Planning the Perfect Turkey Hunt

There are a lot of things that make me scratch my head when I’m Spring turkey hunting. Sometimes the birds do what we want but many times they do what they want, so our plans don’t always work.  

Here’s the ideal situation: You have property with turkeys on it or near it and you are going in for morning hunt. Chances are good that the gobblers will be vocal so locating them will be easy. Their priority is meeting up with hens very quickly if not immediately as they fly down from the roost. With this situation, try to get as close as you can to the roost tree without them knowing you are there - easier said than done. Having clean access trails or open fields on the property makes this step a little easier when it’s dark out. I mostly bow hunt, so I usually set up a blind beforehand, but that’s not a requirement.

As for food sources, my favorite spring perennial is Clover Plus Alfalfa. This is usually one of the first green food sources readily available and it’s high in protein so both deer and turkeys love it. 

For decoy setup I like a ¼ strut jake with a laydown hen in front of him. I place a feeding hen off to the opposite side of where I expect the turkeys to come from. Try to think about natural movement and make it appear like there is a feeding group of turkeys there and everything looks natural. I wait to do any calling until the birds have been gobbling on the roast for a bit, maybe 10-15 minutes. I start with soft hen yelps, just enough so that I know they heard me. If they gobble back immediately, I will yelp a few more times and remain quite for a bit. In early season you are likely dealing with a larger group of turkeys, so don’t feel shy about switching up calls to sound like multiple birds. This time of year, the gobblers are aggressive toward male rivals, so when they see the jake with a hen that really pushes their jealous button.

If they hang up out of range and strut/gobble at you, just be patient. They are wanting the hens to come to them which happens in nature, so you need to pretend you are a stubborn ol’ hen. Scratching leaves to sound like turkeys feeding is a great option but just be careful not to expose any of your movements. Hopefully you get the tom to come in and its game over.

After you harvest a bird, you have likely cleared that immediate area of turkeys so that gives you the perfect chance to put out some minerals to improve you deer herd health. My tried-and-true combo is the Mineral Madness Bundle which is a bag of Mineral Dirt 180, an Ani-Mineral block, and 1 gallon of liquid Mineral Dirt 180. This year I’m adding Mass Maker to the lineup for a boost of Apple flavor. This is also a great time to spray Trophy Plot on your fields to increase microbial activity in the soil. This is an effective way to feed soil microbes to unlock soil nutrients for the plants growing in your food plot.   

If you didn’t get your bird in the morning, don’t worry, the mid-morning or afternoon can be just as good for stubborn toms. They sometimes lose their hens as they begin to sit on nests so that is the time I like to get mobile and try to strike up a bird. Good luck this Spring and be sure to snap a picture of your food plots as you are out chasing longbeards. We are doing a big Summer Growth Contest that you can enter HERE to win BIG prizes!