I've been mulling this subject over in my head, so I hope it doesn't go too long. I'll start by saying, our season is 2 weeks in, and a buddy and I have filled 3 of our 4 tags and share scouting info and daily stories. I killed opening morning on April 12th at 7:55 and my buddy got his 2 birds on Monday and Tuesday the 14th and 15th early as well. Since my initial kill, I have been privileged to hunt a 500-to-1000-acre field surrounded by woods, partially planted in winter wheat and the rest waiting on soybeans next month. What I have learned about turkeys' interactions, roosting habits, movements, my calling and turkey behavior has been off the charts. By hunting these field edges and vantage points with binos, I have observed and gleaned tons of info about these amazing animals this year. 1. I am an above average caller and can play their game extremely well. Every day, I am in birds, work birds and have passed up several shots because I am after a particular bird (not ready for my season to be over just yet), I call Tater Head! He is a Single Gobbler with 3 Jakes and several hens that frequent this field every day (been close but haven't closed the deal yet). 2. Turkeys aren't on a timetable. They move around at their pace, don't have a watch and don't have a particular place to be. They roost in different areas of the field in our planted pines and move around willy nilly. Patience has been a virtue. 3. By observing their movements, I have seen that hens are the DRIVING force behind their movement. Where the hens go the gobblers and jakes will follow so calling and interacting with the hens is paramount. 4. I have experienced tons of roosting behavior and tree talk, hen talk, breeding and feeding, and movement behavior, it makes my head swim. Normally I hunt in the planted pines, connecting roads and small food plots within the planted pines so I only get glimpses of turkey's overall behavior as they move through their day. After observing and typing this, I want to encourage ALL of you to know, 1. The hens DRIVE the train this time of year, if you have hens around you, the gobblers will be close by (hunt the hens). We want to hear gobbling, and that's natural, but find hens and the Hunt will find you. 2. Patience and scouting are definitely a virtue. Finding pockets of birds, in timber and fields, is paramount to success but knowing their basic movements and patterns is even more important. Make small adjustments to your setup each day and you will have success. 3. You are a BETTER caller than you realize. Many of us, think we have to be that COMPETETION caller but it's not necessary to call in birds. Give the birds what they want not ALL the fluff. If they are soft and silent then be soft and silent. If the hens are mouthy, get mouthy with them. If the gobblers are excited, be excited as well. Work on your calling during the off season and get over some of your weak points. This season has shown me; that observation and learning are what drives these amazing animals and is the key to be successful. Gentlemen have FUN in the woods, do your homework and LEARN something every day! Have a GREAT season! Two weeks left in the season and maybe me and TATER will have an encounter but if not, I Have Learned So Much!
Every year is a blessing. Glad you are enjoying it.
I enjoy and learn with each day out in the field
Great advice! Thank you for sharing.
Good for you coach. You learn a lot from observation. Best to you!
Yeah good stuff, but all pretty basic advice one can get in any decent turkey hunting how-to book.
I am not trying to look down my nose at you, but let's get into some real meat here.
You say you are an above average caller. I don't doubt it. Not at all. So it doesn't matter how good you sound...don't have to be a competition caller. Agree completely...totally. Although I do think sounding decent and having a wide "turkey" vocabulary is an advantage.
So what makes you a better than average caller? Let's get into some details and have a meaty discussion.
It's humbling for sure Coach. Always learning. However,.. always confident. I love the game. If I know the lay of the land and have the real estate to get after em and they're vocal... I love my chances.
Then again, almost anyone can kill a gobbling turkey.
And I stink at calling :funnyturkey:
Dang. Was hoping to have a good discussion going on calling turkeys. Oh well.
Quote from: Treerooster on April 28, 2025, 10:04:26 AMDang. Was hoping to have a good discussion going on calling turkeys. Oh well.
Gary, I'll start a new Thread tonight so everyone can join in. It should be interesting to hear what everyone has to say about themselves. Also, we ALL can hopefully gain some knowledge and confidence in our calling. Should be interesting!
Thanks for sharing, good job!
