Hunting SE. Best on top of the hill or in the Valleys?

[leech~~]

We have hunted down in SE Mn for years. Most of our hunting is on tops of the hills in green fields. Do you think the tops or bottoms in the valleys are best in the mornings or evenings and why?

[dukhnt]

I don't hunt in the SE but do hunt near a river. My first year turkey hunting I went to one of the DNR turkey clinics. The guy there said turkeys will come up to you but rarely go down to a call in the valley. So I have always hunted the top land with great success. I have filled four out of five of my tags over the last few years. I usually only hunt the mornings, so I don't know about the evenings.

[lindy rig]

Good question, curious myself! I have yet to bag a turkey hoping this is the year. Usually we hunt the tops of hills adjoining to open fields in SE. We don't go until 4th season usually, but last year we were having a tough time with shy birds so my uncle and I split up and went searching. Well he shot a jake at the bottom of a valley there was a group of them hanging out down there.

[Muskie456]

They used to say you can't call a bird downhill. I don't know about that. I geuss i find myself climbing to the top in the morning in the dark because it makes it easier to make a move on a bird. If he is up top, you are already there and if he is below it seems you have the upper hand(pun intended). I do know this, three years ago at 1:00 pm I called a loud mouth from across a valley and river to me up on the other side. He literially had to fly across the river. He gobbled 5o times from when I first heard him until he was 25 yrds away in some thick stuff. Nice two year old bird too. I think if you catch one in the right mood and there aren't too many obsticals in your way(hens, rivers, fences)your going to have a chance at him.

[Wanderer]

I've taken morning birds in SE MN on both the top and the bottom. I wouldn't consider one any better than the other.

What it seems like to me is if you set up above or below a roost and start calling before fly down to a tom that has hens nearby, the hens go the opposite direction of you and the toms follow.

If you're in an area the birds will use sooner or later and wait them out, they'll usually show up in a couple hours.

When I do start on the top, if the flock doesn't come up I don't chase them to the bottom any more. After the calling settles down and you know they're headed down just be quiet yourself and be patient. After about an hour you might here the tom get antsy and start gobbling again. That's when I start calling back to the flock and they usually wander back to me.

I have had toms fly down to me at the bottom a few times and that's really cool to see. They pitch off the roost and come gliding in like honkers on a string. No hens with them those times.

On one set up at the bottom where a pair came gliding in on opening morning, I was able to take one of the toms. The next year, same spot, same set up, a single glided off the bluff but didn't land in the field. Instead he glided over me and landed in a nearby cedar and looked over the situation for several minutes.

Well, he decided he didn't like it and took off back overhead to where he came from. Coincidence? I don't think so. That wasn't the last time I've had survivors avoid a kill spot.

[leech~~]

Wanderer, good feed back. To me it's almost like Bow hunting Deer by a field. One day you see them come out of one spot so you move and the next day they come out where you were! Yuug!

[goblueM]

thats my experience as well... whatever you do, they go the other way

My uncle and I have permission to hunt one landowner's property on the valley floor, and one property on the top of the same ridge. Killed birds in both spots

It seems like they make the rounds and if you know where they like to hang out, just sit there like Wanderer said.

If you have enough land its fun to do some run n gun too

[USDA3]

I have hunted the same property in SE MN for 6 years. The owner has mostly valley and a little on top of the bluff. With 2or3 of us hunting we have shot 6 birds. Only one of those came from a logging road halfway up the valley. We also don't spend as much time up top since there is less acreage and usually more wind/elements. We typically see birds in the valley every morning, although they seem to come from many different roost locations, making it harder to figure out where they are coming out to set up on em.

We've had them fly off roost right over the blind, sounds like a 747 coming down into the valley!