05-06-2006, 03:49 PM
June 4, 2006
Fall turkey different bird
Hunters must play to flock's gathering instincts...
Spring turkey hunting is based on sex, and the hunter's ability to sound like a willing partner and a gobbler's gullibility to fall for the allure.
Take that attraction away and what do you have?
Answer: fall turkey hunting.
More Mississippians will need to know the differences between spring and fall turkey behavior if the state wildlife commission's proposed expansion of the fall season stays on the books.
BUSTING THE FLOCK
These fall turkey hunting tips are provided by the National Wild Turkey Federation. For more, visit http://www.nwtf.org.
Locate the biggest flock.
First try to call the flock in using lost calls (kee-kee). If unsuccessful, sneak, as close as possible, using whatever cover is available.
Identify what the flock is made of (i.e. hens and young birds, gobblers); this will affect the way you call and what strategy you will use.
After setting your gun safely down or unloading it first, move quickly toward the turkeys, making as much commotion as possible. Many hunters shout or fire their shotguns in the air. This is an excellent method, but only if you make sure not to shoot so closely that you accidentally cripple a turkey; nor should you ever run with a loaded firearm.
If the flock is scattered in all directions, set up at the exact point they flushed and begin calling. Groups of hens and young birds will often return to the call almost right away, unless it is late in the day, in which case they may wait until the next morning. Mature toms may take much longer to call back in, though they will occasionally come right in as well.
If the birds spooked in a single direction, don't give up. Mark their landing area and quickly move to that spot to attempt another break.
A total of 23 counties, including Hinds and Madison, will be open to fall turkey hunting on certain private lands. Previously, only areas inside the Mississippi River levee in the Delta and at the Meridian Naval Air Station have been open.
Those taking part for the first time will be hunting a totally different bird, say Delta hunters.
"Forget strutting and gobbling, that's not happening," said Tommy Thornton of Southaven, who has experienced the sport in Tunica County. "If that's why you turkey hunt, then the fall season is not going to suit you.
"It's totally different in the fall. In the spring, the whole thing is about reproduction. You take advantage of the gobbler's need to find a willing hen and try to appeal to him with the calls of a hen. That's not part of the fall game plan. Gobblers aren't interested."
Fall turkey behavior is centered on the flock, and the bird's instinct to assemble.
"They roost, travel and feed in large groups," said Bill Johnson of Greenville. "Sometimes, the gobblers travel in the big flocks, but usually they travel in their own small bachelor groups.
"That's why killing a gobbler in the fall is so difficult. They don't have as strong a desire to assemble or to reassemble, as do hens."
For that reason, and because of hunters' desire to enjoy the gobblers' spring show, most Delta hunters have limited their fall harvest to hens only.
"That's mostly what we've done in the past," said Clyde McGee of Greenville, who has hunted at several clubs inside the levee. "We like to save our gobblers for the spring and we use the fall season to thin a few of the hens."
Taking hens is not allowed in the spring, but is in the fall.
"In the spring we call to the gobbler," McGee said. "In the fall, we call to the flock, and mostly to the hens."
The No. 1 fall strategy in fall hunting is locating a big flock and then busting it up.
"That can't be done just willy-nilly," said Johnson. "There's only one right way to bust a flock, or at least one right result. That's to scatter the birds in different directions. If you bust them, and they all go one way, then they will simply move as a group.
"If you bust them in all directions, then you can just sit down right there, wait a few minutes for things to settle down, and then start calling to reassemble them."
What Johnson recommends is a team effort in busting a flock.
"One guy charging in from one direction is more likely to bust the flock in the opposite direction," he said. "If you have two or, even better, three or four hunters, then you can carefully surround the flock and coordinate a charge from all sides that is more likely to scatter the flock in different directions."
Once the flock has been scattered, the hunter(s) then set up in that spot, let the woods settle and then start using gathering calls to reassemble the flock.
"Learn the kee-kee call, it's essential," said Thornton. "It is the call of the lost hen, which says, 'I'm here, where are you?' Mix in a few soft yelps and try to sound like more than just one hen so other birds will think it is the flock and will come in. If everything went right, it won't take long."
Busting the flock works best early in the day. Done late, birds might settle in small groups and wait until morning to regroup.
Gobblers often take longer, sometimes days, to regroup.
Another fall strategy, and the recommended method of getting a gobbler, is to scout their movements.
According to the National Wild Turkey Federation Web site, gobblers usually follow the same routes daily, and hunters can locate those byways and set up nearby using jake and gobbler decoys.
Using single, raspy clucks, try to pull the gobblers off their trail to your decoys
.....når bare man har nok penge og krudt.....så går det ikke aldrig helt galt :-)
Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)
Fall turkey different bird
Hunters must play to flock's gathering instincts...
Spring turkey hunting is based on sex, and the hunter's ability to sound like a willing partner and a gobbler's gullibility to fall for the allure.
Take that attraction away and what do you have?
