Turkeys and rain?

[Otsdawa_Ridge_Runner]

Best of luck to you.  I have rain on the way too but not until 8 am.  Opening day for me too.

[Gobblernut]

Hunt... After all we only have so many days a year..But I have a question So will they gobble at all??
If so is it just sparingly? And should one just call sparingly or be aggressive? Thanks..

[Dank]

Unless its storming i would go. The weather was bad almost every weekend for me. In fact it was misting rain the day i killed my first of the year and was threatening when i killed my second. Also, dont put to much stock into what the weatherman says. I wouldn't have gotten the second one had i paid attention to the forecast. Anyway, goodluck.

[AFTER THE SHOT]

Thanks guys, I am new to the forum and was debating on going out Tuesday but we're supposed to have rain. I haven't done much turkey hunting in the rain and searched the topic. I'll fill you in if I bag one.
                                                Scott

[roundball]

Turkeys seem to like fields when it's raining...we had a strong forecast for rain Monday so I took a nylon camo tarp to sort of a natural blind and draped it over a rope just overhead when sitting down.
As it got light enough to see the rain started...30 minutes later a couple hens stepped out of the woods and began pecking along through the weed field...about an hour later a good Tom stepped out of the woods and stood there looking over the field...shook himself like a dog every few minutes to get rid of some of the rain, but it didn't bother him in the least...he stood there in that rain 2-3 minutes at a time before taking a few more steps and stopping to look out over that field some more...finally went on down the middle of the field the direction the hens went

[STEROIDCHICKEN]

like jeff said, "a turkey is going to be a turkey, rain or shine". i have taken several longbeards in the rain,however i don't care much about chasing them when the lightning is poping...having a lightning rod in my hand makes me a little uneasy.as far as gobblin', the old longbeard will do that when he wants. can you recall times when the day was beautiful and you didn't hear any gobblin? rain or shine, the old tom will do what he wants to do when he wants to do it. the days are limited so hunt when you can.... 

[swpatrkyhunter]

Nice thing about hunting when it's raining is that most guys won't go out in it. ... Translation-- Less hunters out there to compete with. When it rains in my area I usually will hunt public land cause there is less pressure on the birds. Not only that but the turkey don't say. " Hey it's raining! Maybe I will stay in"  The feed and move about rain or shine. They may change up where they go but thats where scouting in all weather comes in handy. So you can get an idea where they go during bad weather. Good luck and keep us posted!

[turkeylimb]

FIND THE OPEN FIELDS THE TURKEYS WILL BE THEIR SOONER OR LATER.

[shaman]

ORIGINAL: JPH

Do not listen to silvestris! Hmmm...maybe that should be my signature line? [:D]

Seriously, life is short and you only get so many days of turkey hunting before it's over. Don't waste one because of a little rain. Turkeys are not made of sugar, nor are good hunters.

You can expect them to be more quiet and move a lot more slowly, but they are still spring turkeys. Find a piece of high, open ground if at all possible. I would expect the birds to move out of the timber and loaf in the open. Don't be afraid to call and keep your eyes open for movement.

Good luck!

Now that's downright funny.  Good to see you back posting. 

If it's raining at flydown, they'll generally stay on the roost longer.  They'll also be quieter when they do flydown. 

If it starts raining after flydown, they have a tendency to shut up, bunch up and get hinky until they can withdraw to what they feel is a safe place.  After that, they remain subdued but sometimes quite huntable.

If it continues to rain, you can usually come out, have a cup of coffee, and change clothes.  However, be back out in the open pastures later in the morning or afternoon for an ambush.  Turkeys like to go feed on drowned insects and worms, and they'll do so both during a prolonged rain and and after it.  My favorite time to be out when rain is in picture either:

1) Just before  it rains, say like when a squall line is due in at flydown +1:00. That first hour will be hot.
2) Just as the rain is pulling out.  That's when I'm most likely to see turkeys come out to the middle of the pasture.

The hardest part of hunting rain is hearing and being heard.  The woods get noisey when it rains.  You can't hear the turkeys; they cannot hear you.  On the other hand, if you do call and you are heard, you may get a gob coming in. Try some assembly yelping, and then shut up. They like to bunch up when it rains, and if you have a lone turk trying to make contact with a flock of hens, you may hear nothing but a deep cluck when he arrives.

[tracebusta32]

They may sometimes roost longer during a rain, but I can slip in a lot closer in a rain storm because I am much more quiet.
 
I prefer hunting in the rain, less people to deal with and you know where the birds are going, and they ARE callable in the rain.