Fall Turkey Hunting a Unique Experience

By Lamar James, U of A Cooperative Extension

First posted on 11-17-2008

LITTLE ROCK - Not all Thanksgiving turkeys come out of the frozen foods section.

“Fall turkey hunting can be just as exciting as spring, but is a completely different experience,” said Rex Roberg, extension wildlife specialist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. “Patience, while important in spring hunting, is even more important if you plan on hunting for a fall gobbler.”

Fall is a very busy time for most hunters and fall turkey hunting often takes a back seat to deer, waterfowl and upland hunting.

“You’ll often have the woods to yourself if you’re a dedicated fall turkey hunter,” he said. “This is good for many reasons but perhaps most importantly it gives you plenty of time for scouting, which is necessary if you’re planning on taking something home.”

The techniques consistent from spring to fall are good scouting, woodsmanship and correct calling. Possibly the most important part of fall turkey hunting is spending a lot of time scouting birds.

“If you can find a flock of either hens and poults or gobblers and pattern their movements, it’s much easier to succeed using any of the fall techniques,” Roberg said.

Fall hunting techniques include:

* Intercept and call - Many people prefer to call the whole turkey flock. Start by giving a few yelps or clucks. If you get a response, copy that turkey’s call. Another good tactic in this situation is to use a fighting purr. All turkeys, especially young ones, fight in the fall to establish the pecking order and will run to a fight. The intercept and call method works well some of the time and gives you two chances for success.

# Scatter and call back - The most popular method for hunting fall turkeys is to scatter a drove and call individual turkeys back. The idea is to get as close as possible to a flock of turkeys and then run towards them yelling to break the flock. If the turkeys seem to scatter in the same general direction, walk 100 to 200 yards in that direction before setting up to call. Fall toms respond best to low clucks, gobbler yelps, fighting purrs and even gobbles. Never run at a flock with a loaded gun.

# Random calling - If you can’t locate a drove or flock of turkeys, it’s possible to simply move in areas known to have turkeys and call like you would in the spring. Start with a few yelps or clucks. If you get a response, copy that turkey’s call. Lost calls work well in this situation also.

# Still hunting and stalking - “I’m guessing there are a lot more turkeys killed in the fall by deer hunters sitting in their stands than most people think,” Roberg said. “Many a deer bowhunter has taken advantage of a flock of turkeys wandering by his stand.” Hunters that go after turkeys exclusively and will also use the still hunting technique. If you can pattern a flock and find when and where they move, sitting in a blind near that path can be most effective.

“Still hunting may not bring the satisfaction of calling a bird in but if you are looking for a Thanksgiving bird, it may not matter to you at all,” Roberg said.

Roberg reminds hunters they are responsible for knowing state regulations, including permitted shotgun or archery equipment and the wearing of blaze orange, chartreuse or blaze camouflage.

For more information about wildlife in Arkansas visit http://www.uaex.edu or http://www.arnatural.org.

The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.