Turkey hunting NOOB

[Random 8]

In my 47 years, I've actually never hunted the beasts. Our season used to be restrictive here in MN, and all the "good" areas were ones far away where I didn't have good land options. Lots of turkeys on the old family farm, but they were closed or very limited permits for a long time, so I just never got into it.

Fast forward some years, and the season is now wide open, the population has exploded, and turkeys have recently taken up residence on my deer land. 40 acres of tight cover mixed conifer/aspen brush with some areas of mature Red and White pine with permission on an additional 160 including a 30 acre hayfield. I intend to archery hunt with a recurve.

Easy question first. What hardware are you using with your points to retard penetration (if any?). There used to be a 'stopper" that screwed behind the point and didn't weigh very much. Can't find those anymore. Is any penetration mitigator even needed?

Second: Calls, tactics, etc. I've seen some videos, but all the techniques seem more applicable to more southern type of mixed agriculture and hardwoods. I have doghair thick brushy woods and dispersed feeding areas rather than oaks and cornfields. My turkeys are acting more like grouse hitting birch and aspen catkins and last fall's berry and hazel patches. They will likely gravitate to the new clovers and forbs as greenup progresses. How would I go about targeting these birds? I do believe I have a handle on the roosting areas. It IS legal to shoot them at sunset here. Maybe stalk them in the white pines and try to slick one off a pine bough?

 

[buck460XVR]

Maybe stalk them in the white pines and try to slick one off a pine bough?

If that is your intent, you're better off going in very quietly before light and waiting for legal shooting hours. Trying to get close to a turkey in a tree, during daylight(and legal shooting) is futile. Either way, it is not a hunt.That is the thing that excites about turkey hunting, the hunt. Over the years I have ended up right under turkeys in the roost by mistake. Trying to get close in the dark and I end up too close. What follows is generally a bunch of alarm putts right at daylight and the birds flying in the opposite direction. Occasionally, I have ended up right below a Tom who is intent on not leaving his harem. If the hens have not been alarmed, the Tom will stay put. But he generally will not gobble. Still have yet to shoot one in the tree, no desire. Knowing where they roost means you can get close enough to call. Getting close and having them respond to your first call as the sun comes up, is in itself, more exciting than shooting one outta the tree.

What hardware are you using with your points to retard penetration (if any?).

I generally shoot a fall turkey every year while sitting in stand with my bow. Using standard broadheads for deer has proved very effective for me. What the collars do is help from losing your arrow/broadhead. Hunting from a treestand I don't have that issue. The passthru generally sticks in the ground where the bird WAS standing. Shooting from the ground means odds are, you will lose the arrow in the brush, or even the open field, because of how arrows snake themselves into the grass. If one is hunting land where cattle graze or hay is taken off, the idea of broadheads in the grass is a whole 'nother bowl of soup. I have used a bow/crossbow for spring birds when on the ground, but generally hunt places where a lost broadhead won't find itself in a cow. IMHO, The collars do nuttin' to help kill the bird over and above what full penetration provides.

Calls, tactics, etc. I've seen some videos, but all the techniques seem more applicable to more southern type of mixed agriculture and hardwoods. I have doghair thick brushy woods and dispersed feeding areas rather than oaks and cornfields. My turkeys are acting more like grouse hitting birch and aspen catkins and last fall's berry and hazel patches. They will likely gravitate to the new clovers and forbs as greenup progresses. How would I go about targeting these birds?

Get a call and learn one call(generally a yelp) and learn how to do it well. Friction calls are fairly easy. Then go on to other calls after you master one. Toms like to display where they can be seen. Logging roads. ATV trails thru your woods are good options as are mature woodlots that are open underneath. The latter is great later in the day as the sun gets warm. Toms care little to none about eating during the breeding season. Pattern the birds in your area. Listen to them gobble off in the roost. Any time the gobble from the same place twice is a pattern. Anytime you hear a tom gobble during the day from the same spot on different days is a pattern. Anytime you see turkeys in the same corner of the same field two days in a row is a pattern. If they were in that corner @ 9:30 yesterday and today, odds are very good they will be there @ 9:30 tomorrow. Make sure you are there by 7:30. Listen to what the hens are saying and imitate them. Not only will the Tom be used to that series of call, but many times hens get pissed when imitated and will challenge you vocally. If they do, challenge them back. This can lead to them coming in with a Tom on their tail or maybe getting a Tom more willing to come.

 

[jmr40]

Never hunted them with a bow. But sometimes the same strategy used in deer hunting works. Turkey prefer to walk logging roads, fire breaks, etc. rather than through thick brush. If you can pattern them much like deer you may be able to set up an ambush point and not even use a call. Or with very limited calling to get him a little closer. I much prefer to master a mouth call and keep both hands free. Even with a call, calling too much is a common mistake.

Also, gobblers are more likely to come to a call later in the season. It nature the gobbler calls and the hens come to him. It isn't natural for the gobbler to go to a calling hen. But late in the season most of the hens are sitting on nests and no longer mating. He may be more likely to respond.