Simplifying Turkey Hunting

First Turkey, A Georgia Jake

The bees are buzzing, the birds are singing and the trees are showing fresh green leaves. This signals to me that turkey season is just around the corner! While I'm no veteran turkey hunter boasting championship calling status, I have put enough time in the Spring woods and enough turkeys on the ground to have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do come turkey season. However, I freely confess that my first couple seasons of turkey hunting could be best described in one word, "clueless." I would show up at a Wildlife Management Area I'd never been to before, sit against a tree and make as much racket as I could with my turkey call and then move on and repeat the process until about 1 p.m. I would try to read up on turkey hunting and it just made the whole thing seem more complicated. Most of the articles focused on how to call and how not to call (It's hard to understand what they're writing about without hearing it) or when to use a decoy and when not to. I was confused and aggravated with the whole thing, thinking I would throw in the towel and just stick to deer and hog hunting. However, I gave it a few more chances and I'm glad I did. After finding what it takes to succeed, I now look forward to turkey season with great anticipation.

My first turkey finally came when I was hunting in Georgia. My brother Jacob, my nephew Noah and myself shot three Jakes at the same time while hunting the edge of a field where turkey would visit everyday. We received an invitation to hunt the field from a friend whose family owns a blueberry farm. They would observe the turkeys coming onto the field from the back corner every morning and every afternoon. There was no calling involved, no decoys, just knowing where the turkeys frequented, setting up and being patient.

Another blueberry field Tom

My brother Jacob and I put down a total of 8 turkey in the four years we were able to hunt that field; no more Jakes either, just nice mature Toms. While that spot has since been leased to someone else, I learned a valuable lesson from that field: Focus less on what you're doing and more on what the turkey are doing. Hunt a spot that you know turkey frequent. No amount of turkey calls, fancy decoys, ghillie suits, turkey vests, expensive shells or anything else the hunting industry says you need will match the effectiveness of this simple tactic. Now that's not saying I don't use any of the above gear, but I'm not going to trust in gear alone to bag me a Tom. Having a turkey call and knowing how to use it is very important as well as good camo and a shotgun that works. A decoy comes in very handy at times too, heck, I own a small flock of them; but these will do you no good if there are no turkey in the near vicinity of where you are hunting.

It sounds simple enough: hunt where the turkey are; but how do you know where they are unless you're hunting a turkey farm? The answer is scout, scout and scout a little more. You need to find the turkey before you kill one. While I have a couple private properties I turkey hunt in Georgia, I also hunt Public Land in Florida which is much harder to scout successfully. I'm going to focus on my approach to scouting Public Land using three steps:

1. Prior knowledge

Big Georgia Tom

I've archery hunted most the WMA's I turkey hunt and so I start by thinking of areas I've seen turkey while hunting deer and hog. While their patterns do change a bit come Spring, there are certain spots that are just more "turkier" than others. I take note of these spots I consistently see turkey at while Fall and Winter hunting. Obviously, I use info from past experiences turkey hunting a property as well. This is a good place to start but it is not foolproof. Sometimes spots that were crawling in turkey in the Fall are a foot under water in the Spring or have been logged or over-pressured, causing the turkey to move on to a different home range. Turkey patterns change from year to year but starting where you left off last time is a good place to begin.

2. Study Topo Maps

Please ignore the top GPS co-ordinances;)

Google Maps is one of my favorite hunting tools. It gives me a bigger picture of the layout of the land. Turkey, like deer, prefer edge habitats where different terrains meet. The Osceola turkey here in Central and South Florida are notorious for roosting on the edge of Cyprus swamps before working their way into the open areas like burned palmetto flats, or rows of planted pines. I look for places where these different terrains meet. Finding these places that funnel between marshy ponds are my personal favorites for Florida turkey hunting spots.

