Turkey hunting is an exciting outdoor activity that many hunters look forward to every spring. However, in order to have success and bag your tom, you need to know when the optimal time is to hunt them. Timing is everything when it comes to turkey hunting, as their habits and behaviors change drastically throughout the seasons In this article, we will break down when is truly the best time to go turkey hunting based on science, expert opinions, and tried and tested techniques
An Overview of Turkey Seasons
Wild turkeys have a distinct annual cycle that influences their habits and patterns. Here is a brief overview of the turkey year
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Winter – Turkeys form flocks and focus on survival and finding food. Not much breeding behavior.
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Early Spring – Flocks start to break up as breeding season approaches Toms become more vocal,
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Spring Breeding Season – Peak of mating rituals. Toms are actively gobbling and strutting to attract hens.
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Late Spring – Hens are sitting on nests. Toms are still looking to mate with any remaining hens.
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Summer – Poults (baby turkeys) are growing up. Adults molt and regrow feathers.
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Fall – Juvenile birds join flocks. Adults resume normal feeding patterns.
As you can see, the key periods for hunting turkeys are in the spring during breeding season and the fall when flocks re-form. Spring is by far the most popular and productive season.
Why Spring is Prime Turkey Hunting Season
The reason spring is prime turkey hunting season all comes down to biology. Here are the key factors:
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Increased Gobbling – The surge in testosterone causes toms to gobble more frequently to attract hens and ward off competing males. The frequent gobbling makes finding and targeting toms much easier.
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Breeding Behavior – Toms are actively seeking out hens to mate with, making them more responsive to calling. Hunters can easily imitate hen calls to draw in lovesick toms.
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Limited Flocking – In the early spring, flocks have started to break up as breeding gets underway. The toms are often alone or in small groups, rather than large winter flocks.
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Display Activity – Toms engage in elaborate courtship displays like strutting, drumming, and fanning out their tails. Making them easier to spot.
Spring brings out the peak mating behaviors in wild turkeys that makes hunting them more effective. The challenging part is determining the best timeframe within spring season.
Honing in on the Prime Spring Turkey Hunting Times
Spring turkey season usually lasts about 2 months, starting in April and running through May in most states. However, there are certain times within this window that are better than others. Here are the prime spring turkey hunting times to focus on:
Early April
The opening weeks of April are a great time to hunt turkeys. The males are just beginning to get fired up for breeding season. You’ll hear frequent gobbling in the early mornings as toms announce their presence on roosts.
Hens will also be eliciting mating calls, which can bring toms running eagerly. Set up near known roosting spots and use owl or crow calls before daylight to get toms gobbling. Calling aggressively with hen yelps when on the ground can also work well.
The one downside is that early in the season, real hens are still plentiful and competing for the males’ attention. But the toms are still eager, so calling persistently can win out.
Late April
By late April, breeding season is in full swing. Toms are fully engrossed in the rituals of establishing dominance and attracting hens. Their testosterone levels are at a peak.
You’ll hear gobbling increase along with the strutting and drumming displays. Toms are highly competitive and this can make them more willing to rush into an area to confront a rival.
The thickening vegetation also provides better concealment when moving in on a calling tom. Just avoid being too aggressive with calling as toms can be a bit more wary at this stage.
Early May
May is prime time for bagging longbeards. Early May is ideal because many hens are now sitting on nests and no longer accompanying toms. This leaves lovesick gobblers eagerly seeking the company of any hen.
Your calls will be competing with much fewer real hens during this period. Just a few seductive yelps on a turkey diaphragm call can pull in a gullible tom from a 100 yards away.
Be mobile and cover ground until you strike a gobble, then work your magic calling. Decoys also become very effective at drawing in toms to your setup.
Late May
The last week or two of May can still offer good hunting, but it is starting to wind down. By now, the peak mating period has passed and most hens are committed nest sitters.
Some toms are still actively breeding, but overall gobbling and responding decreases. Other toms have fulfilled their breeding duties for the year and are less apt to come to your calls.
Still, don’t hesitate to go out during the late season as you can often call up lovelorn toms that couldn’t find a mate yet. Just adjust your tactics and hunt areas with the highest remaining turkey density.
Hunting All-Day During the Peak Season
When turkey hunting in spring, it’s not just the time of month that matters. You also need to consider the time of day.
Here are productive strategies for turkey hunting from early morning through late afternoon:
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Dawn – Target roosted birds and calls aggressively when they hit the ground.
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Mid-Morning – Focus on intercepting toms moving to strutting zones.
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Noon – Get setup near loafing areas as birds take midday breaks.
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Afternoon – Move closer to feeding areas and call sparingly.
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Dusk – Intercept flocks returning to roosts along normal routes.
Turkeys are most vocal and active early in the morning and late afternoon. But don’t overlook mid-day, especially during peak breeding, as lovestruck toms prowl all day looking for hens.
