Hey. JR and I are going to give the fall turkey season a crack this year - neither of us has ever tried it so can you give us some pointers on what to do and how to locate the birds?? Last bow season I had several birds (10 at one point) file past my deer stand (no tag of course). How does everyone work the bird in the fall or is it pretty much the same as in the spring. I am fairly new to turkey hunting - started it when JR and I got together. Die hard though - hooked for sure - went out spring of 07 in my third trimester when I was pregnant with Hunter - Is the Fall as much fun as the Spring - I love hearing those gobblers hammer is it the same in the fall?? Do you still use decoys?? Should we take hens, jakes, BMobile, all or nothing?? What calls do you use and do you get pretty aggressive or stay pretty docile??
To sum it up just what exactly should we do and what should we expect?
Thanks,

I think its more challeging myself. I consistanty kill birds every spring but not always in the fall. In the spring its about calling in one bird. In the fall its about finding the flock. The hens and youngins will be in flocks and the more mature gobblers will be in flocks. I usually see more the hen/young birds groups, but when you stumble onto a group of a half a dozen long beards its a blast. Not much in the way of gobbling goin on (some,just not at all like the spring), usually some soft yelps and an occasion put or two is about the only callin I do once I locate a flock. See if you can find where they are roosting and then scratching/feeding after they fly down and set up somewhere in-between the two places nearby and call (softly).
Good luck, post pics!

Thanks Drop, If I get one I will put it on here for God and everybody to see!

Drop's got some good advice. I'll add some more. I like the ambush method of fall hunting. While I've had some luck calling birds in the fall I mostly call at them. Let me explain. In the spring you are calling to attract a bird, hopefully a tom. In the fall I try to call to attract a bunch of birds. I like to set up where I'm confident the flock will go. Once I'm there I'll sometimes set out a few decoys and begin to call. I try to imitate a content flock of turkeys going about their daily business. Sometimes I just sit along a travel route and wait quietly. Both methods have worked for me. I have never tried to scatter a flock. To me it seems if I can get close enough to scatter them, then I should be able to try to get a shot. I've never been able to get any off the roost either. I've taken 4 or 5 turkeys in the fall and every one of them has been bushwacked.
You will hear all kinds of calls in the fall so don't be afraid to use all of your spring arsenal. Just remember, you are trying to call a flock of birds so mix it up. I also don't call very loud. While you will hear cutting and cackling, I've heard it less often then in the spring.
Good Luck!

ive been hunting fall turkeys a lot longer than in the spring. I usually just sit and wait. working on the farm you see a lot and you can usually pattern the turkeys pretty well. In the early fall a great way to bag one is to walk farm roads and such to find a dusting area. look for a spot with a lot of torn up dirt and feathers. then i will set a single decoy, hen, jake, strutter, ive found it really doesnt matter, go with your gut. then set up near the dusting area. i use a slate call and call extremely sparingly. the turkeys are already coming to this area so you don't need to attract them. you're just trying to set up the illluison that all is well.
a few clucks and purrs and thats it. usually a turkey will use a dusting area in the mid day so it can be a great break from deer hunting.
be ready to make the first shot you get because it will probably be the only one you get. turkeys form large flocks in the fall and with all the eyes around you need to keep motion to a bare minimum.

as for locating birds, turkeys form flocks of usually hens and poults, then the gobblers and jakes will form another flock. although you may see them feeding together, they will oftentimes go there seperate way.

a strutter is great for fall hunting because gobblers fight for dominance in there flocks. use a strutter and a fighting purr to challange fall gobblers

hope this helps
bill

scatter em them just set up and soft call.

The traditional way to do it is to locate a flock, then bust them up in all directions, then sit tight and call them back. This method does work and I have used it, but I tend to prefer the ambush method. Some guys might look down on that method, but killing is killing to me. The only difference is I took the stealth aproach vs the vocal one. I like to get down in the timber and find places where the turkeys scratch alot for food or I might find a field that they like to hang out in. Knowing where and when they like to be at a certain time and place is the key. You can call to them all day in the fall and they might even call back, but rarely do they come in just by sitting and calling at any old place. Set up where they like to hang out the most, call sporadically and wait. You wont get much gobbling going on, but you cant mistake the sound of 35-40 turkeys yelping, cutting, purring and carrying on at the top of their lungs. I think thats part of what lures me to fall turkeys. I get to go deeper in the timber, and its very exciting when you have a battalion of turkeys bearing down on your position. I have had in the neighborhood of 40 turkeys standing infront of me before. You should have seen them scatter when I dropped the hammer on one Last year while bow hunting a creek bottom i had about 60-70 roost all around me. No kiddin, there were turkeys in every direction from where I was at. Just when I thought the last bird flew up, another 3-5 would fly up. I took this picture of a bunch in a sycamore tree. I generally stick to younger hens in the fall but if a big tom presents himself I will take him if thats all there is. Good luck with em and make sure ya buy a turkey tag when ya get your deer tag.

Before it was said and done I bet there were 8 birds in this tree.
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u141/ca...er/IMG_0127.jpg