Sportsmen's Choice Game Calls - Spring Turkey Tip of the Week March 12, 2012

The following tip is from Pete Plasmier of Sportsmen's Choice Game Calls. Check out Pete's website at www.sportsmenschoicegamecalls.com/. Pete is a long time hunting cameraman who has been creating hunting videos in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for 21 years. Check out his website for his full list of videos, calls, scents and gear. You can also see more tips and reports from Pete at The Buck Barn.

Hunting a longbeard in the rain.
As Winter rolls into Spring the wet season begins. All of nature and the earth seems to reinvent itself.
The landscape becomes green again, and it’s the romantic time for all gobblers.

For hunters, here are two kinds of Spring rain—one good and one bad:

When the forecast calls for a heavy, soaking, windswept rainy day the birds become miserable.
They spend most of the day trying to protect themselves from the elements. In many cases, they stay on their roosts for long periods of time—usually remaining there long after daybreak. In such a soaking rain, there’s very little turkey chatter. It’s almost impossible to get the birds respond to your calls.

If the forecast calls for light, steady rain or for morning showers, a hunter may have a few things working for him. In such a rain, the turkeys often move from the hardwoods toward open fields, meadows, logging roads, etc., trying to dry off. Put yourself on the edge of a field, and you may be able to intercept the birds. Here’s a reminder: the wild turkey lives out there all year long; a light rain shouldn’t interfere with their breeding cycle.

If you’ve scheduled a hunt and it rains overnight and in the first part of the morning, you may want to sleep in for a bit, or go get some breakfast. If the rain stops in midmorning and the day becomes bright and sunny, the toms will be strutting and displaying on their own, gobbling up a storm! Timing is important; you want to be out there just as the sun starts peeking out. If you time it right, it may well be your best hunting day of the season.


Be alert for hazards caused by wet conditions:

Be very aware of rising creeks and streams Crossing them can be tricky—they may be deeper and run faster than you think.

When traveling through the wood in wet conditions, remember that your footing may be poor.


You may have a few advantages, too:

The damp woods and underbrush will make your quiet approach to the turkeys easier.

On a rainy day, there will be less competition from other hunters.


Spring turkey season is short. In the end, the question is “how bad do you want that trophy gobbler?”


Oh, by the way, on my website I offer several different waterproof friction calls that play great, wet or dry. Check them out!


The best tip I could ever give you: work extremely hard on getting good positioning on the gobblers.
You must make it easy for the tom turkey to find you. Maybe one cool, crisp Spring morning the gobbler of your dreams may just run you over.


Share the tradition, take a youngster hunting!