Advice for new hunter

[kjd]

This is my first year ever hunting turkey and I am looking for a little or a lot of advice.
I bought 20 aces of woods with plenty of turkeys. I have been out twice
first day I started walking after I parked the car and I hear a turkey flying in the tree. I stopped and setup some decoys and waited and waited.. I never heard anything and did not see a turkey even though they roost in the trees going up the dirt road... later that day I was walking in some tall grass and jumped one but it ran towards the road which was fairly close so I did not want to shoot.

second day I went late afternoon and thought I would experiment with calling... well two hens came towards me and they stopped behind a tree... well patience is something I have to work on but when I did not see them, I paniced and moved to see if I could see if they were moving away....damn out smarted by a turkey and they ran in a direction where I had no shot

my questions Do I have to wear camo? Do I need to use decoys and how? Calling, I have heard so many different things online I am not sure what to do..

I would appreciate any advice but pleas break it down "big bird style" as this is all new

Thank you

[charlie elk]

kjd,
Welcome to the art of fall turkey hunting. Only about 12% of fall turkey hunters in WI kill a bird meaning it is hard with a learning curve so do not become discouraged.

What area of the state are you hunting in? I hunt in units 1,3, & 4.

There is an excellent book written by my friend Steve Hickoff - Fall & Winter Turkey Hunter's Handbook. This is the book that helped me put it all together and start killing fall turkeys on purpose rather than by accident. Now I am a fall turkey hunting fanatic, if you want scroll down this WI section to view some of the posts there is a lot of good info.

This is my first year using a turkey dog over the fall hunting thread check out "Vic's first turkey" I am awfully proud of my new pup.

Yes camo is an asset I wear it including head-net or camo face paint.
I do not use decoys maybe because I'm too lazy to carry them or because every time I have tried them the turkeys ran away from them.

Calls - I carry a couple of pot calls a slate and glass with multiple strikers in order to make a variety of calls. Also wingbone calls I have made from turkeys I've killed; poults, hens, jakes and gobblers each sounds like the bird they came from.

Bread and butter fall calls to know in my humble opinion-
kee kee & kee kee run
assembly yelp
gobbler / jake yelp and cluck
fighting purrs

Find a flock and do your best to break it up sending them to all points of the compass. This is much harder than it sounds but once you do it and call em back you'll understand why.

[turkey junky]

KJD welcome i have a few questions foe you 1st buddy??? when are you talking about your encounters??? this spring???/fall??? ive hunted turkey 14-15 yrs so not as long as many of these guys but its really my passion i travel to 3-5 states a yr in the spring to hunt the beautiful wild turkey plus my home state of MINNESOTA maybe more if im i a area wear multi states border each other i only need the osceola for the slam im going for the public land slam so i do know a lil about hunting turkey... any way if you are talking about hunting the turkeys in the fall seasons i have not got a clue on the best ways to go about set n up & harvesting a wild turkey that season is way differnt then when about 90% of the turkey hunters chase birds a excepted common fall method is 2 walk the woods untill u bust or seperate a flock of turkeys eaither by doing it on-purpose or by just runing into the turkeys & they bust up /fly in differnt directions then u set up at the spot or close to the spot the turkeys flew away from aka busted/broke up from & you wait useally a hr or so & start trying to call the turkeys back with a KEE-KEE-RUN OR LOST YELP N to that break up spot becouse they want to re-group at/near the spot the were all last flocked up at... u can do this with a dog wear legal & u can also hunt them just like u do in spring by trying to sneak around the woods wear u know turkeys hang & try 2 set up & call them in with out spookeing them b4 hand... or with out breaking them up 1st... i have to tell you that FALL TURKEY HUNTING is the hardest season to hunt turkeys being its all about hunting FOOD SORCES & that ur dealing with flocks of birds & so many eyes at once thats why ive never done it b4 & i dont shoot hens so its no fun for me plus i hunt other upland game birds in the fall but i love SPRING TURKEY HUNTING THE MOST OF ALL HUNTING SPRING IS KING... id give all other hunting up if i could still hunt SPRING WILD TURKEY!!! ill say you have a good area 2 hunt if ur seeing/get n that close 2 harvesting a wild turkey dureing the fall season 1st off you dont need camo but if you dont have it on u better SIT WAY WAY WAY STILL thats why 99% of turkey hunters now days wear head to toe camo includeing a face mask or paint so yes wear camo!!! no you dont need a decoy i hardley ever use 1 in the spring basicly the wild turkey rut so i doubt you would need a decoy dureing the fall season when there mind is on FOOD FOOD FOOD for there winter survival but turkeys like to see wear the calling is comeing from so if u have a turkey fooled allready a decoy mite not hurt??? calling is basicly the same as the spring season except after u bust up a flock & are trying to re-group them back up at the spot they broke up young turkeys will call for there mother useing a kee-kee run call if u havent herd about it or know what im talking about look it up even youtube would have some guy teach n u how to kee-kee-run its basicly 3-4 whistles followed by 3-4 plus yelps the kee-kee is the whistles the run is the run/string of yelps that follow... i will use a kee-kee-run in the spring also just because its not used by every other hunter in the woods... also maybe try a few 2-3 putts followed by only 2-3 slow long spaced yelps its basicly a gobbler or jake yelp... a lost yelp is basicly speratic yelps consisting of 10-16 yelps strung all tohether just a long string of yelps sounding like a lost young turkey or mother trying 2 yelp her young back to here... thats about how i would go about hunting fall turkeys but then ageain ive never chased gobblers in the fall im a SPRING MAN so??? also in the fall just like the spring actually its more importent dureing the fall hunt its all about the FOOD FOOD FOOD the turkeys are eating/useing/liveing near or at least hunt wear u are close to the food source be it open fields & bugs or acorns in the fall or harvested corn/soy beans in the fall its all about the FOOD MAN!!! in the SPRING its all about breading a HEN HEN HEN like i say SPRING is basicly the wild turkey RUT thats when u want 2 be in the woods my friend... & u will see why SPRING IS KING... good luck
& hope i helped a little let me know how you do... P.S. wear you hunting in WI?
i have family in the grantsburg & wood lake areas of WI u any wear near there???
im a MINNESOTA BOY

