I believe it’s safe to say that most turkey hunters live for the morning hunt. The gobbling at the break of day removes any question marks as to whether a gobbler is around. Excitement, enthusiasm and adrenaline are at peak readings. The decision making process begins and an approach is applied to a given situation. This usually involves the typical form of closing in on a tom, setting up calling and pointing your gun in the direction of the gobbling. You have an idea of where to be, where the bird is and that it’s time to work the bird. Aggressive tactics, such as trolling and covering lots of ground trying to strike a tom, often yield a positive outcome and put you in a similar setup situation. The fact that birds gobble and their location is known takes some of the guesswork out of it. Again, mornings generally provide faster and hotter action with vocal birds, making it the preferred time to turkey hunt.
The problem with mornings is they fade away and turn into afternoon and afternoons don’t always provide the same scenarios. In fact, gobbling, the success of aggressive tactics and even our energy levels fade with it. The pace of the activity dial turns down a few hours after they leave the roost and then tweaks back up later in the day. Without sound tactics, you can spend the afternoon looking at your decoys and texting your buddies at the diner.
I started turkey hunting afternoons 20 years ago — not because I wanted to, but because I was two hours away from home hunting on the Flint River. I had nothing else to do once the morning hunt was over. The others who hunted our lease at that time were out of the woods by midmorning at the latest, but I decided it was better to spend the afternoon in the woods even if I were napping. At least there was a chance of killing a tom. I did not know how to go about it but I learned. What I soon realized was that I averaged an afternoon bird almost every year and, in some cases, would not have gotten a limit without that effort.
What Time of Day is Best for Turkey Hunting?
As a turkey hunter one of the most common questions you’ll ponder is what is the best time of day to hunt turkeys? While there’s no definitive answer, timing your hunt strategically can increase your odds of bagging a tom. Turkeys are most active at certain times so understanding their daily routines is key. In this article, we’ll break down the prime times to be in the turkey woods.
The Early Morning
One of the best times of day to hunt turkeys is early morning, right at sunrise or just before. This is when tom turkeys are leaving their roosts and flying down to start feeding. They’re also fired up and gobbling first thing, looking to attract any nearby hens. Your goal is to get set up near a roost before fly-down time. Once toms hit the ground, try using soft calls like clucks and purrs to bring them in. With any luck, you’ll draw a fired-up tom right to your decoys.
The advantage of hunting early is you can capitalize on a tom’s eagerness and competitiveness. They’re looking to find hens and will be aggressive responders. Setting up while they’re still on the roost also allows you to ambush them as soon as they fly down. Just be mindful of playing it too safe on calls. They may need to hear assertive hen talk to commit.
Late Morning
After fly-down tom activity tends to slow through late morning. At this time they’re with hens and not as apt to leave them to investigate calls. However, late morning can still produce if you find a lonely gobbler looking for love.
Focus on food sources like agricultural fields or oak flats. Toms are looking for hens and food after fly-down. Make some fly-down calls on a locator call to try and strike a gobble. Use terrain to slip in close, then get set up and try soft tree yelps, clucks, and purrs. Ramped up aggression in your calling may be needed to pull a tom away from hens.
You can also set up near a known strut zone and call sparingly like a hen strolling through. If you hear gobbles on roosts, quickly get set up in their expected route to food sources. Intercept them as they come through still fired up.
Midday
Midday is overlooked by some turkey hunters, but don’t sleep on the daylight hours between around 11am to 2pm. During nesting season, this is when hens often leave toms to incubate nests. That leaves lusty gobblers receptive to calls as they strut and look for the last unbred hens.
Target known strut zones and food sources to ambush lonely toms. You can also do some scouting midday by walking and using occasional owl hoots or crow calls to locate gobblers. Bust them with some loud cutting, yelps, and clucks as you try slipping in close. Decoys can help pull in a tom to an open area.
The advantage of midday is less competition with real hens. The downside is toms become more call and hunter shy as the season progresses. So, an assertive approach is needed calling and sneaking in on them. But for an all-day sit, midday is a prime window to capitalize on.
Late Afternoon
If you can hunt it, late afternoon from around 4pm till dark can be money for turkeys. As daylight winds down, toms get ultra aggressive looking for any remaining receptive hens before nightfall. They’ll be fired up and covering ground fast to find that last hot hen of the day.
To kill a late afternoon tom, get set up along suspected travel routes as they move to roost sites. Clearings and field edges near known roosts are strong options. As flocks break up and singles start moving, light calling with some excited yelps, cutts, cackles, and fast clucks can pull in a tom tracking a hen.
Decoys are killer late to bring aggressive toms sprinting in thinking they’ve found that last gal of the day. Just don’t set up too close to roosts and make sure toms have room to strut and display. If you hear roost gobbles, get set up quickly and hammer him with aggressive hen talk as he hits the ground.
In the evening, toms are seeking that last date before bedding down. This urgency makes them suckers for the right calls. Late afternoon is ideal for tagging out after the slower mid-day.
Nocturnal Hunting
In certain states, you can hunt turkeys at night with lighting and specially permitted shotguns. Where legal, this is an exciting option and turkeys are very callable at night since they’re awake and on the prowl.
