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Turkey hunting sucks

Ladys man

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Been 3 times and have yet to see or hear a bird. But have questions .

1. I dnt get off work until 6:45am by time I make it to TVA land it's a lil after 7 change clothes and make the mile walk it's 7:45ish white some stopping and listening and a few mouth calls. So is there a better way? Should I stay as quick and quiet as possible to set up?

2. How Important is scent control?

3. I haven't found a track or and scratching, so should I spend a day walking looking for any of this?
 
2 - not important at ALL
3 - depends on what makes it fun for you. I can deer hunt turkeys so I walk and stop and walk and stop for however long it takes. WORST CASE ill stop in an area that has good sign and cold call for 10-15mins but I cant sit without hearing anything for a long time, just not my cup of tea.
 
If you miss the first 30 minutes of daylight, you are missing the gobbling from the roost. This is often the most important aspect in dictating what you do next. Scent control is irrelevant to turkeys but it could spook deer and deer may spook turkeys. Personally I don't factor scent into the equation. Since you are arriving late you will want to focus on strut zones. Set up there and periodically call. Otherwise you will want to walk and prospect by calling and cutting loudly to invoke a shock gobble. You likely won't get much going until after the gobblers are done with his hens maybe around 10:00.
 
Another thing you can do is spot check fields.

When I started hunting turkeys (2010) I didn't even care to call them. I simply would get out of bed whenever I woke up, drive out and get to the WMA around 7-8 am. This allowed me to see where others were. I then went in and checked fields. If i saw 0 i moved to another area with fields (this is possible on large WMAs that are broken up, don't know the layout where you are hunting).

Then if you see a bird strutting and if he is with hens. If he is you can make a game plan from the wood line. Your choices will be, try to sneak around in front of them and let them come to you, call and hope the hen leads him to you (doubt he'll leave her, but he may), or sneak up and shoot him.

If he is alone try to get a rise or terrain feature between you and him that makes him come look and call to him.
 
Ladys man":3nxy5lfj said:
3. I haven't found a track or and scratching, so should I spend a day walking looking for any of this?

If they aren't there, then nothing else matters.

You're on eastern time, so you should be within hearing distance depending on the terrain. If you think the birds are in back, then hoof it as quietly and quickly as you can to get back there. If you don't hear anything early, then I'd do some scouting, but take your time. If you find some sign, then set up there and be patient to see if one sounds off. and hunt til mid day if possible. And then the next day, you should try to get to that spot as quickly as possible.

If no luck in seeing sign or hearing birds, then move on to other places.

And, yes, you are correct. Turkey hunting does indeed suck. UNTIL the turkey gods shine on you and allow you to make it happen, and then it's all worthwhile!
 
It's nice to be there at first light because they are most vocal just before and at fly-down and you can get a good idea of where they are and where they are going. But a substantial majority of my turkeys have been killed after 8:00. You won't hear as many turkeys later in the morning/afternoon, but the ones you do hear are much more likely to play the game.
 
I agree with others, when trying to locate birds, you just have to be there before sunrise to listen for gobbles. It doesn't necessarily mean there are no birds there if you don't hear gobbles, but I'd feel much better about moving to another location if there is no roost gobbling, than moving locations just from not hearing any gobbling later in the day.

But a place devoid of turkeys can have a few suddenly show up, especially after hens go broody and gobblers are really searching for any remaining hens to breed.
 
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