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How to Roost Turkeys

April 12, 2013  |  By Steve Hickoff

Learn how to roost turkeys this spring hunting season.

Finding where turkeys start and finish their day gives you a hunter’s advantage. Roosting a gobbler — and the other birds it runs with — makes this possible.

Here’s how. Start in a location where you’ve found turkey sign by scouting. Maybe you’ve heard gobblers waking up on the roost in a general area. Likely too you’ve glassed birds in nearby open spots. Now you want to pinpoint the exact location where these turkeys sleep. Do this the night before your hunt so you can make your setup there in the morning before fly-down.

Good turkey habitat will hold birds annually and reliably. As with pre-season scouting, seeing and hearing gobblers on the roost can add to hunting success.

Roosted may or may not be roasted. (Steve Hickoff photo)Start by slipping into an area in mid-afternoon where you’ve heard birds before — or maybe just by targeting decent habitat. Scout open areas positioned not far from stands of big-branched trees. Sit calmly and quietly, listening as turkeys move into a likely roosting spot.

You’ll hear wing beats as they fly up; maybe even soft calling or gobbling as turkeys approach roost trees. With any luck you’ll see them do this. Once in the trees, birds will often move from branch to branch, wings noisily flapping as they reposition.

Okay, you know where turkeys sleep. Let night fall then sneak out of there.

Get some sleep yourself. You’ll be back in this spot well before daybreak. Now get as close as you can without spooking birds. Imagine where a gobbler might come to your calls. Make your setup near where turkeys flew up the night before. If unpressured, they might land there in the morning.

Roost gobbling and softer tree calling before fly-down as day breaks will allow you to reposition if necessary to gain the right setup position. Careful though. Pinpoint roosting locations by the sounds of wings hitting tree branches and fly-down cackles as birds sail to the ground. Other vocalizations can also be heard as turkeys regroup.

Didn’t kill a gobbler? Stick with it. Find other birds to hunt by using these tactics or running locator calls in another spot. Eventually you’ll be close enough to a roost to call one in for the kill.

Go here for more Realtree turkey hunting tactics. Watch how to roost turkeys on video on the Realtree YouTube channel.

Steve Hickoff is Realtree's turkey hunting editor and blogger.

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Tyler Jordan's Tips for Using Turkey Fighting Purrs

Guest blogger Tyler Jordan offers some tips on using turkey fighting purrs in the spring woods.

Tyler Jordan, the Realtree.tv crew and a nice Osceola.

The beginning of the season is the perfect time to challenge dominant gobblers. Fighting purrs will sometimes give that gobbler motivation to close the distance in order to protect his territory from another turkey. Often, a fighting purr is good to use when you have a longbeard that is henned up.

The key is knowing when to use it though. I have learned my lesson the hard way by using it when not needed and running gobblers off. But I will frequently use fighting purrs throughout the beginning of spring when turkeys are establishing their pecking order, causing them to be more aggressive with one another. There have been countless times when a bird would not quite commit, although he could see my decoys. I will use a fighting purr to challenge him to a fight.

To make the purrs with a friction call, hold the pot with your knees while using the striker to make continuous, fast-paced purrs. It will not hurt the call or the striker. At times, the fighting purr can be one of the deadliest calls there is and can get a gobbler fired up. It's my favorite call to use during the spring when it works right. Whenever you have a bird that's hung up or henned up and won’t come in, what do you have to lose by trying it? It's worked for me many times.

You can make a fighting purr with a mouth call, too, but it took some time for me to learn. The best tip I have for that is to act like you are gargling water. Keep your tongue pressed against the call the entire time you are blowing air out. Hold it there as tight as you can until you get air to come out. Don’t feel like you have to be quiet with it either. Fighting turkeys are loud in real life.

I recommend saving the fighting purr as a last-resort call. Sometimes it will work and sometimes it won’t. But don't be discouraged if it doesn’t work on the first attempt. Sooner or later you’ll be glad you tried it again.

Hope this helps some of you this spring or further down the road! Tune in to Realtree.tv every Wednesday this spring to catch the latest episode of Realtree Beards or Bust to see some weekly floppage. Go here for even more Realtree turkey hunting tips.

Shoot straight and God bless.

 -- T.J.

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New Turkey Hunting Shotgun Sights

April 7, 2013  |  By Steve Hickoff

Want to start a rowdy camp conversation? Bring up turkey hunting shotgun sights. 

The Trijicon RMR with an Oklahoma longbeard. (Steve Hickoff photo)

Seriously. We all have our favorites. Simply sighting down the ventilated rib of a shotgun, while lining up the middle and front bead on a gobbler’s head and neck, is familiar to many. Add low light to the scenario and you could have issues. Factor in down-range distance and it's double trouble. Still turkeys find their way into the frying pan by way of bead sights every year. And that's part of the debate. In other words, why upgrade if it works?

What you see when you look down the shotgun barrel matters. The sight picture is crucial to success. While many turkey gobblers will indeed be tagged by hunters squaring up bead sights this season, other options exist too if you want to upgrade and improve your killing ability. Quick target acquisition is the aim. Some tweak this traditional setup with fiber-optic sights. Others go further.

