How do you turkey hunt and why?

[BGLEMIN]

Love to run & gun also. If I can get a tom to commit off the roost, then I'm eating turkey. However, by happenstance I discovered a little trick for those hen heavy toms. So many times I've setup on a tom with hens in the roost only to have them fly down, breed and move on. One day I was just flat tired from early mornings, and putting on the miles, that after the flock left I just stayed near the roost. Around 10am a single gobble echoed within 100 yds of my location. I excitedly yelped back, being cutoff mid sentence by this eager gobbler. He came charging in before I even thought of calling again and met a load of #5 shot. When I recovered this bird I was shocked at who it was. It was the boss I had been calling to earlier, I knew this bird well as he was missing three tail feathers.

Over the seasons I have tested my hypothesis that henned-up toms would return to the roost after the hens went to the nest after being bred. The data, i.e., toms harvested, has led me to believe this tactic works. In total, I have witnessed 13 toms taken in this manner.

I believe it's important to make sure you're calling to these toms while on the roost and shortly after fly down. When the gobbling stops and the drumming begins, quit calling. Boss tom is busy breeding at this point. Hopefully he'll think about those sweet yelps & purrs from that hen he's yet to meet and he'll wander back to see if she's still around.

It makes sense to me that a roost tree is essentially like a rub tree for a bull or buck. It is where presence and territory is established. It signifies, "Hey ladies, meet me here!!".

[270Shooter]

I run and gun most of the time. I normally hunt central WA so turkeys are sometimes harder to pattern and find. I also hunt the klickitat area sometimes as well. If I can roost on I'll certainly be back early the next day to try and call him off the roost, however this has never worked for me, must be doing something wrong. When all else fails I like to sleep in and hit the woods about 930 or 10 and if I can get one to gobble mid day it's game on. 10 to 2 is the time they are the most callable for me.

[Fshnpole]

Depends on the season.  In the fall I like to spot and stalk, which isnt always easy on turkey but alot of fun.  Most the birds I hunted last fall were making alot of noise throughout the day so that made it alot easier.  I have tried calling in the fall but have had little luck.  Spring time I like to move and call till i get a response then get within about 100 yards set up a dec and bring him in.  Every now and then I bust some that come in silent while I'm moving but nothing beats having a big tom come into a decoy and start spitting and drumming.

Forgot to add archery, always use to use my shotgun but the last few years bow only.  Just dont use those silly turkey broadheads, like gobbler guillotines.  All they are good at is advertising.  I use my same deer broadhead if you hit the bird where the wing meets the body no damage to the breast and never had an issue with a bird taking off and way more fun than shotgun.

[turkeydancer]

 
I find that most people call too often and too loud while the toms on the roost like I used to in my early days of turkey hunting.   I find I get more toms when I play on his natural curiosity and sex drive by just letting him know I'm there with a sleepy tree yelp which he'll usually hammer and then wait until legal shoot and do a few hat slap like the hen just flew down.  I've actually had a tom fly down and land on my boot, and quite often fly down just feet from me.  If they flew down further away, I'll let him gobble 3 times to my 1 response giving him soft, quiet, and sexy clucks, purrs, and yelps.   If he doesn't come in, I'll turn it up a bit with louder yelps and some excited cutting.  And if that doesn't work, I may take a nap then start some occasional calls while waiting him out when he has breed his hens and they return to the nest.  If that doesn't work then it's time for a little "running" and calling.  Later in the day, I'll move back towards the roost and some occasional calling and waiting him out again.
 
   

[tlbradford]

The goal for me is to locate and set up close to them to call.  I wouldn't hunt turkeys if I wasn't calling them in.  That is where I derive all of my fun.  Decoys have worked well for me with the exception of one time where the wind blew one over when a tom was on it's way in.  I feel it is extremely important to match your set-up with how they are behaving during that point in the season.  I also do everything I can to make the decoys as lifelike as possible.  Adding real tail fans, painting them, setting them up so they have some movement are all things I try to do.