3. Boots on the ground

No amount of past knowledge or studying terrains from the comfort of your computer desk can equal getting into the woods and locating turkey. I make a list of potential spots from the above methods, then a couple weeks before the season opens I get out into the turkey woods. At first light I'll call and listen. If I can locate where gobblers are roosting I'm golden, well almost. I know I'm not the only one doing my homework so I want to find more than one area where turkey are roosting. Preferably an area that is remote and not the obvious go to spot for every turkey hunter that comes opening morning. After the early morning passes I'll walk sandy roads and fire breaks looking for tracks, strut marks and better yet, turkey. I mark on my GPS every spot where I see sign.

The Shared Richloam Gobbler

The conclusion of these three methods of scouting is to have a game plan come opening morning. Mine is usually to get there really early, be patient and if that doesn't work, be flexible. Last year I did my homework, found some gobblers and set up early just to have another guy come tromping by me and scaring them off the roost, I did end up shooting that same guy a couple days later but that story is an entire post in itself (The Shared Richloam Gobbler). Have a game plan as well as a couple of backup plans. This is what separates the guys who bring turkeys to the check station from the guys who sit under trees practicing their calling skills.

I once again drew a Richloam quota permit, not the rarest but better than nothing. I'm planning on starting to scout next weekend as well as taking advantage of the Youth Turkey Hunt the weekend before the main opener with my sons Israel and Judah. If nothing else it will be a good scouting opportunity and who knows, Israel just might get one with his 20 gauge that nearly knocks him on his butt when he shoots it.  I'm hoping to connect with a gobbler and steer clear of the crowd, especially my old buddy from last season.

Owning Land: A Dream Come True

For years I've dreamed of owning a piece of land in the country to have as a family getaway and a hunt camp. I tried to buy 8 acres in Georgia a couple years ago, but after making an offer the owner decided that they didn't want to sell it after all; the Realtor was ticked and I wasn't very thrilled either. I drove my family 6 hours and stayed at a hotel overnight to see a property that wasn't really for sale. After that door was slammed shut I sort of gave up on the dream.

A few months ago I started thinking about getting some land near Brooksville, close to the public lands I hunt and also nearer to home. I had been keeping an eye on the listings and noticed a 2.5 acre property that had been foreclosed on near Dade city, they were asking $4,000. I called the Realtor and he told me that the property was "very undesirable." I thought to myself, "What kind of Realtor is this?" Anyways I went and gave it a look and it lived up to its reputation. It had been used by the locals as a dump site and the deeded easement ran through a couple hundred yards of wetlands. Definitively undesirable.

The Realtor told me about another property that was bank owned and located at the end of the Veteran's Expressway on Ponce De Leon Blvd, within five minutes of my favorite hunting spot at Citrus and also close to Chassahowitzka and Richloam. The property is 6.3 acres and because there is a sinkhole in the back, they were asking $28,000. Being that my budget was $10,000 max, I thought it was out of my league. The Realtor encouraged me to at least make an offer if I liked it and see how motivated they were to sell. 

I met him at the property and was greeted by deer tracks all over the sandy rodes that wind through the property. It is surrounded by over 3,000 acres owned by World Woods golf course. Beyond that is Citrus WMA. I loved the property and made an offer. To my delight they accepted it! My older brother, Jacob, wanted in on the deal so we split it $5,000 each. As soon as we had a contract on it I brought up a trail camera and a bucket of corn. After 5 days I checked the camera to find over 400 pictures of deer! I was jumping up and down pumping my fist in the air. Not only did we score a killer hunt camp but also a honey hole loaded with deer, not to mention the turkey, bobcat, quail and other wildlife we've seen on the property. 

As soon as we closed on the property we brought up two corn feeders and I set up a lock-on stand. I also started building a bunk house. The plan is to run the feeders all summer and slip in with our bows come September. If some hogs show up we might be able to slip in sooner. So far I have three doe coming in daily as well as a wide 5 point, a spike that has dropped one side and another decent sized buck that has already dropped both of his antlers. It will be fun to keep track of these guys over the summer as their antlers grow and also see what else may start using the feeders. Here are some pictures.