I’ve cherry-picked two turkey hunting shotgun sight options new this season, as well as a recent addition – priced lower to higher:

The new Snap Shot is intended to provide an affordable way to enhance your sighting ability on a bird (MSRP $14.99). As the name implies, this sight claims to easily snap on most shotgun barrels. Available in 12 and 20 gauge options, you’ll find it at EZ Access.

Also just introduced, the Weaver Micro Dot Sight claims unlimited eye relief for a variety of uses (MSRP $108.45). Additionally it offers adjustable brightness for a variety of lighting conditions. Check it out at Weaver Optics.

The Trijicon RMR (Ruggedized Miniature Reflex) is another solid option appearing in recent years. The RM05 is a battery-free sight composed of Trijicon fiber optics and tritium. Easy-to-use adjusters for quick windage and elevation adjustments help tune the sighting system (MSRP $567.00). Learn more about the Trijicon RMR Dual Illuminated Sight – 9.0 MOA Amber Dot.

Turkey hunting requires many skills and strategies to close the deal on a bird in range. Shotgun sights help. What’s yours?

Steve Hickoff is Realtree’s turkey hunting editor and blogger.

 

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Beards or Bust: New Turkey Hunting Episodes

April 5, 2013  |  By Steve Hickoff

If you like turkey hunting, check out these new Beards or Bust episodes.

BOB, Episode 3 features two hunts for Alabama Easterns and one for Nebraska Merriam's turkeys. In 'Bama, ATA trade show sweepstakes winner Brian DeVault, a Taylor Mill, Kentucky resident, kills a nice longbeard. Also featured is Sam Klement's son Cannon taking a good bird. Elsewhere out west, turkey hunting legend Brad Harris uses fanning to pull in three longbeards to within 10 steps. Check it out here on the Beards or Bust Channel.

BOB, Episode 4 includes some of the best turkey hunting video you'll ever see. Realtree.com editor Will Brantley bowhunts Osceola gobblers with Cally and Annetta Morris of Hazel Creek Taxidermy. After three days of trying, Brantley arrows a Florida longbeard at 16 steps. Also included, is amazing footage of Rhett Akins, Phillip Culpepper and Sam Klement taking a triple on longbeards. Watch it here.

Steve Hickoff is Realtree's turkey hunting editor and blogger.

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Turkey Hunting Truths or Lies?

April 2, 2013  |  By Steve Hickoff

You hear a lot of things said in turkey hunting camp. What's true? What's not?

(NWTF media photo)

Wild turkeys are dumb.

Truth: Count how many times wild turkeys have beaten you. Who’s dumb now?

Turkey poults drown in the rain by looking up.

Truth: Hypothermia can kill young turkeys, not drowning.

Spring gobblers only come to hen calls.

Truth: Gobbler yelps, fighting purrs and gobbles also pull male turkeys in.

Smoke-gray phase turkeys aren’t wild.

Truth: Wild turkey color mutations occur nationwide. Red and white wild turkey feathering can also be seen.

Turkey hens don’t have beards and don’t strut.

Truth: Found in less than 10% of female turkeys according to studies, adult hen beards are skinny, often 7 to 8 inches long, with a kink in them. Boss hens strut to show dominance. Some reliable sources have even seen and heard the rare hen gobble.

You can’t call spring gobblers away from hens.

Truth: Submissive satellite gobblers running with a dominant longbeard often look for a chance to breed, and will sometimes leave henned-up flocks and check out a hunter’s calls.

Turkeys eat quail eggs.

Truth: While some blame quail population troubles on the big birds, there’s no biological evidence turkeys eat quail eggs.

Turkeys don’t cross fences or creeks.

Truth: Sure, turkeys hang up sometimes when faced with obstructions but others simply fly over fences or creeks.

Warm winters make turkeys nest early.

Truth: While gobbling activity sometimes increases with warm weather, female turkeys nest according to the increase in daylight (photoperiod).

Turkeys get call shy.

Truth: Wild turkeys call every day of their lives. Why would they shy away from it? If you sound more like a screeching cat or barking dog when you try to turkey call, well . . .

You can’t call back scared turkeys.

Truth: Wild turkeys are gregarious and want to regroup. A loud noise like a gunshot (or miss) might temporarily spook them, but not forever.

Wild turkey meat is gamey.

Truth: Wild turkey is delicious in the hands of a good cook. Not so much if your kitchen skills are lousy.

Roosted turkeys stay put all night.

Truth: Ever find turkeys you roosted the day before in another place the next morning? They moved during the night. Stormy weather can sometimes cause it as they seek shelter.

You can’t call a turkey downhill.

Truth: Turkeys go uphill, downhill and sideways to find other turkeys, often by calling.

Gobblers destroy hen nests to keep breeding.

Truth: No biological evidence supports this. It’s a funny idea to suggest male turkeys might do this, but as polygynous birds, they’ll try to breed other non-nesting hens too if they can.

Go here for more truths about turkey hunting.

Steve Hickoff is Realtree's turkey hunting editor and blogger.

 

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