[turkey junky]

listen to charlie elk he hunts fall turkey yearly so hes the expert so far... he beat me to the post i was write n to you 1st but started watch n a tv show & lost track of time so i didnt just copy charlie elk but that is just the basic fall turkey hunting outline...

[kjd]

Thanks for the advice,

I am hunting in Rock County (Southern WI). I am not sure if I am hooked on Turkey hunting or just being out.

I am taking the afternoon off work so I will probably go back out. I was so excited when I was able to call that turkey in. Shooting a turkey would be good but calling one in close enough to shoot would be great and nothing beats just being out in the woods.

Thanks for the great advice and I will keep you posted on how things go
-Ken

[charlie elk]

Yea being out there is the best, turkeys are the icing on the cake. I'll be hunting for the first time in your area along the border of Green and Rock the third week of October.
Regarding that turkey you mentioned in the tree- Many times fall turkeys will hang out in trees running and fluttering from branch to branch both to get away from you and to approach. It is legal in WI to shoot a turkey in a tree but I have not yet rather I try and get them to fly down. Many hunters tell me its OK so you make the decision for yourself.

[kjd]

Well not going to shoot in the tree tops that just doesnt sound right.. well if you are hunting on the rock/green line you will probably be very close to me..

Thanks for the advice but one more question for now: how frequently do you call in the fall... when do you give up and move to another area?

Ken

[turkey junky]

got to admit i love just being out in the woods hunting but im hooked on turkey hunting my man 4 me its the time i love being in the woods most cant imagine not chaseing turkeys each year id have 2 be verry verry sick or dead to not chase gobblers
dureing the spring like i said im hooked on turkey hunting for life!!! once you call in and get a turkey on ur own then let me know if you are hooked or not!!!??? good luck

[charlie elk]

how frequently do you call in the fall... when do you give up and move to another area?

When I know there are turkeys in the area that have been scattered, at least an hour. Fall turkeys are much more vocal than in the spring when they are separated match their calls. Which you will find is quite constant. Even if I setup and cold call I call quite frequently and if nothing responds I move after 15-20 min.
In fall the turkeys are there or they're not to be successful a hunter needs to cover ground to find em.

If you are after a gobbler they respond best to aggressive purring. To do this while setup I hold a slate between my knees and take a striker in each hand purring on the slate simultaneously. Plus throw in some course clucks for good measure.
Good hunting.