Quote from: bbcoach on April 28, 2025, 01:37:01 PMQuote from: Treerooster on April 28, 2025, 10:04:26 AMDang. Was hoping to have a good discussion going on calling turkeys. Oh well.
Gary, I'll start a new Thread tonight so everyone can join in. It should be interesting to hear what everyone has to say about themselves. Also, we ALL can hopefully gain some knowledge and confidence in our calling. Should be interesting!
I don't have a like button so...like
All of this is great information and we can all learn from hunting these birds each day and from sharing information from others on this forum.. I've seen things this year with gobblers that I have not seen in the past 35 years of chasing these gobblers. It's always fun to learn from these birds.
Turkeys are a lot smarter than people give them credit in my opinion ...
Great post thanks for sharing ...
A good year (or day or week) can be a huge ego boost and the next year can humble you. Never stop trying to learn.
Great stuff!!!
Coach, one thing I've always been curious about is if you can tell roosting location by ANY kind of outside factors. If the wind is blowing from this direction do they roost here? If it's cloudy, do they roost there? Things like that. Or do you believe it's just somewhat "random"?
I'm glad you are enjoying yourself! I'm jealous that you can spend that much time in the woods and take up to 4 birds. Here in MN we get a 7 day slot and can take 1 bird.
Quote from: KickinRocks on April 28, 2025, 06:33:32 PMA good year (or day or week) can be a huge ego boost and the next year can humble you. Never stop trying to learn.
100%
I'm glad you have had a great season and your observations are spot on. When turkeys are silent I always advocate "stay with the sign". Here where I hunt though it's a little different with hens and calling. Every mag article you read cites aggressive calling to hens to bring them (and your gobbler). Nope. Do that here and the whole flock will disappear 99x out of 100. Soft calls will keep you in the game until the gobbler himself dictates different. Hunting with hi hen pops is a double edged sword, but one I'm happy to live with.
Here in Eastern NC, we hunt mostly big blocks of pine plantations and swampy woods with some mix of fields thrown in so the field experience this year has really opened my eyes to observing and calling to turkeys in open areas. It has allowed me to observe turkeys and their movement tendencies, which has been a GREAT learning tool. When we hunt the pines and woods, we only get snippets of what the turkeys do in their daily lives as they move about. If birds aren't gobbling, it's mostly soft calling and waiting in areas they move through. VERY EDUCATIONAL YEAR!!
Quote from: POk3s on April 28, 2025, 06:45:04 PMGreat stuff!!!
Coach, one thing I've always been curious about is if you can tell roosting location by ANY kind of outside factors. If the wind is blowing from this direction do they roost here? If it's cloudy, do they roost there? Things like that. Or do you believe it's just somewhat "random"?
Here in Eastern NC, with pine plantations galore, Birds can roost ANYWHERE they want. Don't quote me on this but I believe they roost wherever they finish their day. They have plenty of trees to choose from so.. I think they have set areas that they want to finish their day but if they are bumped, spooked or the lead hen takes them to a different feeding location for the day, they have plenty of tall straight pines to sleep in. Entirely different, in other areas of the country, that only have small blocks of woods surrounded by open areas.
Quote from: bbcoach on April 30, 2025, 04:27:26 PMQuote from: POk3s on April 28, 2025, 06:45:04 PMGreat stuff!!!
Coach, one thing I've always been curious about is if you can tell roosting location by ANY kind of outside factors. If the wind is blowing from this direction do they roost here? If it's cloudy, do they roost there? Things like that. Or do you believe it's just somewhat "random"?
Here in Eastern NC, with pine plantations galore, Birds can roost ANYWHERE they want. Don't quote me on this but I believe they roost wherever they finish their day. They have plenty of trees to choose from so.. I think they have set areas that they want to finish their day but if they are bumped, spooked or the lead hen takes them to a different feeding location for the day, they have plenty of tall straight pines to sleep in. Entirely different, in other areas of the country, that only have small blocks of woods surrounded by open areas.
Understood. Thank you for the response! It's always been one of those things I've tried to figure out. Sometimes they roost in the exact same tree for multiple nights, sometimes they don't! Maybe one day I'll figure it out!