Weather and Turkeys

[Snow Fish]

I am going Turkey hunting for the first time on Saturday and looking at the weather forecast it appears it is going to be considerably cooler this weekend than it has in the past couple of weeks. Will this have any impact on Turkey activity?

[Borch]

I often see a lot of gobbling on cold calm mornings. Wind has more of an impact. Then the temps.

I've shot them in the rain.

I've shot them in the snow.

I've shot them when the weather's plain.

I've shot them in the wind when it blows.

I love shoot turkey no matter the weather.

You can't shoot them from your couch!

[Duck-o-holic]

Snow Fish,

Borch said it well. I am more concerned with wind and/or precipitation than with temperatures. There's a GREAT article on turkey behavior relating to weather in the latest MN Sportsman magazine (April) written by TR Michels. TR spent four years watching and analyzing a large flock of birds, and documented his findings. He states that when the temp or windchill get below 34 degrees, gobbling lessens dramatically. Check out the article if you get the chance. There's a LOT of good info in it. And of course... good luck hunting! Let us know how you do!!

Duck-o-Holic

PS-- Borch... I think you'd have given Dr. Suess a run for his money!!!

[Borch]

HE,HE,HE.....

Do a google for T.R. Michels. He's a MN biologists who has alot of great info. He has a lot of this on his website as well.

Dr. Suess doesn't have anything to worry about.

[Captain B.R.K]

I'm going to be starting my hunt tomorrow morning. Will this cold weather affect everything- the turkey's behaviors/patterns?

This weather sure doesn't make hunting fun!

[Hotspotter]

T.R. is great. He lives about 10 miles south of me and is a good guy. He gave my brother his Turkey Addict's guide, and i've found it to be right on the money.

The best part is that his research is conducted right here, in SE Minnesota, on wild birds. You can believe what he's saying here to be more than just supposition and guessing. It's what he's actually observed.

Borch, or Suess, can't remember which, said it best with "you can't shoot 'em from the couch." You will be out there no matter what. It's only 5 days of 365, so make use of them. And i'm not as good as T.R. to even venture a guess as to their activity levels. In my mind, there's too many variables to process, from barometric pressure, time of year, photoperiod, breeding phase, temperature, precip, etc. What I will tell you, is that if you don't head out any of those mornings, or throw in the towel early......it was the best day of the spring.....birds were gobbling everywhere, ready to get their heads shot off. That's usually the way it goes!

Joel

[run-n-gun]

Captain BRK, I'd worry more about the wind, as mentioned above. Ironically, every bird I've shot has been taken in a light rain. Are you really familiar with the area you're hunting? Scouting really pays off. I tend to move around more on the first few days trying to move to where the birds are. If they hang up or if I'm not having any luck, I sit in a good spot and just wait it out. Good luck and let me know how you do!

[Captain B.R.K]

run-n-gun- the worst wind ever for a hunter was on my side this past Saturday! Heard gobblin' before we set-up so picked the best spot where we were visable from a 360 degree view and waited it out.

[Big Johnson]

Shot my bird on 4-28 at 8:45 a.m.. It was 27 F. when we headed for the woods, but it was clear and the sun was going to shine. I never heard a tom gobble as much before as mine did. I counted over 40 before fly-down and at least 30 after fly-down. If he had flown down in front of me I think the cloud of steam from my breathing would have given me away. But he and his flock went north instead of west where I was sitting. They crossed a corn stubble field, a pasture, another stubble field, another pasture, and went through three fences to finally stop and strut. This forced me to take a much longer route around sidehills to finally get below them in a dry wash in the bottom of the pasture they were in. A huge bramble bush allowed me to crawl up within 40 yds. and slowly raise up. When they spotted me and sounded an alarm, the tom passed left to right and started his take-off run. Fortunately I shoot left-handed and dropped him. They sure stick their heads out nice when they're running. The experts say it's tough to stalk turkeys and I am a believer. There was a definite amount of luck involved, especially with the lay of the land being in my favor, and a bramble bush big enough for a 330 lb. guy to use as cover. But what a rush!