Turkey Hunting In The Fall

Many states offer a fall turkey season; in some states you can only kill a gobbler. In many states, you can kill hens or gobblers. Some hunters have a problem shooting hens. For me, it depends on the state I am hunting in and how the local turkey population is doing. If I am hunting in a state where the population is healthy and I can take a hen or a tom, I actually prefer to take a young turkey because a young turkey tastes great. 

When bowhunting turkeys in the fall, I focus my efforts near food sources or roosting areas. If my scouting camera tells me there is a flock of birds that is regularly in the area, I will sit and wait for a flock the same way I wait for a whitetail. The nice thing about turkeys in the fall is they are typically going to feed in the same areas at the same time almost daily until a food source is gone.

For instance, if turkeys find a bunch of acorns under an oak tree, there is a good chance they will regularly feed there like clockwork until the acorns are gone. The same can be said of a crab apple tree, corn field, or bean field. When I see this consistent pattern, I will sit near that food source and call like I would on a spring hunt. Typically after hunting a time or two, an arrows flies and turkey pot pie is on the dinner table. 

Finding a roosting location is another great option. In the fall when there are large groups of birds roosting together, it is easy to hear a large flock in the morning. From year to year, I typically find turkey flocks roosting in the same general area. Each fall I try to locate these large flocks by listening at daybreak. I will focus on scouting ridges and river bottoms and large hardwood flats where there are a lot of acorns. Usually after a few scouting trips, I will hear turkeys gobbling and yelping at daybreak and be able to slip in close enough to call them in. In the fall of the year, the best call to imitate when hunting a flock of hens and young birds is the call of a poult which is the kee kee run. If I am hunting gobblers, the best call is a gobbler yelp.

Another style of fall turkey hunting I greatly enjoy is hunting with dogs. A turkey hunting dog is trained to run into a flock of turkeys and break up the flock. Once the flock is broken up, I sit down and call the turkeys back together. This style of turkey hunting is a lot of fun.

November is a great month to kill a big buck.  It is also a great month to kill a wild turkey for the Thanksgiving table.