Ok guys....to elaborate on "afflicted's" post about hunting turkeys in the rain...how do different weather conditions effect them? I've sat in a thunderstorm and listened to birds gobble their heads off. I've seen them swarm to fields due to rain....does anybody have a reason for being drawn to the fields? Is it because they like to be able to see better? A local good ol boy turkey hunter once told me it was because they don't like the water dripping off the trees hitting them in the head?!? I know they go to fields in rain....but it stormed like crazy last night and not a single bird was in the field this morning. So can anybody elaborate on this for me? I've also noticed this year was unseasonably warm early....will this effect your calling tactics and how you approach hunting them during your season? I know its changed mine with everything green and full like mid summer in my area. Good luck Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Here's what I've learned about turkeys. While they may follow some extremely general ( and I use the word general incredibly loosely) they follow no rules and do whatever the heck they want when they want. I've heard them gobble in the rain. Strut in the snow. And completely disappear and go silent on a beautiful morning. I may have it all wrong but I have adopted a new tactic. I'm not chasing them. I'm not going after them. And I'm not calling very much. I'm sitting in an area they like to be and I'm waiting. In rain or wind I've found that commonly to be a field. But who the heck knows. Those silly birds don't follow any rules. And oh how I hate them.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I totally agree with ya mobow!!! Especially after reading your posts from today's hunt!!! I think I would have to agree with you and all in all, I'd say I don't let weather keep me on the couch for deer hunting and I will bust 3-5 inches of ice to pull giant honkers into the decoys, so why not go after the turkey no matter what the conditions! Especially since my season in Il is only 5 days long....boooooooooo!
My understanding of why they usually gravitate toward fields in the rain is to get at bugs. I'm with mobow, they're predictably unpredictable. I too have seen it all and there isn't a rhyme or reason for them to shut down completely on the perfect morning, yet gobble like loons on the most miserable or cold days.
My understanding is they go to fields at time of high winds and rain because of the noise that is created in the timber. But bugs and worms might very well be easier to "catch" in the rain, though. My best turkey hunting days have been in stormy and overcast days. Bluebird days are good too, but my harvest journal tell me that when it rains, I'm killin' turkeys.
Probably the best way to kill birds, but MAN is it a boring way to hunt. I turkey hunt to get away from deer hunting and its tactics. I like walking around, calling, setting up on birds, talking with friends, using decoys, moving around in front of toms, getting frustrated, leaving for breakfast, walking around trying to strike up a lonely midday tom, driving from farm to farm spotting them in fields and making up a game plan to get close, belly crawling behind a tail fan in the middle of a cattle pasture, getting caught by the rain and wondering why I torture myself so. I used to hunt birds patiently a LOT. I killed many that way too. Afternoon hunts are the most consistent time to kill birds imo because if there is ONE thing birds do regularly, its roost in the same locations. catching them going from feeding/breeding hotspots back to roost is like taking candy from a baby. It's just so boring to sit there that I actually don't really hunt evenings much anymore. I'm a run and gun turkey hunter by nature, and while it may cost me a few birds...IDC. A turkey is a flippin turkey. I already have a shoe box full of beards and spurs with nothing to do with them, they are all the same. I just like the fun in the pursuit.
