What Constitutes The Perfect Turkey Season/Big Gobblers Missouri/Kansas/Illinois/Hunt Private Land

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That depends on who you ask. If you talk to turkey hunters across the nation about last season, you will get conflicting answers. Successful hunters will proclaim a great year, but unsuccessful hunters – well, let´s just say turkey (www.hunt-private-land.com) hunters can come up with more excuses of why they got skunked than fishermen.

Last season, the weather played a big part during turkey season in much of the U.S., but according to Ray Eye of Turkey Revolution television show, "There is always more to the turkeys than the weather. The time of year plays a large factor, whether spring arrives early or late as does turkey numbers. For example, in Nebraska, the turkey population has exploded 500 percent since 2002. A lot of two year old birds and high percentages of hunter success rates makes everyone happy, except the turkeys." says Eye.

In Missouri, where numbers are down from historical highs, many hunters complained about last season´s hunt. Eye explains, "Many hunters believe the perfect season is a time when most of the hens are on the nest with blue bird mornings, no wind or rain and the woods are alive with gobbling two year old birds that run to anything that resembles a squeaky hen sound."

"Unfortunately, these two year old birds are how spring hunting is judged by the hunting public. Anything other than non-stop gobbling and those two year old birds running to the gun the season is off. I love hunting old turkeys. Many days you never hear a gobbler. Old gobblers strutting with hens don´t need to gobble," says Eye.

However, Eye feels pressure plays a more important role in whether the hunter has a successful season. Pressure comes in many forms – four wheelers, trucks or even mushroom hunters. They can all play a factor and contribute to a bad season and the turkeys will shut down.

What are Eye´s tips to take a boss gobbler? That again is not an easy question to answer. "It depends on where you are hunting. I like to get in close on a bird when he is still in the roost. If there is a lot of cover like down in the Ozarks, it is much easier to get close than say the northern part of Missouri or Kansas where there is a lot of open country," says Eye.

"When you are hunting open country birds, you have to be sure to not skylight yourself. Use the terrain to your advantage – drainage ditches or fence rows can be used to get close to these open country birds. Get in, set up and don´t move around," says Eye.

Putting a gobbler to bed is one of the most effective tools a hunter can use to stack the odds in his favor. "If you can see where the gobbler is flying up to the roost, be there the next morning. More times than not, unless the gobbler is spooked off the roost, he will hit the ground in the same vicinity. A little coaxing and the bird should be in your hands.

In open country "If the hens are roosting on a timbered ridge and pitching down in a field, get between the hens and where the gobbler is roosting. Your success rate will soar when calling, if you are set up in the gobbler´s direction of travel," advises Eye.

Many hunters are afraid of calling too much Eye says "Let the turkey tell you what they want. If the bird is answering, keep calling. One thing for sure, if the bird doesn´t hear a hen calling it will leave the area and with the competition between hens a gobbler doesn´t have to travel 200 yards to a hen that is softly calling.

Eye also suggests matching your equipment to the conditions you are hunting. Eye uses a modified choke with a load of 6´s with no sights other than a single bead in the dense areas where a shot is measured in feet rather than yards. In open terrain, he switches to an ultra tight "If a hunter is using optics, sight the point of impact at 45 yards and learn to estimate distance. Open terrain will often fool a hunter because the bird is much farther away than the hunter believes," says Eye."

No matter if you are hunting the open fields of Iowa, Northern Missouri or the mountainous Ozarks, the turkey are the same. Using the same adaptability that the turkey possesses, you too can score on a bird this season.

Interested in big gobblers in call us at 1-800-341-3444

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