NY/PA hunters....

[turkeygirl]

So I was wondering...since our seasons start kinda late compared to other places, ours being May 1, what are the gobblers doing by then or what stage are they in? To me, it seems like by the time May 1 comes around, gobblers are henned up and we miss out on the hotter action earlier. Or is this just my thought? Let's hear your thoughts. I think knowing what the gobblers are doing by May will help me know how to set-up and such.

[LifeNRA]

But as the season goes, the Toms will be getting lonely again! Then it can get very interesting!

[MrWiggely]

They are usually henned up here around the first of May, but hopefully with this snow storm we are getting right now, it will slow them up a bit. But I doubt it. Usually the best time for turkey here is second and third week.

Wigs

[western NY bowhunter]

I believe that the gobblers would be even more henned up if our season opened a week or two earlier. Usually, by the middle of May they start to get real lonely and vulnerable once the hens start spending most of their time nesting. Unforunately, its pretty darn tough to tag a nice longbeard at this point of the season with all of the hunting pressure that they face in this area. Most of the "dumb" birds are already in someones freezer. You can still kill one but you gotta really put some serious time and effort in to do so. The good thing about hunting later on in the season is that just about everone has thrown in the towel and called it quits.

Currently, the large winter flocks seem to be starting to break up...the gobblers are with hens and the jakes are hanging out in their little outcast bachelor groups. I saw four longbeards strutting with about 30 hens yest. morning. One of them breed a hen while I was watching which kinda surprised me. Today, there were 26 birds out in the cornfield behind the house. I got to watch an awesome fight between 3 longbeards and 4 HUGE jakes. The whole thing last for about a minute...they were all doing the "fighting purr" and the legs, spurs and wings were just a' flyng. Surprisingly, the jakes came out on top and ended up chasing the bigger gobblers away from the hens. It was one of the best turkey fights that I've ever seen... !

[Buckslayer]

They are almost always henned up where I'm at too, but this year I'm just going to hunt them like deer - - and wait along travel routes and near food sources, staging areas, and strutting zones.

Another thing that stinks about PA is hunting them only lasts until noon each day... SOOO a lot of the time we're missing our chances when in mid afternoon they're at their lonliest and performing habitual routines...

[turkeygirl]

[ QUOTE ]
I believe that the gobblers would be even more henned up if our season opened a week or two earlier. Usually, by the middle of May they start to get real lonely and vulnerable once the hens start spending most of their time nesting. Unforunately, its pretty darn tough to tag a nice longbeard at this point of the season with all of the hunting pressure that they face in this area. Most of the "dumb" birds are already in someones freezer. You can still kill one but you gotta really put some serious time and effort in to do so. The good thing about hunting later on in the season is that just about everone has thrown in the towel and called it quits.

Currently, the large winter flocks seem to be starting to break up...the gobblers are with hens and the jakes are hanging out in their little outcast bachelor groups. I saw four longbeards strutting with about 30 hens yest. morning. One of them breed a hen while I was watching which kinda surprised me. Today, there were 26 birds out in the cornfield behind the house. I got to watch an awesome fight between 3 longbeards and 4 HUGE jakes. The whole thing last for about a minute...they were all doing the "fighting purr" and the legs, spurs and wings were just a' flyng. Surprisingly, the jakes came out on top and ended up chasing the bigger gobblers away from the hens. It was one of the best turkey fights that I've ever seen... !

[/ QUOTE ]

That is sooo COOL! When I was fall turkey hunting several years back, when there was still a good population of turkeys on the land, a bunch started fighting...all I heard were gobbles and the purra and it sounded like the turkey version of a war,lol. Neat stuff

[nysbuckmaster]

ive seen them with hens,strutting ang gobbling already.monday night i went trout fishing behind my house 6:00-6:30pm i start hearing gobbles.10-30 mins later i look up and see 4 turkeys walk out in the feild up on the hill.they walk around feeding for 5-10 mins and as soon as they get out of sight in the woods the hens start yelping and clucking and then all of the sudden the woods lights up with 4-7 different gobbles and it continues for 1-2 mins then everything is quiet again

[turkeygirl]

Wow, that had to be heart pumping and make you really wish it was turkey season!

[PAstringking]

this year i think things are running a little late. its going to be a good season.

Bucksayer you are right that it stinks we have to be out of the woods by 12.

[Strut10]

Usually, our opening week, the gobblers are still surrounded by hens. But they are pretty vulnerable if you put some good thought into it. Get tight to the roost area. Get between groups of roosting gobblers. Hunt late morning. Pattern, pattern and pattern some more. There's lots of ways to git 'er done opening week. As for actual stages of something-or-other..........I'm not real up on the science of it. Just listen to waht the gobblers tell you they want and give it to them.

[jbeck]

One thing we need to remember, We have alot more hunting pressure here in the east. If we started earlier like some of the western states, the number of hunters we have would be really hard on the turkeys. JMO I'd love to be out the first weeks of April, but it won't happen so I adjust.

[Squirrelhunter91]

So many NY hunters ( I can't speak for PA ) claim that the turkey season should start earlier than it does. I think that's BS. Many hunters who are unsuccessful use this as an excuse for them not getting a bird.
Last year, I managed to shoot a jake on opening day and a tom on 5/14. Granted I was blessed last season, but what about the two season before that when I didn't get a bird? I never blamed it on the season starting too late. Just keep at it and your time will come.
Turkey hunting is one of the most challenging hunts out there and you just have to be persistent with your hunting. So many factors have to be right to bag a turkey it's almost frustrating. If the areas your hunting haven't been productive for you, then maybe it's time to change your turkey hunting area.

[snapper]

First week or last week...thats when I normally kill a bird! I will hunt every day of the season...and sometimes it comes down to the last day...last hour.

I don't think there is a magic time...yeah it would be much easier (maybe) if we were hunting now...instead of 3 weeks from now. I've already seen gobblers with hens. Sorta like hunting the rut...hit and miss.

[M00N]

Honestly I can look back and no two seasons were the same on which of the three weeks we get is the best week to go after the birds. The first week is favorable because I hunt public land and the birds get really call shy by that second or third week and chased all over the place. If I was on private land in that same area I wouldn't favor any particular week, because every year it's slightly different than the next and you can't really predict which of the three is going to be the hot week when you take hunting pressure out of the equation. I only wish I could hunt all three weeks straight one these years or could hunt some private land.

[snapper]

[ QUOTE ]
Honestly I can look back and no two seasons were the same on which of the three weeks we get is the best week to go after the birds.

[/ QUOTE ]

Boy M00N...your missing out if your only hunting 3 weeks in PA. Been 4 weeks for some time...this year the season starts on April 28th and ends on May 26th...thats 4 weeks and a day!