hunting pressured turkeys

[East Rush Rules]

Hey fellas,

I need some of your expert advice. I am a first time hunter and I am very frustrated right now. I recently drove by my 2 spots that i have planned out for my hunts and there are blinds set up right on the edge of the property. They are not on the property that im hunting on, there on the field side of it, right where the turkeys like to go out and feed. Now i am assuming that they have one of the early seasons due to setting the blinds up so early, so what should i do? Do i find another spot for a backup, or should i go and cut the turkeys off before they go to there feeding spots. I have season E. Any thoughts would be very appreciated!!! Korey

[Borch]

I wouldn't worry to much about it. I'm hunting E season as well and have hunted those later seasons for years. What I've found hunting pressured birds is this. If the birds have recieved a lot of pressure then usually less and softer calling works best. It's not always that way but more often than not. I usually use more purrs and clucks than yelps and cutting.

Another thing I've noticed is during those d, e & f seasons, decoys usually cost you more birds than they get you. Toms are either decoy shy or hang up out of range waiting for the hen to come to them. I've found that decoys work best either early season or late. But best during early season when toms are still setting the pecking order.

Finally you'll likely hear less gobbling. Not always as that is usually when the second gobbling peak occurs. However, on land with a lot of pressure the most vocal birds are usually the first to get harvested. Therefore they are no longer there when you hunt the later season.

I'd recommend you keep looking for additional spots. It never hurts to have more options.

Borch

[tealitup]

I did not get drawn this year so I am going to bow hunt the mighty birds.

I think you should look for as many spots as you can find. The week before you hunt drive around and talk to the guy hunting. If they are taking birds, more then likely they will be very shy. You can still take a bird there, but it will be harder.

I like to try and find at least 3-5 quality spots during the season. However, just with any other game - when hunting season comes they will move away to another spot.