Gellar
Well-known member
The warm weather has me anxiously awaiting the start of the Iowa Spring turkey seasons. We have 4 seasons in Iowa which we can participate in 2 of the 4 seasons. Licenses are over the counter for Residents and I hunt season 1 which is April 12-April 15 and season 4 that runs from April 28-May 16.
1 month before the start of the season I begin listening for turkeys gobbling in the morning and watching turkeys. They are still in their winter patterns for the most part and flocked up until the beginning of April. The hens are in large groups of 10-15 birds and the toms are in groups of 3-7 Toms and they are still around winter food sources. When I scout for turkeys I drive the road around the large piece of public land that I hunt on. at areas that are allow me to stop I will pull over and listen for 5 or 10 minutes for birds. I note the temperature, wind, cloud cover, and time of morning. As we get closer to the start of the 1st season I will also drive by the area in the afternoon time after work noting any birds that are in the private fields surrounding, or since it is mostly timber turkeys will use the gravel road area to strut and do tom things too.
When the season starts I hunt a run and gun style of turkey hunting, chasing gobbles. In the morning I will set up in an area where the birds have been in my scouting based on the conditions. In the afternoons I will blind call in open woods or along the few trails/logging roads that are in the area I hunt. I don't care to set up a blind and find a large tree or log that I can conceal myself behind. I carry 1 hen decoy that collapses down easily and I can carry it in my pouch. If I set up the decoy I will often times set it up 15-20 yards in back of me and to the side of the area I think a turkey will approach from. Ideally I can set my decoy behind a small rise in the terrain so that the turkey has to crest the hill in shooting range of me to find the hen that is calling. I use a box call and a diaghram call to do hen yelps, puts and purrs. I change my calling sequence on how I think the tom is acting. If he is excited, I will be more aggressive with the calling, if he is gobbling lazy I will not get to aggressive with him. When the tom is answering my calls, but is not moving closer I will quickly and quietly pack my gear and move 25 yards away from the turkey. I will call a few times and then move 25 more yards and keep doing this until I lose the tom or he begins moving in my direction.
If you have any questions about turkey hunting feel free to ask, or share how you like to turkey hunt as well! I will try to keep a running thread of what I am up to and seeing scouting as a lot of people inquire about turkey hunting each Spring.
1 month before the start of the season I begin listening for turkeys gobbling in the morning and watching turkeys. They are still in their winter patterns for the most part and flocked up until the beginning of April. The hens are in large groups of 10-15 birds and the toms are in groups of 3-7 Toms and they are still around winter food sources. When I scout for turkeys I drive the road around the large piece of public land that I hunt on. at areas that are allow me to stop I will pull over and listen for 5 or 10 minutes for birds. I note the temperature, wind, cloud cover, and time of morning. As we get closer to the start of the 1st season I will also drive by the area in the afternoon time after work noting any birds that are in the private fields surrounding, or since it is mostly timber turkeys will use the gravel road area to strut and do tom things too.
When the season starts I hunt a run and gun style of turkey hunting, chasing gobbles. In the morning I will set up in an area where the birds have been in my scouting based on the conditions. In the afternoons I will blind call in open woods or along the few trails/logging roads that are in the area I hunt. I don't care to set up a blind and find a large tree or log that I can conceal myself behind. I carry 1 hen decoy that collapses down easily and I can carry it in my pouch. If I set up the decoy I will often times set it up 15-20 yards in back of me and to the side of the area I think a turkey will approach from. Ideally I can set my decoy behind a small rise in the terrain so that the turkey has to crest the hill in shooting range of me to find the hen that is calling. I use a box call and a diaghram call to do hen yelps, puts and purrs. I change my calling sequence on how I think the tom is acting. If he is excited, I will be more aggressive with the calling, if he is gobbling lazy I will not get to aggressive with him. When the tom is answering my calls, but is not moving closer I will quickly and quietly pack my gear and move 25 yards away from the turkey. I will call a few times and then move 25 more yards and keep doing this until I lose the tom or he begins moving in my direction.
If you have any questions about turkey hunting feel free to ask, or share how you like to turkey hunt as well! I will try to keep a running thread of what I am up to and seeing scouting as a lot of people inquire about turkey hunting each Spring.
