I have access to 150 acres that is all wooded steep hardwood hills. The circled green is part of the lease that I can hunt. I haven't had much opportunity to scout since the property is a couple hours away and I have a newborn at home.
The dot on the map is where I have seen 3 toms strutting with about 5 hens. It's a hay field which I don't have leased. When I have seen the birds they are working towards the property that I have leased.
How far would you setup from fields edge? Would you place any decoys in the woods to draw them further across property line? I have had success with decoys in fields but never used in hardwoods.
Thanks for the help.
Firstly, I would probably try to locate a roost if I could either before the hunt or the morning of the hunt. Just wait for a bird to gobble and try to get to around 100 yards from them. If I didn't locate a roost I would hunt the top side of the lease by the field, you've seen birds there and it looks good to me with a nice mixture of large forest, field and small bush lots. I would set up about 50-75 yards inside the bush without decoys.
How that looks, I'm would set up about 50 yards inside the tree line. At most I would bring in one hen decoy, probably a feeder, I would throw a locator call in the morning and try to set up roughly 100 yards away from the gobbles or as close to them as I could get. It's always easier to get in front of and intercept them than it is to try and call them away from hens to you. So if there headed towards your lease try to get in front of them and set up. Also if they're coming towards you under normal path of travel I would use very Light calling with subtle purrs and clucks rather than aggressive yelps and cuts.
I would get far enough back in the woods to where the gobblers won't hang up in the field when they don't see the hen where you cant shoot them. The denseness of the foliage and how thick the woods are would be what would make me make that decision. And no I wouldn't use a decoy.
Is that a house in the middle or something like a barn? If that road that cuts through the middle does not get much use, I would look at setting up by it.
If you set up in the timber, I would set up in range of the field edge. I hunt a lot of fields, if I expect to see a gobbler in the field, I set up in good cover maybe 10ft from the edge. The road should be a good place to set up, I'd set up in good cover, 10ft or so off the road. If you hear a gobbler behind you in the woods, turn around on your tree and face the bird before he gets close. If hes too close to move, just sit tight, he should come to the road to strut.