Unlike Spring Turkey Season, there is little or no gobbling activity during the day and gobblers are in small flocks (3 to 10 birds). Hens and young of the year are together in large flocks (10 to 20 birds). It is not unusual to find two to three hens together with all their young.
Locating a Bird
The basic strategy for fall turkey hunting is to find and break up a flock, scattering them in all directions. Then, locate yourself as near as possible to the spot where you broke up the flock and wait about 10 minutes before you start calling.
It’s about Safety!
Fall turkey hunting can be an extremely enjoyable experience. The sight and sounds of 20 to 30 turkeys approaching from all directions can be as exciting as calling in a spring gobbler. However, the fall firearms turkey season has the potential to be more dangerous than the spring because either sex may be hunted. Therefore, less emphasis is put on positive identification. Remember to follow the basic rules of safe turkey hunting.
In order to be safe, always wrap a bagged turkey or decoy in hunter orange when transporting it or carry them in a turkey hunting vest.
Various Calls
- Clucks and coarse yelps — If gobblers leave the location, they can be called back by using clucks and coarse yelps.
- Kee-kee — can attract hens and young birds. Young birds usually will return within an hour while an old gobbler may take 3 or 4 hours. Hens and their young tend to vocalize a lot as they return. Old gobblers tend to return silently.
- Assembly yelp — is made in the fall when the hen calls in the young poults. This call consists of a long series of yelps.
Please note:
- Any hunter who kills or injures a turkey must make a reasonable effort to retrieve and include it in their season limit, but this does not authorize trespass.
- It is a violation to wantonly leave, abandon, or waste commonly edible portions of game.
- Anyone using a turkey call to assist another hunter must be properly licensed with either a filled or unfilled spring turkey hunting permit.
- If you hunt during a managed hunt, season limits still apply.