Use owl hoots and crow calls to locate a fired-up gobbler. Roosted toms will often shock gobble at these predator calls as a safety response. Once you pinpoint one, sneak in under cover of darkness and light him up with aggressive hen calls like loud cutting and excited yelps when in range.
The nighttime allows you to move unseen into close range of vocal gobblers. And since turkeys can’t see as well, calls sound more realistic which amps up responses. Just be sure to ID your target properly before shooting.
Best Times of Day Summary
When asking when’s the best time to hunt turkeys, the simple truth is early morning and late afternoon into the evening tend to be primetime.
But don’t underestimate late mornings and midday during the peak breeding season. Lonely, lusty gobblers are eager callers, especially once most hens are on nests.
Hunting when legal at night is also highly effective since darkness allows close approach to responsive birds.
The most important thing is hunting when turkeys are active. Their routine revolves around mating, feeding, and roosting. Maximizing these behaviors will lead to better opportunities no matter the time of day.
Be flexible and capitalize on whatever part of the day birds are most active, vocal, and lovestruck in your specific area. Learn to hunt turkeys 24/7 and you’ll tag more toms every season.
Afternoons in the Turkey Woods Can Be Productive
Birds can be taken at any time of the day as long as you’re in the field and vary your approaches. Self-discipline and a larger dose of patience comes into play. Just what the approach entails depends on the time of day, terrain features, hunting pressure and, to an extent, what part of the country you’re in. This is always on my mind as I hunt different parts of the country.
For example, out West in Montana, we may stay on the move most of the day looking for Merriams. In Texas, when hunting Rios, it’s more of a blended style of hunting involving trolling and staying with a setup for longer periods of time along with sequential calling. It’s the same in New Mexico, partly because it’s physically demanding but also because staying with a setup in the right location can be very productive, especially late in the day.
Generally speaking, afternoon hunting tactics for Easterns require a more passive and patient mindset, especially during the mid afternoon. For me, it has required a toned-down approach and picking good setup locations based on scouting and knowledge of the property. It’s much more difficult to simply drive around blind calling an Eastern. Even if you do locate a tom, he is so cautious that if there is any mistake, he is gone for the afternoon.
Mid Afternoon Trolling for Turkeys
No two turkey hunters are the same and many prefer to stay aggressive. The slower-paced “sit and wait” style of hunting doesn’t work for everyone. I’ll respect anyone’s approach, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes on any given day when it comes to putting a turkey on the ground, as long as it’s rewarding and works for me personally. My program is to always adjust to the conditions at hand and plan an approach based on conclusions drawn on a particular day. If birds are vocal, I’ll stay more aggressive. If they appear to have gone quiet, I turn the dial down.
I have not had a lot of luck moving and calling during the middle of the day when hunting in the Southeast. As a result, I slow down and move less. In fact, I’ve concluded that I do more damage and probably bump birds that I‘m not even aware of when doing this. I believe you can easily contribute to the “pressure factor” if you don’t recognize that a particular style of aggressive hunting is not working at certain times or on a given day. You can wear a good property out in a hurry if you don’t at least make an effort to put thought in the pressure you’re applying. The last thing you want is to push a tom to neighboring property.
If I do troll, it’s more of a slow-motion advance. I will move from location to location, stopping for short periods of time and cutting as hard and loud as I can to try and shock toms into gobbling. I may cut on a glass call, wait a couple of minutes and then do the same thing on a box call. I will use a crow call at times, as well as pay attention to real crows if they appear to be harassing something. I’ll then continue moving forward. I may spend 15-30 minutes in an area that I have reason to feel good about before continuing. This assumes you have a large enough tract to keep moving on. Smaller tracts may require that you set up for a long, motionless afternoon.
Turkey Hunting Tips – When Is The Best Time of Day To Hunt Turkeys
FAQ
What time of day are turkeys most active?
What time should you start turkey hunting?
Why can you only hunt turkey until noon?
What time should you start calling turkeys?
When is the best time to hunt turkeys?
Experts from around the country pick the best times to hunt turkeys this spring. Here are the 7 days when you need to be in the turkey woods.
Do turkeys Hunt in the fall?
Before their population declined, wild turkeys were typically hunted only in the fall. When the spring seasons were introduced, fall turkey hunting became less pursued. In recent years, as populations have climbed and then stabilized, many states reintroduced fall turkey seasons. Currently, more than 40 states have a fall season.
What should you know before a turkey hunt?
As excited as we all get for spring turkey season, safety before the hunt, on the hunt and after the hunt should be at the top of everyone’s mind. Checklist for safety: Always keep your gun’s muzzle pointed in a safe direction, never toward a person. Treat every gun as if it is loaded. Only load or cock a gun when you are shooting.
When is a good time to hunt hens?
“Most hunters like to go on or near the opener, and every single day thereafter sees a reduction in bird numbers in the areas I hunt.” Weddle also likes the mid-April time frame because breeding is well under way. “I always expect good gobbling on the roost, followed by a lull as hens run to toms to be bred,” he said.