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Best time to hunt

FLTENNHUNTER1

FLTENNHUNTER1

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If you could only hunt 1 weekend this season, which one would it be and why? Is there a peak breeding time similar to deer?
 
For where I live in the SW portion of the state, days 1-10 are usually some of the best hunting, with the most gobblers still available (not killed yet), but where I hunt in middle TN, I typically prefer days 10-20.
 
I took vacation for the week of 17th. Mostly because KY will be open, but also because I like it better a little later. More hens nesting. More foliage to cover me sneaking around.


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I like the second or third week. Once hens have bread, they will go to nest leaving gobblers with less entertainment, making them easier to call. Plus the added foliage makes it easier to move and set up. If your hunting public, there will a few killed early in the season, but there will be fewer googans by week 3.
 
I prefer the last two weeks. Woods have greened up so moving is easier and our birds tend to gobble more and aren't in giant groups any more
 
Third weekend has always been good to me.

On those really tough years, the last week is generally magic for me...a terrible season can turn fantastic is just a few hunts at that time IF folks just hang with it.
 
It depends on the number of birds you have available.

Realize that HALF of the ENTIRE season's kill is now just in the first two days of the 6 week season. The hunting is much less enjoyable that early, as most hens haven't started breeding yet, and even fewer have initiated nests in middle TN. That means the dominant gobblers are glued to their hens, and once the males get with the hens right off the roost, are almost unkillable unless you are willing to sneak in on them. Young gobblers are still easy to call in, especially if there is an older bird in the area that has claimed the local hens.

In the middle of the season, the adult hens are breeding, and leave their group for a couple hours each day to lay. The gobblers that weren't killed opening weekend now become much more vulnerable to calling (especially in the early afternoon). BUT, depending on the property, the majority of males may have already been removed, making for some tough hunting trying to locate a bird to work.

By the end of the season, most adult hens should be starting to set, and males can be desperate looking for the last few hens. Those males often start bunching back up into bachelor groups and wander much larger distances, so the hunting can be feast or famine depending on whether you are lucky enough to be near one of the bachelor groups.

Personally, my favorite time of the season is the 2nd weekend in middle TN. There is a chance at calling in a dominant bird if you catch him with his hens away.

That being said, I now always come up for the opener and am just happy killing off the 2 y/o's. There just aren't enough males left on my farms by the 2nd weekend to have birds to work all day long like there used to be in the past.
 
I like it a little later when the foliage is out more but really there's not a bad time to be in the turkey woods. Walking down the driveway this morning to get the newspaper there were 3 gobblers and a bunch of hens in my neighbors yard. Some were still in the tree and it's spitting snow while one of the toms is gobbling his fool head off. Definitely had my blood pumping to hear that sound.
 
I like it before everything greens up. I guess I'm weird as most of you say you like it after green up. I wish the woods looked like this year round.
 
megalomaniac":11k38m3x said:
It depends on the number of birds you have available.

Realize that HALF of the ENTIRE season's kill is now just in the first two days of the 6 week season.
Click to expand...

Not to derail the thread, but is this a result of the strutter decoy fad/explosion? Dominant territorial birds getting killed with relative ease right off the bat?
 
All great information and interesting seeing the different perspectives. I live in SE Tennessee but hunt West of Nashville. I think I will go this first weekend out West, I can always find something closer if needed towards the end of the season. Thank you gentlemen for the comments.
 
Any time I can actually get in the woods!!


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Sit drag, Ernie's outdoors linesman belt,
At 20' up
 
Southern Sportsman":3hy8e8kh said:
megalomaniac":3hy8e8kh said:
It depends on the number of birds you have available.

Realize that HALF of the ENTIRE season's kill is now just in the first two days of the 6 week season.
Click to expand...
Not to derail the thread, but is this a result of the strutter decoy fad/explosion? Dominant territorial birds getting killed with relative ease right off the bat?
Click to expand...
Pretty sure he meant to say the first two weeks, which has been the norm for some time now.
 
Right around the middle of April for most areas I hunt in my county. There is an area up on the KY line in the middle of well over 140k acres of public ground that I prefer to hunt around first weekend in May.


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Southern Sportsman":1yt2ni78 said:
megalomaniac":1yt2ni78 said:
It depends on the number of birds you have available.

Realize that HALF of the ENTIRE season's kill is now just in the first two days of the 6 week season.
Click to expand...

Not to derail the thread, but is this a result of the strutter decoy fad/explosion? Dominant territorial birds getting killed with relative ease right off the bat?
Click to expand...
that may have a little to do with it, but I'm guessing it's more to do with people getting fired up and going and killing a bird or two and then getting burned out and quitting.


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