So, I guess I’m officially a professional turkey hunter now, so I am qualified to offer the following turkey hunting tips. Read carefully, because I’m about to give you some guaranteed ways to get your turkey!
- Call aggressively! Sometimes you really need to lay on the calls. Don’t hold back, because the birds are coming and they’re coming strong!
- Keep the calling to a minimum. Don’t call too much, and keep it soft and quiet.
- Don’t call! Turkeys get called to much. Get their attention then shut up!
- Sit tight! Be patient and the turkeys will come to you.
- Be mobile. If the turkeys don’t come to you, you have to go to them.
- Use a blind. It keeps you well hidden wherever you are, and may be the only way to get close to pressured birds.
- Use only natural cover. Blinds stick out, and may spook pressured birds.
- Use a super-tight choke. It concentrates your kill zone.
- Avoid the extremely tight chokes. They concentrate the shot too much.
- The final tip to guarantee a turkey? Go to the grocery store. This is hunting dangit! There ARE NO GUARANTEES!
Hope that helped!
See all you Hog Blog friends and readers on Monday!
Mike Delucca
O.K. Mr. smartypants! This seems to be the same answer which I receive from all the old timers, (figuratively speaking, pertaining to dirt time spent in the woods).
Just as I have learned from Wild Boar hunting, so as it seems with Turkey hunting as well.
They are both intelligent and crafty animals and you must be on top of your game when trying to harvest either one. And what might have consistently worked for a particular Turkey area may “not” work as well for another area which you plan to hunt the following year.
I have noticed a rather strange phenomenon over the years concerning Wild Boar hunting as well. It seems that whatever might work for luring them into a particular geographical area doe’s not always work in another place where you try and hunt them.
Case in point, I would use molasses blocks placed strategically throughout a property which I used to lease up in Sonoma County to lure the hogs in and it worked quite well.
I have tried the same method here at the Monterey county ranch and most of the Wild Boar do not even give the molasses a good sniff.
They do however,really go nuts over dead fish parts though, in both areas! And I have tried dead fish parts back in my home state of Florida (Where some big Mirriams Turkeys reside) and the hogs there will only eat the fish parts if they are exceptionally hungry!
The point being is that I understand your answer to the Turkey calling question quite well and I guess if we all keep asking questions, eventually we will have gathered enough data to figure our own successful methods.
I love the Hog Blog and enjoy the feedback from all the hunters who read and reply.
Happy Hunting To All!