How to Hunt Turkeys During Hot Late-Season Days

When temps rise during midday, turkeys loaf in cool, shady areas. Identify those spots during scouting sessions, and set up there to wait on birds. Photo by Bill Konway.

This probably sounds familiar: In late May, a gobbler hammers from the roost, and then flies into a field and gobbles sporadically for an hour. Then, as the sun burns hot across the horizon, you start to sweat in your camo hoodie, and that old longbeard slicks back his feathers, walks into the woods and shuts up.

It happens every year during late spring. In the North and Midwest, nothing shuts down gobbling like unseasonably warm temperatures. The heat and bright sunshine are just as uncomfortable to a turkey as they are for you, and turkeys react accordingly, limiting or changing their behavior patterns somewhat.

But the season is still open. Don’t quit. Here’s how to beat the heat and fill that last tag.

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HUNT THE WINDOWS

Even during a late-May heat wave, temperatures will be far cooler during early mornings, evenings, and during or after rainfall. Hunt as hard as possible during those windows.

Redouble your efforts to roost birds during evenings, and be aggressive. Try to slip as close as cover will allow to pinpoint the turkey’s precise location, even down to the tree. Then, plot an approach course, and slip tight to the bird in the black dark the next morning — even an hour or two before gobbling time. Being close will let you optimize the brief period when that turkey might gobble.

For evening hunts, identify areas where turkeys might travel on their way from a late-afternoon snack to their roost. I’m not suggesting hunting the roost. Even where it’s legal, doing so might blow up the area, and turkeys might not return for a while. It’s better to back off a bit and hunt a travel route, much like waiting for a buck along a path between his bed and a field. Find a comfortable setup, settle in, and then call sporadically as dark nears. Keep your eyes peeled for birds slipping quietly through the timber or along field edges.

Rainy days — or even an hour or two of rain — also let you take advantage of relatively cooler temps. Plus, you’ll have a great idea of where turkeys will be: in open fields. Set a pop-up blind at good spots in preparation for a rain hunt. Or throw on your rain gear, grab a mouth call, and slip through the timber, hoping to strike a gobbler in a food plot or along a field edge. Hey, such hunts might not be comfortable, but it’s better than enduring blistering heat.

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HUNT THE LOAFS

When the sun and mercury rise, turkeys seek cool, relatively shaded places to loaf away midday. River bottoms, deep coulees and shaded timber offer much more comfort than sun-drenched fields and ridges.

Western hunting provides a good example. Out West, especially in Nebraska, turkeys often spend midday in the shade of thick cedar groves, actually sitting down as they wait out the heat until evening. Veteran hunters respond by using a strategy called “groving,” in which they slip near cedar groves and then glass or call to locate gobblers. Then they sneak as close as possible and work the turkey.

You won’t find as many isolated cedar groves in the Northeast or Midwest, but the principle remains the same. During midday, turkeys will move to areas within their home range that offer relief from the sun and heat. Identify several likely loafing spots, and then slip tight to them at midmorning to call. Better, hike to those spots before turkeys get there, find a good ambush spot, and wait patiently for birds to filter through. Expect turkeys to be quiet, so watch for movement and listen for drumming. Such hunts aren’t as exciting as working a screaming gobbler off the limb, but they fill tags.

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HOT STUFF

One more note: When you kill a gobbler during a hot day, take pictures and reflect on the moment. But don’t procrastinate. Get the bird to a cool, shaded area, and clean him quickly. It would be a shame to waste such a hard-earned hot-day prize.