First weekend of turkey season is in the books
THROUGH A
DECOY’S
E YE
CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN
The spring turkey season in Wisconsin has been open for a week now. You know what I noticed last week Wednesday, the opening day of the turkey season? The utter lack of turkey hunters hunting on those coveted first period tags. My commute to work is several times farther then many turkey hunters drive to hunt turkeys, I drive past several areas that turkeys are out in the fields each morning. Not one turkey hunter.
Friday morning I saw a couple hunters out hunting. More on Saturday and even heard someone kill a bird on Saturday. Casual observations, you draw your conclusions.
The periods now run Wednesday through Tuesday and we can now hunt all day. I see less activity now than I did when we didn’t have a full week or couldn’t hunt all day. Draw your own conclusions.
I have a friend that went down a turkey hunting rabbit hole a couple decades ago. He moved to southwestern Wisconsin to get closer to better turkey hunting. He has completed his slam or whatever it’s called for killing all the turkey species. He only applies for the first time period in Wisconsin. He buys several left over tags in Wisconsin for last three time periods. And every once in a while can get an over the counter tag or two for the third time period. This year he drew a first period tag in Zone 1.
My friend is an exception and I’m sure there are others. His whole life is set up around turkey hunting. He killed a turkey Saturday afternoon in Zone 1. That was the fourth turkey he’s killed this year. Wisconsin was the fifth state he has hunted. On Wednesday of last week he was hunting in a different state and killed a bird there, dressed it, packed up, started driving home, arriving after daylight on Thursday. He takes all his time off in the spring. In the fall while the rest of us are hunting deer he is hunting turkey.
“I was having a tough year,” Jeff told me. “Fourth state and only two birds and the weather was clearing a bit where I was and (looked bad) here so I stayed a couple of days and bagged a bird. Then I came home and killed a bird on Saturday.”
“Things didn’t pan out in the morning so I grilled a burger and drove to a good listening point on top of a ridge where three properties adjoin.” He finds these spots on OnX and marks them ahead of the season. “After a few hours a bird gobbled and then two more in other directions responded, they gobbled for about fifteen minutes. Maybe they had been gobbling all day, but with the wind I couldn’t hear them.” “I asked two landowners for permission and got permission from one. I parked well away and out of sight from the area of the bird. I got positioned and called to that bird, three other toms answered from about 150 yards just over the top of the ridge. Ten minutes later they walked by at 30 yards while the first bird was still strutting at 75 yards with his hens.” He feels that this method will put you on birds 1 out of 3 times used and the success on those hunts is above average. I told you he went down a rabbit hole – he even keeps statistics. He doesn’t talk about places he hunts, what states, names of towns etc. Never post a thing on social media about hunting.
He also tells me that success for turkey hunting involves dedicating five days to hunt. If you can only hunt weekends buy one or two extra tags. Don’t just hunt first thing in the morning. Be flexible, don’t just locate and call, spot and stalk, reap, or sit in a blind. Don’t park your car where cars don’t normally park in site of birds your hunting. Try and hunt two set ups a day. Don’t count on one property, “I’ve watched birds move almost a mile in twenty minutes for no reason.” Hunt where the birds like to be. “If you know a spot they like to be a few times a week at 2 to 3 in the afternoon, be there every day of your hunt an hour early.” He might be onto something, you draw your own conclusion.
Good luck and please remember safe hunting is no accident!
