Take your time and it will happen!!

Good luck man!

[Mountain Man]

If the mornings don't work out and you can hunt in the evening, set up near the roost and try to catch them on the way back to the roost.

[mainebowhunter]

Bowing and running. I use a fake decoy with real wings. Real tail and real saddle. Strap attached to carry over my shoulder.

The hardest part with no blind are multiple birds. My best success comes from one bird coming in. Multiple eyes is tough.

Killed a few birds this way.. I kind of lost interest in Turkey hunting though. Birds are few and far between now and it takes more work to find them then I want to give.

My boy is showing some interest. ..so might take blind and bring him.