4 Easy Tactics to Harvest a Fall Turkey

Turkey hunting in the fall can be one of the most enjoyable and fast paced turkey hunts of your lifetime. The number of birds that can be encountered, are generally high because of the increased population from the spring hatch, and the winter die off has not yet occurred. Fall hunting, can be one of the best times to fill your tag, and can also be a mean to provide the delicious turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner. Here are a few successful strategies that a hunter/huntress can use to increase their chances of taking a beautiful fall bird.

#1. Learn where to look/ finding the turkey:

This will be the hardest task to complete while fall turkey hunting, but it is not impossible. Turkeys are in flocks this time of year. Their population numbers are high, but they are condensed into a flock or two. So, finding lone birds will be an issue. These large flocks can cover a large amount of territory within a days’ time and are on the search for food.

The only way to find these moving birds is to cover a large amount of distance. You need to focus on finding a food source and checking that area for turkey sign. This can be tracks in the mud, turkey digging or scat on the ground. Once the sign is found the turkeys will be close. They will only leave a food source once it has become depleted but will return when more nuts have dropped. The most successful food sources that I have found are acorns, ash seeds and cherry seeds that have fallen, try and search these areas first. Once the flock is found you need to move onto the next strategy.

#2. Breaking up the Flock:

Getting a good break on a turkey flock is crucial to harvesting a bird. This can be done in two ways. Running at the flock and trying to scare them is a terrific way to increase your chances at a solid flock break. Another tactic, if hunting with others, is to take a well-placed shot at the birds. You may kill the bird that you are shooting at, but the flock will break up and give the others in your hunting party a chance to call in and harvest a bird.

#3. Sit where the flock was broke:

Common thought is to move away from the area where the turkeys were broken up at, but sitting where they were just at can be a great method. The turkeys are not truly aware of what just happened. They know they heard a loud noise and scattered for survival, but they don’t know what happened. Use this to your advantage. They will return to where they were.

#4. Calling in your bird:

Sit where they were and don’t make a noise for 10 to 15 minutes. Let the woods calm down from the excitement that just took place. After the calming period, begin calling. Start out soft and get progressively louder. Use varying call sounds, from yelps to purrs to clucks. Try to imitate more than one bird, to simulate a forming flock.  This can be done fairly easy with the Cro-Mag Outdoors’ The Deception Chamber. It is a 3 in 1 interchangeable friction call system. This call comes with 3 different calling surfaces; slate, glass, and aluminum and a purple heart striker. This call can imitate an entire flock.

As you call, the turkey will begin flocking back up. The are social animals and need to be with a flock this time of year to ensure their survival.  This primal instinct is what will bring the birds right into your lap.

You can use these tactics to call in bird in years to come. Try this strategy out and perfect it to your needs. I have spent many years hunting fall turkeys this way and it has enabled me to share countless memories with my friends and family. Try these new strategies and convert them to be your own. Always push to learn more tactics and tricks to make you more successful in the woods.

Remember, having the desire to become successful in hunting, takes a mindset change and that is the hardest part in this endeavor. We can help you with changing this mindset, and once you have changed you will appreciate the hunt more, and start understanding what being a sportsman/woman is all about. Remember our mission is to redefine tradition. Challenge traditional thinking and push others to do the same. We must dedicate ourselves to hone in on our primal instincts and combine them with new methodologies and technologies to truly master evolution.

Cro-Mag Outdoors

Tradition, Re-engineered

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