Hunting hours

[knowsnothing]

This is my first attempt at turkey hunting and I am hearing conflicting information from hunters I know. Several are telling me that they only hunt until 11:00. After that it is just wasted time. Then others are telling me they just dont respond to calls after mid morning but are still on the move all day feeding. I am huntng season B and trying to plan out my week since it is only a week away. I dont mind sitting all day but have other things to do if it is indeed non productive time. Any input is appreciated.

[goblueM]

depends both on the hunter and the time of year. Some people are just short on patience

I find that they are responsive to calls early in the morning and then trail off throughout the day, but in late season they become fairly non-responsive in the early morning but more so during mid-day, when the hens are on the nests.

I usually hunted the G season in SE Minnesota - I shot a bird at 2 PM last year, and 4 PM two years before that - he came in hot, gobbling all the way. I've also shot birds at sunrise during the late season. Long story short, they aren't always predictable and you aren't going to shoot a turkey if you are sitting on your couch or at work!

If you can find an area with lots of sign like scratching and dusting areas, or travel corridors, those might be places to hunt during mid-late day periods, just call very infrequently and hope one shows up. kind of like deer hunting but for turkeys

[Grayfox]

knowsnothing,

Honestly it really depends on how hard you want to hunt them. I've killed birds right after they pitched off the roost and came in, mid morning, right afternoon and even killed some as they started working back towards there roost areas. From what I've seen, they will typically come in silent or gobble very little later in the day and into the afternoon. After they breed the hens they're with, they tend to loose interest and start searching for other hens and a lot of times they'll come looking where they heard calling earlier in the day. I'll usually call every 15-30 minutes from midmorning until late afternoon. Putting out only my tom decoy and just gobbleing has also been working real well the last few years. Just be careful how you set up. I always make sure the Tom is out in front of me and a little lower than my position where I know another hunter can't get me lined up in their sights. If your still around later in the day you might just put your tag on one. Good luck.

Rob

[knowsnothing]

Thanks guys. I just thought I took the week off and want to get the most of it. It looks like I will be driving seperate now.

[goblueM]

good luck and let us know how you do!

[Borch]

I saw toms strutting through out the day today. So I think they would have pretty workable. But my best time of day has historically been from 9am-1pm. I've had a few of those flash unts off the limb but have found the toms most responsive to calling later in the morning.

[Archerysniper]

I sit all day if my stomach doesnt drive me out I might leave the blind for a hour just to eat and streach. Our birds last year were at 4:30 5:30 7 am 8:30 am and a couple were missed between 5 and 6 pm.

[bigbucks]

Sit as long as you want & if you want to keep hunting go look for them. I'm no purest I guess, but I've shot very few of my birds from a calling spot. Most of mine have been spot & stalk. I've killed a bird or two in the middle of the day, but usually if I wasn't working I just had other things I wanted to get done in the nice part of the day. I think as a whole they're much easier to catch out in the open during the middle of the day then deer are.

[sticknstring]

Turks are killable at all hours throughout the day. Most guys head in for coffee when the hunting's just getting good! This year we put one down at 11:45. Last year I had shots at 8:30am, 2:30pm, and 6:30pm. Stick it out and you'll be rewarded while you're buddy's at home mowing his lawn.