Answer: fall turkey hunting.
More Mississippians will need to know the differences between spring and fall turkey behavior if the state wildlife commission's proposed expansion of the fall season stays on the books.
BUSTING THE FLOCK
These fall turkey hunting tips are provided by the National Wild Turkey Federation. For more, visit http://www.nwtf.org.
Locate the biggest flock.
First try to call the flock in using lost calls (kee-kee). If unsuccessful, sneak, as close as possible, using whatever cover is available.
Identify what the flock is made of (i.e. hens and young birds, gobblers); this will affect the way you call and what strategy you will use.
After setting your gun safely down or unloading it first, move quickly toward the turkeys, making as much commotion as possible. Many hunters shout or fire their shotguns in the air. This is an excellent method, but only if you make sure not to shoot so closely that you accidentally cripple a turkey; nor should you ever run with a loaded firearm.
If the flock is scattered in all directions, set up at the exact point they flushed and begin calling. Groups of hens and young birds will often return to the call almost right away, unless it is late in the day, in which case they may wait until the next morning. Mature toms may take much longer to call back in, though they will occasionally come right in as well.
If the birds spooked in a single direction, don't give up. Mark their landing area and quickly move to that spot to attempt another break.
A total of 23 counties, including Hinds and Madison, will be open to fall turkey hunting on certain private lands. Previously, only areas inside the Mississippi River levee in the Delta and at the Meridian Naval Air Station have been open.
Those taking part for the first time will be hunting a totally different bird, say Delta hunters.
"Forget strutting and gobbling, that's not happening," said Tommy Thornton of Southaven, who has experienced the sport in Tunica County. "If that's why you turkey hunt, then the fall season is not going to suit you.
"It's totally different in the fall. In the spring, the whole thing is about reproduction. You take advantage of the gobbler's need to find a willing hen and try to appeal to him with the calls of a hen. That's not part of the fall game plan. Gobblers aren't interested."
Fall turkey behavior is centered on the flock, and the bird's instinct to assemble.
"They roost, travel and feed in large groups," said Bill Johnson of Greenville. "Sometimes, the gobblers travel in the big flocks, but usually they travel in their own small bachelor groups.
"That's why killing a gobbler in the fall is so difficult. They don't have as strong a desire to assemble or to reassemble, as do hens."
For that reason, and because of hunters' desire to enjoy the gobblers' spring show, most Delta hunters have limited their fall harvest to hens only.
"That's mostly what we've done in the past," said Clyde McGee of Greenville, who has hunted at several clubs inside the levee. "We like to save our gobblers for the spring and we use the fall season to thin a few of the hens."
Taking hens is not allowed in the spring, but is in the fall.
"In the spring we call to the gobbler," McGee said. "In the fall, we call to the flock, and mostly to the hens."
The No. 1 fall strategy in fall hunting is locating a big flock and then busting it up.
"That can't be done just willy-nilly," said Johnson. "There's only one right way to bust a flock, or at least one right result. That's to scatter the birds in different directions. If you bust them, and they all go one way, then they will simply move as a group.
"If you bust them in all directions, then you can just sit down right there, wait a few minutes for things to settle down, and then start calling to reassemble them."
What Johnson recommends is a team effort in busting a flock.
"One guy charging in from one direction is more likely to bust the flock in the opposite direction," he said. "If you have two or, even better, three or four hunters, then you can carefully surround the flock and coordinate a charge from all sides that is more likely to scatter the flock in different directions."
Once the flock has been scattered, the hunter(s) then set up in that spot, let the woods settle and then start using gathering calls to reassemble the flock.
"Learn the kee-kee call, it's essential," said Thornton. "It is the call of the lost hen, which says, 'I'm here, where are you?' Mix in a few soft yelps and try to sound like more than just one hen so other birds will think it is the flock and will come in. If everything went right, it won't take long."
Busting the flock works best early in the day. Done late, birds might settle in small groups and wait until morning to regroup.
Gobblers often take longer, sometimes days, to regroup.
Another fall strategy, and the recommended method of getting a gobbler, is to scout their movements.
According to the National Wild Turkey Federation Web site, gobblers usually follow the same routes daily, and hunters can locate those byways and set up nearby using jake and gobbler decoys.
Using single, raspy clucks, try to pull the gobblers off their trail to your decoys
.....når bare man har nok penge og krudt.....så går det ikke aldrig helt galt :-)
Favourite Quote: Vi løser ikke vore problemer ved at tænke på samme måde, som da vi skabte dem.....(Albert Einstein)
.....ualmindelig velinformeret i forhold til min alder ... :-)
Favourite Quote: En humlebi ved ikke, at den ikke kan flyve......Gå ud på terrassen og vift med armene...hvis du letter må du være uvidende ;-)
Favourite Quote: En humlebi ved ikke, at den ikke kan flyve......Gå ud på terrassen og vift med armene...hvis du letter må du være uvidende ;-)