2nd Chances

[Hookey]

Went Turkey hunting for the first time last year down by Caledonia MN. Pretty hilly country and I setup with my back to a ravine on a flat grassy area surrounded by woods and ravines. Every morning I could hear birds fairly loud behind me until well after light. They seemed to respond to the call but nothing ever came in. With the hills right at my back as they were those birds could have been a ways away but being inexperienced I could not judge by the volume of their gobbles.

We hunted the last season and so I was advised not to call too much and pause a long while between calls. I also used a hen and a jake decoy. After reading posts it seems maybe I should not use a decoy so late in the year ? The land is hunted pretty hard before we ever get there and the groups before us did ok maybe due to the early spring and perfect weather.

I am hoping that maybe the foul weather will delay things and maybe the late season hunters will have a better chance. Last year I borrowed decoys and was thinking about buying a pair this year but being restricted to hunt this land last has me wondering if I should leave the decoys at home ?

This is a new venture for me so any suggestions on late season calling or tactics would be great. All I can say about the land is that if you walk ten feet off the grass and into the woods it is a long way down.. I don't know if being this high when the birds seem to be behind you is a bad location or what. Will keep plugging away at it tho..

Also I do not know if I should set the blind facing away from the clearing this year so I can see what is in the woods and ravines behind me or if they would even bother walking up the hills. As loud as they were you would swear they were outside the back of the blind.

[Archerysniper]

Play the land like your walking it or deer hunting. Your not going to walk straight up a hill when you have a gradual slope you could follow turkey and deer will do the same follow the path of least resistance.

[123fish]

If they sound that loud they can't be too far away. When we used to hunt in the Caledonia area the more the land was pressured before we got there the harder the hunting was which just makes sense. We had to resort to what I call "sniper hunting". You had to be super quiet and get into the stuff they were hanging out in and call softly and sparingly. It was a lot like deer hunting from a stand. Sitting patiently and waiting. Definitely not what you would see on TV. You might want to try something like that if it works out for you. Bring lots of patience and you just might be rewarded. Funny thing was while we were struggling two farms over which didn't have the pressure we had the toms would come in like they were auditioning for a Primos video. Good luck.

[Hookey]

Thanks guys, I will try setting up near the easy path and will also to try stalking and locating them a bit more. I knew they were close last year but figured they would come to calling and the decoys. First day I will try waiting them out but as the week wears on I will go after them rather than sitting and waiting for them to come to me.

Both ideas make sense. This is all new to me so I appreciate the feedback !

[DrJ]

Hookey, I got my bird by Caledonia last week.He came from the valley behind me so you never know where they will come from. My story is in the submission thread.No movement was the key. DrJ