Search myodfw.com

To be an accurate shooter, it’s important to develop a consistent grip and draw. One of the most common mistakes bowhunters make is tensing up and gripping the bow too firmly. A firm grip will torque the bow, or send it out of alignment, resulting in a poor shot and perhaps a painful slap on your arm from the bow string. Develop a consistent grip The grip of the bow should rest on the pad of your thumb and should not cross the lifeline of your hand. With the bow in this position, your fingers will be off to the

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

Turkeys don’t like to fly at night, so the best time to get set up for your hunt is either right before dark the day before your hunt. Or before daylight the day of your hunt. Once you ’ve located a tom, either seeing it or by hearing it gobble, it’s time to make a plan. The goal is to get close enough to call in a tom, without letting him know you’re there. Be in place before daylight If you’ve been out the night before and used a locator call to find a tom on his roost, get to

When it comes to turkey hunting from a ground blind, popup blinds are ideal. Popup blinds set up in minutes and are easy to move around. You also can construct a blind from natural materials, but it’s time consuming and you can’t take the blind with you to your next hunting location. The best blind for you One-person popup blinds are small and portable, but there’s not much room to move. Unless a bird approaches and stops directly in front of you, you may not get a shot. The best blind for most turkey hunters is a larger, two-person, 360º

In the spring, hunters try to take advantage of a tom’s predicted behavior during breeding season to bag a bird. In the fall, hunters fill their turkey tags by studying food sources and the daily routine of birds. Turkeys follow food sources As fall progresses, food sources for turkeys change. In late summer and early fall, turkeys largely feed on high-protein insects. Grasshoppers are a primary food source throughout Oregon this time of year. Silk worms, caterpillars, spiders and other bugs make up a good part of a turkey ’s fall diet. As fall leads to winter, earthworms and a

Spring turkey hunting is about appealing to a tom’s urge to mate. Fall hunting, on the other hand, is about keying in on a flock’s daily routine. Look for a lone bird As fall turkey flocks become established, there’s a pecking order in each group. It’s not uncommon for a lone bird – usually a jake or young tom – to be wandering by himself looking for a flock to join. If you spot a lone bird, waste no time trying to get in front of him to set up and call. Don’t intimidate the lone bird with aggressive calling

Turkeys make a lot of different sounds, many of which are different in spring and fall. Though most hunters can routinely fill tags by using only two or three sounds, it’s good to know what other sounds turkeys make and why. The hen yelp and variations The most commonly heard sound in the turkey woods is made by the hen, and it’s called a yelp. Toms also yelp, but it’s louder, raspier and often more drawn-out than that of hens. The yelp is usually delivered in a series of one-note tunes. However, yelps can take on various forms. Specifically, there

A box calls is the most popular turkey call, and is a good choice for new turkey hunters. Box calls not only are easy to use, but they can sound very realistic. A box call can create a wide range of yelps, clucks, purrs, fighting purrs, cackles and gobbles. If you can get yelps, clucks and purrs to sound good on a box call, you’ll routinely bring in birds. Parts of a box call Box calls come in two parts – a narrow rectangular box with a paddle attached at one end. Attached with a single screw in the center

Pot calls, often called slate calls, are friction-style calls that are easy to use and produce a range of turkey sounds. Parts of a pot call A pot call consists of three parts: a pot, a calling surface and a striker. The pot holds the slate and acts as a sound chamber. There are holes drilled in the bottom for sound to escape. To keep from covering the holes, hold the pot with the tips of your fingers, keeping it away from the palm of your hand. Pot calls can be made to be all-weather, with the right striker. The

Mouth calls, also known as diaphragm calls, can seem intimidating but they have some advantages over other kinds of calls. Mouth calls are popular with Oregon turkey hunters because: They're easier to keep dry during wet, spring seasons than are box or slate calls. Since the the call is in your mouth, you can call in a turkey without moving and possible spooking the bird. With practice, they can produce very realistic turkey sounds. Parts of a mouth call There are four parts to a mouth call. Starting at the outside of the call there’s: The tape. The tape stops

These calls have nothing to do with calling in turkeys, but everything to do with finding toms. Owl, crow, peacock, woodpecker and hawk sounds all can elicit a reactionary gobble from a tom – sometimes called a “shock gobble.” These calls are usually used when birds are on the roost early in the morning or late in the evening. Using a hen call to locate a tom can put the tom on the move before you’re ready to set up. If a tom comes in too quickly, it can mean a blown opportunity. Locator calls encourage toms to gobble without

W hen it comes to calling turkeys in the spring , we ’re being a bit unnatural. In the turkey woods, toms gather on strutting grounds and try to call hens to them. Hunters are doing just the opposite: making hen sounds to bring toms to them. For this reason, it pays to develop confident turkey calling skills. Here ’s a look at the turkey sounds hunters will want to be able to make. Refer to the instructions for each kind of call to see how to mimic these sounds. The yelp is a basic turkey call and the easiest

Turkey hunters using a shotgun face a very small target – the head and neck of a turkey. Combine that with today’s specialized turkey loads shooting very tight patterns, and making a clean kill shot might depend on a steady shooting rest. Turkeys are nervous-looking birds that seem to never stop moving. Because of their monocular vision and eyes set on the side of their skull, turkeys are often moving and bobbing their heads to try to decipher what they’re seeing. Consider a shooting rest If you’ve got your gun in a ready position, and are waiting for a turkey

Whether you ’re turkey hunting with a bow or shotgun, you’ll need to know when to take the shot. If you’re using a shotgun, the best shot will be at the head, preferably when it’s outstretched away from the bird’s body. Bowhunters will want to know something about turkey anatomy so they’ll recognize when they have a clear kill shot to a vital organ. Make sure it’s safe to shoot In addition to having a good shot at a bird, you’ll want to make sure there are no other hunters, livestock or other turkeys nearby that you could hit by

Turkey anatomy plays a big part in determining shot placement with a bow. Knowing where vital organs like the heart and lungs are will help you make a clean shot. Sometime getting to the vital organs may mean going through bone. In fact, a shot to the spine will drop a turkey quickly. But turkey bones are very strong, despite being hollow. That’s why many experienced archers prefer shooting a bow with a heavy draw weight, often the same setup they use for deer and elk hunting. Head shots, the most popular turkey shot for shotgun hunters, should be avoided