Turkey hunting in Louisiana

it's simple

just be where the turkey wants to be and make sure no one else is there










if you can find those two things please let me know

If you have never gone before it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to bring someone with you who could teach you the ropes. There is a lot more to turkey hunting than going and yelping on a call. A turkey makes certain sounds at certain times and its important to know what sound to make when.

Also knowing and understanding what the birds on your property are doing will greatly increase your odds of killing a bird. Dont overcall and when you think you should move sit there 15 more mins.

Find a mentor, without one it's double tough. You can't be an internet expert with these mofos, they can frustrate you in no time.

Calling is maybe 20% of it, IME. Woodsmanship and knowing the terrain will kill far more turkeys than not and more than being world class at calling. If you can cluck and yelp then you can kill a bird. Calling is all about quality not quantity, and that can get lost upon new (and old) turkey hunters because it can get fun when they're talking to a bird and getting reactions and next thing ya know, you've shut him down. One of the few exceptions to quality vs quantity is when there's a boss hen talking back to you and the possibility arises that you can call the gobbler in by calling her in.

If you hunt hills and if you're sitting to a turkey and he's on the slope above you and has any hen action (and often times not), 99.9% of the time you're screwed. Get to the elevation of his lek or get above his lek- preferably get above him, IME.

Wherever he has laid claim to for where his lek is going to be for the day, is where he wants to stay-or above it- but rarely if ever below it. It'll be hard to pull him down. I've hunted hills exclusively my whole life and it took many years to find this out. If you can get above him, you've almost killed him if you don't screw up and move or something like that and bump him.

It is dark days in East Central MS. There are several wmas shut down until April 1st in Mississippi due to low turkey numbers and one of them borders our prime turkey property and it is a silent spring so far. It's world class turkey hunting grounds, and it produces birds year after year on even the worst of years; with listening spots where you can hear MILES of private and public woods, and nothing. No sign, no gobbling, no nothing. So if you plan on hunting my neck of the woods, buckle your chin strap because my last piece of advice is that there's gotta be turkeys to hunt em!

Damn this is a good one.

Short, sweet, and to the point, and so freaking true.

I'm stealing this.

(with sources cited of course)

quote:

---

Calling is maybe 20% of it,

---

if you consider the fact that most of them are killed before you go into the woods with a gun, I'd say calling is 5% of it (and I feel I'm a top few % caller)

I killed one of the limb on one of the most pressured WMAs in MS last year with 3 extremely soft WITs, and the lightest tree yelp I could muster with my hand over my mouth. Now if you said calling is 5%, and not calling is 20%, maybe I could get with you

quote:

---

I'd say calling is 5%

---

I'd say 2%

And sometimes decoys do more harm than good

I would agree that understanding your property is the most important aspect. I am going to go against the grain a bit and say calling does matter to a certain extent. Some yelps I have heard sound more like a dying fetus than a turkey. That was the point I was trying to make earlier. Also if a bird is within sight dont go cutting and screaming at him yelping. I wouldn't even call at all. If I could get away with it I would gently rake the leaves. That is what I meant by knowing what call to produce and when. However, if you know your property and what the birds are doing you could leave the call at the house and still kill a turkey. Its not near as fun to deer hunt them, but it can be done. Point being dont get a call and just go tracing throug the woods cuttign and yelping every second. That isn't going to do you any good. Less is best in turkey hunting. If a bird answers you get into a good position (prior knowledge of land and behavior of birds) do one nice calling sequence and put the call down. If you do not get a response in 20-30 mins lightly cluck and purr and maybe throw in a 2-3 note soft yelp. The bird may or may not answer. If he answers and is closer slowly begin raking in the leaves. I have killed more birds by raking in the leaves and doing a feeding purr than any other tactic used. It gives the gobbler a sense that the area is safe and that a hen is there for him to breed. This isn't a gospel by any means but what has worked for me in the past.

Going to piggy back a little.

How is this cold front going impact birds this opening weekend?