Finding turkeys

Turkey behavior changes over a hunting season. So it helps to think a bit like a turkey when planning your strategy for finding turkeys and setting up your hunt.

Spring turkey behavior

By the time hunting season opens on April 15, most of the hen turkeys have already bred. Though they may not be sitting on their nests quite yet. This keeps tom turkeys close to the hens during the first few weeks of the season, making it difficult for hunters to lure toms away from hens and into shooting range.

If tom numbers are low, they are less likely to leave their strutting ground and the hens in one area to check out a random hen (you) calling in the distance. If tom ratios are high and the competition to breed is intense, hunters can set up farther away and still call in a tom. If hens are sparse, it’s not uncommon for an eager tom to travel a quarter-mile or more to check out your call.

As the season progresses and hens begin incubating their eggs, toms often go in search of hens that may have missed being bred, or may have lost a clutch and need to breed again. When these toms are on the move, they’ll be more susceptible to your calling.

During the last couple weeks of the spring season, toms largely concentrate on eating, which means calling in food-rich habitats can be productive. Newly sprouting grass seeds and some berries, fruits and insects are key food sources. Often times the biggest toms are taken by hunters late in the season, once all the hens have begun raising their broods.

Fall turkey

In late summer and early fall, turkeys gather in family units. By October, you might see a flock of 50 turkeys consisting of multiple family units. By December, a single flock of 200 or more turkeys is not uncommon.

When Oregon’s fall turkey season begins in October, turkeys are largely feeding on insects, fruits, berries, and some grasses and weeds. Flocks are easy to spot and their daily movements are patternable.

As long as there’s food in the area, turkeys will cover the same ground every day, at nearly the same time. If you study this pattern before your hunt, you can plan where to set up and wait for the birds to come by. Ground blinds are popular for this kind of hunting – it’s nice to have a comfortable place to sit while waiting for turkeys to approach.

Turkeys can be called in the fall, but calling may not be as effective as during the spring breeding season. Both tom and hen turkeys can be harvested during Oregon’s fall season.

Locating turkeys

Once you’ve arrived at your hunting location, you can pinpoint a turkey’s location by using a locator call -- an owl, crow or even peacock call -- to elicit a return gobble from a tom. You’re not trying to call a bird to you, you’re just trying to locate a bird by getting a turkey to gobble back at you.

Do this right before dark the night before your hunt when turkeys are on the roost (resting in trees for the night) so you'll know where to set up the next morning.

Or, use a locator call before daylight while turkeys are still on the roost. Once a tom gobbles back, pinpoint his location and move to a good location to set up. Once you’re settled, start using your turkey calls to lure in a tom.