Fall Turkey

[salish]

Now that spring season has ended, how about the fall season? I've never hunted the fall season. What are the main differences in the hunting strategy and calling?

[6haase6]

Tagging along. Not that I really had a grasp of the spring strategy as it was my first year. 

[CackleBird98]

Honestly usually just shoot em if I see em while I'm pheasant hunting 🤣

[nwwanderer]

Fall is population control, harvest hens please.

[TheStovePipeKid]

Spring and Fall are night and day. I've spent the better part of 13 years hunting fall turkey and about 5 years hunting spring turkey. In Spring male turkey are looking to breed hens, and those hens are laying eggs and getting ready to sit their nests. As a hunter in Spring you call like a hen hoping to draw in a fired up tom. In Fall the turkey have flocked up and are set about making it through the approaching winter. A fall hunter can take any gender turkey and employ a few different tactics. If you call it's usually a young turkey Kee Kee run after busting up a flock. I prefer to pattern turkey in the fall and ambush them. They are easier to pattern in Fall and are in more abundance. There is very little if any gobbling in Fall but great opportunity to get on birds and hone your skills.

[hunter399]

I'm just gonna say it.
Run and gun .............
Basically you see one ,got a tag,shoot it.
That's my strategy,others will differ and that's ok.

[salish]

Thanks all, but especially you, Stove Pipe Kid. I appreciate the help.
Cacklebird98, how do I train my 40 lb setter to retrieve a turkey during upland hunting? 

[TheStovePipeKid]

Thanks all, but especially you, Stove Pipe Kid. I appreciate the help.
Cacklebird98, how do I train my 40 lb setter to retrieve a turkey during upland hunting? 

This is Washington, your dog is going to have to train you how to retrieve the turkey.

[phildobaggins]

Yep, I'm a fall run'n'gun guy. If you bust them up, they'll try to regroup and make some noise and if you're quiet you can hit 'em again haha.

[Russ McDonald]

Like most have said fall season is a population management hunt.  Run and gun and ambush all good in the fall.  I actually call and have had decent success.  A flock in the fall will be very big and who controls the flock is not tom's it is the hen.   Just think of your wife at home.   If you listen to the boss hen and try to sound like her you can pull that flock to you.   I have ticked that boss hen off many a times.   Kind of like my wife and she will come over trying to beat your butt.  That will pull the flock with her.   Ambushing would be setting up on their feeding areas.  Turkeys are very routine.  They will follow the same routes and roost in the same trees.  I have been taking people to this same property for 4 years and the birds keep roosting in the same trees even after shooting plenty of birds out of that area.  If you run and gun (I don't recommend doing in the spring) your objective would be to get ahead of them.    Chasing them from behind can be a fools game sometimes. Knock on farmers doors in the NE turkeys are a nuisance to most farmers out there.  Good luck.

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[salish]

Phildo & Russ, thank you. Russ, that's super helpful info!

[phildobaggins]

Phildo & Russ, thank you. Russ, that's super helpful info!

Good luck, fall turkey is a super fun way to spend a weekend!

[Bogie85]

I haven’t done fall turkey yet, because it always falls on deer hunting lol. But Stovepipekid is a good turkey hunter, he helped me learn a lot this spring. And I honestly believe it’s what helped me seal the deal this spring. If there are any turkey in GMU 204 I will try to hunt them while I am out there for my second deer tag I giot lucky enough to draw this year.

[Mulie87]

Like some have said, learn their pattern and ambush them.

[hunter399]

Well I'll change my advise a little .
Run and gun ......
By water sources ,was out today seen a crap ton of Turkey all near water . With current drought conditions them turkeys are staying pretty close to water.
East side of coarse...

[salish]

Well I'll change my advise a little .
Run and gun ......
By water sources ,was out today seen a crap ton of Turkey all near water . With current drought conditions them turkeys are staying pretty close to water.
East side of coarse...

Thanks.

[Lokaybinnity]

with the woods shut down how is the turkey hunting going to be i usually hunt state land next to privet. isn't state land closed or do  we go anyway what are you guys going to do? is there alot of birds in the national forest a dont remember if there is as many or not.

[pickardjw]

We only had luck in the fall on property where we had the birds patterned. Set up along their morning routine and pop a few out of the flock. Leave them alone the rest of the day and do it again the next.

One time our AirBnB host let us shoot some in his field so that was neat...and that's the story of how I shot a turkey in shorts and flip flops at 60 yds.

Never had any luck calling. Not even going to bother this year. Would rather spend the fall shootin em out of the sky

[birddogdad]

fall can be fun and not just a shoot those over there vs a true hunt..... ill just leave the thought...

Be that BOSS HEN...if you can figure that one out, you are so in the zone on actually hunting fall birds at least in my experiences!

[Lady Grouse hunter]

But Deszert Turkey's a real Challenge indeed, Sage as they can really RUN  and hide well...

[Lady Grouse hunter]

As I'e read Ambush them! If your out for Quail, huns get ready to switch loads... to 5's