Hunt safely from dawn through dusk during the peak breeding weeks in April and May. Just be sure you know the legal shooting hours in your state so you don’t press your luck.
Be Ready for Changing Weather Conditions
One challenge turkey hunters face is dealing with the unpredictable weather in spring. As fronts move through, you may experience warm sunshine, pouring rain, and even snow flurries all in the same week.
Colder temperatures and wet weather can negatively impact turkey movement and responsiveness. However, you can still have success by adjusting to the conditions:
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Focus hunting efforts in the warmer middle of the day when possible.
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Target sheltered areas out of wet winds that turkeys gravitate to.
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Use louder calls and be persistent to get sluggish toms to respond.
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Rattling a box call loudly like a peacock can shock toms into gobbling.
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Don’t hesitate to try calling in marginal weather when other hunters have given up.
Pay close attention to the weather but don’t let it deter you. Some of your most memorable hunts can happen in foul weather when the birds are extra challenging.
Scout Early and Often
They key to consistent spring turkey hunting success is thorough scouting. You need to locate where the birds are and their patterns well ahead of opening day.
Important areas to scout pre-season include:
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Roosting spots
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Primary feeding/strutting zones
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Travel corridors
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Loafing areas
Get out as early as possible, in the afternoon, and on weekends when legal. Use your ears, eyes, and calls to gather intel.
Once season starts, keep monitoring turkey sign like tracks, droppings, feathers, and dust bowls. Adjust your hunting setups based on recent activity. Pay attention to subtle habitat changes like emerging greens that attract turkeys.
Scouting is a year-round process. The more you learn about your hunting land, the better you will do when that spring gobble echoes through the woods.
Safety Starts With Proper Camouflage and Concealment
A final tip for maximizing your spring turkey hunting success is using smart concealment. That wary old tom can bust you in an instant if your silhouette stands out.
Use these camouflage and concealment tactics:
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Choose a 3D camo pattern like Mossy Oak’s Obsession to break up your shape.
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Conceal all exposed skin or wear gloves/facemasks.
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Cover shiny accessories like watches, glasses, and clips.
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Stay low and seated when calling. Avoid skylining yourself.
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Set up with your back against a vertical tree, rock, or hillside.
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Use a blind for added concealment if you need to move or reposition.
Is setting up in the dark the best time for turkeys?
There are plenty of traditionalists who would argue that a classic set up on a roost, with a decoy spread, waiting in ambush from a blind is the way to go. And by no means is this meant to dismiss this tactic but merely offer an alternative tactic.
Over the years of setting up on roosts I’ve found one scenario to be the most common. Birds wake up, gobbles begin, and a nearby hen begins to chatter after I sit there with full-on confidence that this was the set up. Maybe some people can out-call a living hen. I am surely not one of them. Do not get me wrong. Once in awhile I get that hen-free morning and things seem like magic, but it’s far less common.
I have often theorized on the idea that as humans we get more caught up on how we want our game to behave and a lot less on how they naturally behave. Take the turkey “hang up.” The hunter narratives point towards this call-shy bird that knows the tricks of the trade. The reality is male turkeys want a hen to come to them in those last steps we have named the “hang up” as a natural part of turkey breeding behavior. Maybe that has been a learned behavior from years of hunting. It’s possible. But that evolution happened well before I hunted them.
Some years ago I started keeping track of when I shot my turkeys. Blocking it off into early morning (before 7), mid morning (7 to 9), and late morning (9 to noon). To my surprise after years of assuming that early morning was the time, it turns out that mid morning made up the vast majority of my kills. The second best production being late morning, the window of 8 to 10 accounting for the lion’s share.
Looking at the benefits of primarily hunting mid to late morning turkeys and sleeping in for the dawn
Life evolves in many ways. Jobs (and bird dogs) make us wake at the crack of dawn, and maybe sleeping in is the natural result of a late night shift. And there is no doubt the guilt that follows on those turkey hunting mornings when the alarm is silenced again and again. For many of us where states end turkey hunting at noon, that sense of impending doom only increases the anxiety and guilt of not waking up early. But why do we feel that way? Is there a reason getting under a turkey roost at o-dark-thirty is so imperative to the hunt?
Turkey Hunting Tips – When Is The Best Time of Day To Hunt Turkeys
FAQ
What time is best to hunt turkeys?
What time are turkeys most active?
Why can you only hunt turkey until noon?
Is it worth hunting turkeys in the evening?
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.
What are the best turkey hunting tips?
South Carolinian and former Turkey Call magazine editor Gene Smith says one of the most important turkey hunting tips is to sit in a spot and facing the direction the bird is most likely to approach from. And that isn’t always in the same direction from which the bird is gobbling.
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.
Should I pick a Turkey early in the year?
It is hard not to pick early in the year because that’s when turkeys haven’t been pressured, but also, depending where you’re at in the country, it could make for a cold hunt. I’d have to say starting down south early is typically always good, while the farther north you go, later is better.