Turkey Hunters Finding Late-Season Success in Midwest, Northeast

As turkey seasons wind down, many hunters are reporting light gobbling activity across the Northern U.S. Image by Tes Jolly

Wisconsin’s unseasonably cold weather finally broke last week in time for the Time Period E season. Wind speeds were high the first couple of days, and I decided to wait for better conditions. While driving around and scouting, I observed several gobblers strutting in fields during the first two and last four hours of daylight. Some had a hen or two, and some were alone. I hunted Thursday evening, walking a large public parcel and stopping to call every 150 yards. I didn’t strike up any birds in the breezy, overcast conditions.

On Friday morning, I hit a different public parcel, one that I’d never set foot on previously. From a drive by and online scouting, I selected a tall ridge 50 yards off the road as my starting point. A few different gobblers were roosting within 400 yards of me, but nothing was super close. The gobbling activity was minimal, both on the roost and after fly-down. I only heard about 15-20 total gobbles.

I called periodically, and the gobblers responded twice. About an hour into the morning, a hen silently appeared and walked past my jake and hen decoys before walking within four yards of me. Once she moved away, a tom gobbled about 125 yards away. I called a few times. Nothing. I waited, then called a little more. Minutes passed. Nothing. Suddenly, a head popped into view. The silent tom was running towards my jake decoy. He pushed the decoy over, and then a swarm of Federal Heavyweight TSS leveled him.

DON’T MISS: Take A Western Camping Trip For Public-Land Turkeys

Bryan Dawes of Brushy Fork Outfitters in Ohio reported a similar reduction in gobbling action. “The Ohio season seems to be really winding down,” he explained. “The gobble counts have been really down in the mornings, and the birds seem to have lost interest in playing the game. Our season opened a week later than usual, and as a result, I think it will be difficult to get birds to work during the final week. On the other hand, I drove five hours north to Michigan, and the birds were on fire. But they sure aren’t in Ohio.”

The author parked on a high hardwood ridge, calling periodically, and this public-land Wisconsin tom snuck in silently some time later. Image by Darron McDougal

Speaking of birds being tough to work, that was how expert game caller Brad Harris explained his recent Montana hunt. “Southeast Montana was tough,” he said. “The turkey population is very low. The hunting pressure was high, and we heard very little gobbling. It was hard to fire a bird. Lots of glassing and sneak tactics were the keys to close encounters.”

Outfitter Joe Conyers of Conyers Outdoors in Cuba, Kansas, reported classic late-season hunting conditions in his neck of the Great Plains. “Most hens are nesting,” he said. “The ones that are left are leaving gobblers fairly early in the day. The old gobblers are worn out, and jakes are keeping them down in some of my areas. But soft and gentle hen calls are pulling ‘em in pretty well. Most gobblers won't fan. They’re tired and/or pressured.”

DON’T MISS: Pennsylvania Bill Would Allow Minimal Deer Baiting

NWTF Regional Director for New England, Carter Heath, provided a snapshot of turkey woods happenings in the Northeast, where the action seems a bit better.

“I personally have had some success getting birds to gobble and come in, and I have been calling to moderately pressured birds using wing-bones and jake yelps on a mouth call,” Heath said. “However, several hunters in the region have said that they’re having difficulty getting birds to gobble after fly-down. I got a report today from a hunter in southwest New Hampshire who saw a bearded hen with a large clutch of very small poults. There was also a good longbeard in tow behind her. And I tagged a mature Granite State gobbler earlier in the week as he was coming in silently to two hen decoys.”

Out on the South Dakota prairies, where the season ends on May 31, Ben Bearshield of Winchester Deadly Passion reported some promising observations. “We’ve been seeing a lot of lone hens,” he told. “There are very few, if any, lone toms. They’re usually running in groups of two to four, and we’ve had very good success with calling them in. They’re grouped up for an hour or two in the mornings before the hens sneak off to their nests. The hunting is still very good.”

Finally, Dale Techel checked in from Michigan. “Statewide turkey action is hit-or-miss,” he explained, “with warm weather keeping toms gobbling but stubbornly ‘henned up’ at 150 to 200 yards out. Success right now requires patience: tone down the calling, and be willing to wait an hour or more for them to commit.”

For the most part, it has been a pretty typical spring, although I feel like the reduction in gobbling activity that I and others reported from this past week is somewhat unusual. In 25 years of turkey hunting, I’ve noticed that late-season toms generally gobble quite a bit, but a lot of them this year are coming in silently. So if you’re still clutching a tag, and you’re in a good spot but things are quiet, consider staying put at least through mid-morning. A silent gobbler could easily slip in on you.

Bringing you the latest turkey happenings from the Northern U.S. region this spring has once again been fun, and Lord willing, I look forward to doing it again next spring.