"Best" hunting period?

[Crow Hunter]

It is getting to be time to apply for a turkey license, and I am wondering if there is a better time of spring to be out there. Are the gobblers more likely to come to a call earlier in the spring, or later? I assume weather plays a big part in it. I hunt in Wadena county and have been hunting period C, but I have only been hunting them two years. I shot a tom the first year but not last spring, I heard a whole lot less gobbling than the first year.  Any opinions would be appreciated.

[DonBo]

There is no "best" time.  Guess your best.  Yes, early can be good just because they haven't been pressured much, but they may not be really ready for breeding yet, therefore probably not very responsive.  

I believe there's a point, mid season when everything falls into place for excellent hunting, but those dates can vary wildly from year to year.

Later can be great after the hens start setting, but some may have been pressured to the point of being extremely wary. Anytime during the season can be good or bad.  Again, guess your best.

[birdguy]

The new rules make choosing less difficult. I applied for the A season, but if I don't get drawn I'll hunt one of the C, D or E seasons and if I still don't score I'll hunt the final F season which is also a fallback season that allows unsuccessful hunters of the other seasons to try one last time without the need to purchase another license, plus it's longer than the any of the other seasons. Pretty sweet if you ask me and the A - E seasons are now seven days long instead of five and all include a weekend so there's less pressure to hurry and less worrying about the weather interfering with the entire hunt.

[paceman]

Yes pretty happy with the rule changes. Depending on the weather I will spend the first couple seasons trying to get my son a bird. Them I will hunt D, and if unsuccessful will hunt the F as well.

[Powerstroke]

With the wild weather swings in this state, its nearly impossible to guess the magic season. I tend to prefer an earlier season, but that just works for my style of hunting. 

Late season can be really good too, but requires some different tactics. With the new system allowing a lotto only for the first two seasons there is little planning needed unless you want to apply for A or B season. 

[Borch]

I've always liked the mid seasons over going early.  The middle season are always more consistent.  Early seasons always seem to be fantastic or horrible depending on the spring and weather.  Just my thoughts on it.