Fall turkey tips?

[Fred T]

This will be my first fall turkey hunt so I'm interested in any tricks you experienced folks could share that might give me and my daughter a better chance at throwing some broadheads at one or more of these wilely critters.I understand that box call is next to worthless this time of year but are there others that might have some effectiveness?Atleast we won't be just limited to birds with beards.

Thanks Fred

[Oppie]

I use a tuneable box call, have gotten most of my birds with it. Like slate calls at times also. Hunt the food sources, they'll show up I don't call a lot, less is more.
I used a Rage 2-Blade Turkey Broadhead this spring,15 yds shot in the back, dropped ole mr gobbler like a sack of cement

[rayman]

I have Fall hunted turkeys much the same way as Spring. Find where they are roosting and figure a good spot to set up the next morning close but not too close. An open area for them to fly down into with a nice cover spot for you to hide in. Get there before daylight and set up a hen decoy or two in the open, so they can see it, and start doing some soft purring and yelping when they are getting ready to glide down. Lots of times one will glide down right next to the decoy and you need to be ready to shoot. Sometimes you can shoot one, and call some of them back a few minutes later and shoot another. Also like Oppie said, find a lot of sign at a food source and wait it out.

[Oppie]

I have Fall hunted turkeys much the same way as Spring. Find where they are roosting and figure a good spot to set up the next morning close but not too close. An open area for them to fly down into with a nice cover spot for you to hide in. Get there before daylight and set up a hen decoy or two in the open, so they can see it, and start doing some soft purring and yelping when they are getting ready to glide down. Lots of times one will glide down right next to the decoy and you need to be ready to shoot. Sometimes you can shoot one, and call some of them back a few minutes later and shoot another. Also like Oppie said, find a lot of sign at a food source and wait it out.

Not a lot of corn or grain field's in my area, I hunt the beech an oak trees.

[steve rodo]

Ive had good success with a wing bone call ,for fall turkey's.
Yelp a couple time's and throw the call from you so you don't over call them .Low and soft calling .

[Adrian J Hare]

The fall hunt was introduced for the population control of hens. Its not uncommon to take gobblers in the fall but on a high percentage they are taken by ambush or sudden shot situations.

Family flocks are the norm for the fall turkey hunter that scopes out a flock and try's to break it up and have the flock fly in all directions and then a hunter sits down and calls back the flock taking the first bird in a good range.

Once the flock is broke up using calls like the "Assembly Call' used by the adult hen, and or " kee-kee' and kee-kee-run" the lost calls of the young in the flock. Clucks are normally a part of the language of the turkey and can be used in most of the calling situations used.

Gobbling is not uncommon in the fall as the young 'Jakes" tend to try out their voices and the year old jakes the are entering their 2nd year are answering back the yelping of the family hens calling to their young.

Over all busting flocks and calling them back can be hard as its not easy to run after a flock of turkeys in the woods and get a proper bust. If your over the age of 45 it only get harder every year lol.

Sitting on field edges and calling sparingly also can pull a feather target into range as most turkeys love the visits of other turkeys and will walk into another bird in which can place a prize into your range. Decoys can work in this sort of hunting setup.

Hunting over feed field edges can also collect a prize and tag a bird that frequents a field to feed in. Scouting these sort of areas can play a large roll in being successful in your fall season.

On the most part I have spent the fall turkey season hunting both the USA and Canada and both places the birds all work the same...

[Peacemaker]

Excellent post by Mr. Hare. It took me 3 seasons of floundering on my own to figure out what he nicely spelled out in a few short sentences.

Calling back a scattered flock (with a slate call) is what worked in my bagging my first turkey last fall, and sitting in a blind making horny hen noises with my slate call is what bagged me a nice Tom this spring. Turkey have amazingly good eyesight and are quite easily spooked. You need lots of camo or a good blind or both.

What I have read is that, in the fall, a bird of the same sex will respond to your calls (so a hen call might bring a curious hen, and a gobble might bring a curious gobbler). I don't have enough data to know about the fall, but in the spring it is quite clear that a good horny hen call will bring in a Tom.

Good luck and happy hunting.

[Fred T]

Thanks guys.I guess I will try setting up my ground blind against a fence line about 50 yds or so from a standing corn field.I'll use my slate call for some periodic clucks and maybe get a hen decoy or two.Any suggestions on a good gobbler call?