spring turkey

[00buck]

with the season getting ready to start here in ohio on 4/21 i figured this part of forum would pick up i personally am ready to go have watched birds for the last few days in the fields any advice would be great

[mrbb]

been seeing and even hearing them gobble here
green up is a little off my way(hell got 2 inches of snow today??)
so if your off yet on green up, I would be looking for winter wheat fields near where you hunt, and watch for green up, they tend to green up first, and they attract bugs turkeys like to eat
thus making them prime fly down from roost area's to hunt them in

same will go for any standing corn IF any that is
and last farms that still spread com manure, say that last as they can be smell places to hunt LOL
but they do pull birds to eat corn cows pass !
but seems like its going to be a good yr for turkeys, seeing nice big flocks, that seemed to winter well

[nomad_archer]

I have not been seeing any birds my way but I never do so there is no surprise there. What type of info are you looking for? I have had good luck getting close to birds. I typically call very little once I get a response I may call one or twice after that but not much more since calling less has worked for me. Now this year I will stop thinking so much and looking for the perfect shot and put the trigger. I have had 3 birds in the last three years walk away because I had good shots just not perfect ones and I didnt shoot. That is a fault of mine. I tend to think to much before I shoot and usually miss the opportunity.

I hunt green open spaces if they are available but they have to have some cover around them. Field edges work well especially if they are green fields. Otherwise I hunt the woods where the birds are. I have 3-4 spots at my camp that I can always get into a bird at least once or twice in my 3-4 days I have to hunt up there each year. I have had the most luck around 9-12. Usually nothing happens first thing for me but I hunt it anyways.

[00buck]

really would like info on decoys

[mrbb]

here is my take on decoys
just like with deer, yes they can work, and yes they can also spook birds away
I have tried a bunch, from the one's you blow up, one's that have them umbrella things in them to open up and prevent the folds from folding, the hard plastic one's and even the photo one's
I come from a hunting camp that is BIG into turkeys and we tend to elave things there for each to use if where not there
so I have used decoys from the 10 dollar cheap one's to the 200+ buck one's
I have mixed feelings on them
and to be honest these days I don't carry any if I go out
more due to lazy and like to travel light, even the gun I use is a light weight short 18.5 in bbl gun, patterns verty well at 40-45 yrds too!
so to me, there NOT needed
I personally think if you don't ming carrying them, having two or 3 works better than just putting out one
seems to make them more at easy, and more likely to come in, ad gives them more to look at, over looking for you!
I like to set them up about 20 yrds from me with HOPING the bird will show up over my left side ( I'm a RT handed shooter)
and I try to have the decoy out so it can be seen from farther than just close range birds, I want eye candy I guess when I set them out, I like a Jake decoy and a hen too, when I use them
all models will work I think, the one's with real feathers or one's that can move a little with the wind I think are best
BIG hard plastic one's look more real, but SUCK to carry and make a lot of noise if they touch branches while walking in, setting up
I have hd decoys out in front of me, and had them fall over(didn';t have time tio set up right, got too close to a bird) and when the tom started walking in to the decoy, at about 10 yrds from decoy(no shot yet) the decoy fell over LOL
that turkey looked at it for about 25 minutes without moving, and again NO shot, had me frozen!
and then it just went back the way it came
so decoys can make a hunt very hard to forget LOl
I still laugh when I think what that turkey must have thought happened to the hen he was coming into get some off of! HAHA!!
Must have thought she,it fell over when she seen the stud he was I guess! and had a heart attack! LOL

[00buck]

Thanks for the input I usually hunt for turkey in the fall only been spring turkey a few times with a friend and luckily have shot one but I didn't do any of the setup or calling so this will be the first by my self

[nomad_archer]

I use a cheap decoy and it works well enough. I have had deer nudge it. I did have it fall over with a huge gust of wind when the gobbler was 4 feet from it. I had not shot as I was full draw with a bow and needed the bird to step out from behind a log.

I always use hen decoys since I am on public land and I don't want anyone to mistake my decoy for a live bird since at a distance they all look good enough to fool someone.

The thing that made the biggest difference for me was to learn to properly use a mouth call. But I have had success using box call as well. I call very little and use a combo of box and mouth call as it lets me change things on the fly. Plus I there are just some calls that I can do on a box call and cannot get right with a mouth call.

[mrbb]

I too use more than one type of call
a mouth call is great to learn, cause it give you free use of both hands, and cuts down on movement
and I personally think its movement that is the main killer in getting busted by a turkey, dam they have super eye sight and can pick you off moving from way out there too
I also come from the school of less calling is best too
and last
spring time birds are a LOT more willing to come to a call Imo than fall birds
so spring time calling is the way to kill em
over maybe in fall, of wanting to bust up a flock, and then call them
in spring time, busting up a flock, doesn''''t seem to work as well as in fall
just puts them on edge I think

another good tip is to try to roost birds in the evening before a hunt
gobblers in spring time many time gobble as or just before going to roost for the night
then you can try to pin point where they are at, and sneak in in the dark ,and try to get about a 100 yrds from them or so
just be aware, many times they roost with gens, so be quiet going in and setting up, come first light the gobbler might be a 100 yrds away, but might have hens all closer to you
then use them as live decoys, try calling to them, to get that gobbler to come your way as they all start talking