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Not Hunting Turkeys after Noon

2in1shot

2in1shot

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Most of my hunts are over by 11 am but I make it a point to be done by lunch. I do not hunt afternoon birds. Anyone else call it a day by noon?
 
I used to, back when I was at a different college. I was able to hunt every morning of the season. Now I commute 5 days a week, so I am limited to the weekends. I have been hunting all day long and put my fiancée on one around 5:45, and worked a couple birds until I was blasted by a storm on Saturday around 3:30. From my limited experience, it seems fairly productive.
 
usually around 2-3 is my cut off personally but I am fortunate to hunt all I want mornings till 9-10 so I dont hunt a ton in the afternoons....3 kids and a wife at home also make that more difficult lol
 
I don't usually hunt after 3. More so because of exhaustion than anything else. There's only so many miles a person has in them hunting mountains.
 
The majority of the days that I start out at 4AM, end by noon, but I still hunt afternoons occasionally throughout the season when it works out for me. If you can strike a bird after lunch and get him to gobble, and then free gobble a few times on his own, he usually has a death wish, which can make for some short fun hunts.
 
I have never been an afternoon hunter until this year. I have fell in love with it, I finished my season yesterday, I had 1 good morning hunt, the other 3, I worked them in gobbling and strutting 1 at 2:27pm, 1 At 11:55 am, and the bird yesterday at 6 pm.
 
I don't turkey hunt much anymore but I used to be rough on them. In my experience I don't typically hear as many birds from 11 till dark, but the ones that do gobble have a high probability of getting shot.
 
Early season I'm usually done by noon. Late season I'll hunt to the early afternoon trying to find a lone gobbler.


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I take vacation time when I come up, So I'm hunting from 5am till fly up. That being said, the gun stays in the truck after 5pm. I don't find it appealing at all to shoot one headed to roost, and would much rather hunt him the following morning. Of the 10 birds I'm responsible for shooting this year, 5 were right after flydown and the other 5 were later in the day. Latest was 4pm.

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Andy S.":6vflytvy said:
The majority of the days that I start out at 4AM, end by noon, but I still hunt afternoons occasionally throughout the season when it works out for me. If you can strike a bird after lunch and get him to gobble, and then free gobble a few times on his own, he usually has a death wish, which can make for some short fun hunts.
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What he said on the birds gobbling. That's what happened with the one I killed Saturday. Total time out was about 40 minutes from the time I first heard him gobble until I killed him at 5:09. I don't hunt many afternoons because of other commitments but I do enjoy it if you can get on gobbling birds.
 
megalomaniac":1wh15nrm said:
I take vacation time when I come up, So I'm hunting from 5am till fly up. That being said, the gun stays in the truck after 5pm. I don't find it appealing at all to shoot one headed to roost, and would much rather hunt him the following morning. Of the 10 birds I'm responsible for shooting this year, 5 were right after flydown and the other 5 were later in the day. Latest was 4pm.

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I called one in strutting and gobbling yesterday at 6pm
 
megalomaniac":39rqnvfr said:
I take vacation time when I come up, So I'm hunting from 5am till fly up.
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For sure, especially when you are burning vacation days, away from home and in a state that allows hunting in the afternoon.
 
I love afternoon hunting (distinguished from late afternoon sitting near roost areas). I usually take a more relaxing pace. Cover ground slowly and cast calls. If I come upon a good looking spot, sit and call for 30 minutes or so. A nap usually just happens during one of these sitting spells. As noted, when you find one responsive, high success rate. When you dont, still a great afternoon.

I wish I got to do it more, but work, wife, and kids makes it rare these days. But on my way right now. :tu:
 
All my early season hunts end one way or the other by 8:00. As the season progresses, foliage picks up and mid morning gobbling picks up, I'll hunt later in the morning. Not been much of an afternoon hunter. I don't like hunting silent birds.
 
Rockhound":2whbqau8 said:
megalomaniac":2whbqau8 said:
I take vacation time when I come up, So I'm hunting from 5am till fly up. That being said, the gun stays in the truck after 5pm. I don't find it appealing at all to shoot one headed to roost, and would much rather hunt him the following morning. Of the 10 birds I'm responsible for shooting this year, 5 were right after flydown and the other 5 were later in the day. Latest was 4pm.

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Click to expand...

I called one in strutting and gobbling yesterday at 6pm
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I'd smoke him to if he's wanting to play that game! I just haven't found many late in the evening willing to play. Be easy to set up on their roost and ambush them on the way in, but just meh.

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6pm is my cutoff. Between 11am and 6pm is when I kill 75% of my Gobblers. Googan play book clearly states that turkeys do not gobble past 8am, thus leaving myself and a few like minded "turkey hunters", the woods to ourselves ;)
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I have not always had a "code of ethics" about turkey hunting, but like many on tndeer, I have a set of rules for how I play the game in my more mature years. I just was curious about how the straight laced old timers on here would weigh in. It's not that I don't think it's not beneficial or worth while. I see it as, that after 12 pm, that is the turkey's time to feed, breed, and not be interrupted by me.
 

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