The excitement of a turkey hunt is a visceral experience for most of us. When you hear that first gobble of the morning, or strike a bird after covering many miles, it’s easy to let that rush of adrenaline get the best of you. More than once I’ve struck a gobbling turkey, made rash decisions, and fumbled the hunt — rather than taking extra time to analyze what the right move is based on the situation and terrain.
When you’re on the road turkey hunting unfamiliar territory and only have a few days to get a bird, it’s easy to wear yourself out. The harder you hunt, and less sleep you get, the more likely you are to start making bad decisions. It’s easy to put too much stress on yourself when you’re trying to find the right turkey in a limited time window.
In recent years, I’ve learned that slowing down and taking your time can pay off in ways that might surprise you. Sleeping in, for example, is something that many turkey hunters might consider sacrilegious. But if I’ve learned anything from my travels, it’s that you can kill a turkey at any time of the day. And if you’re running yourself ragged, sometimes the best thing to do is to get a couple extra hours of rest so when you do find a bird, you’re ready to make good decisions.
There are a couple more benefits to sleeping in. First, you can see where any other hunters might be positioned. You’ll be getting to the trailhead or parking lot after everyone else, so you can simply pick the area where other hunters aren’t. Secondly, you’ll be targeting turkeys that are already on the ground. You’re not risking potentially blowing birds off a roost by stumbling around in the dark.
Another tactic I like to employ is to just sit down and listen for a while. In between the running and gunning and covering a lot of ground trying to strike a bird, many times I’ve found a turkey gobbling on his own, just because I sat down and listened for 30 minutes. Sometimes a turkey will hear your calls, but might wait five or 10 minutes to rip off a gobble. If you don’t slow down every once in a while, you might never hear that bird gobble. Other times he might come closer to your calls without ever gobbling back.
Not all turkey hunts end with a gobbler screaming down the gun barrel, and that’s what makes turkey hunting fun to me. There are many different ways you can punch your tag in the spring. So if you find yourself getting run down or frustrated, try sleeping in, taking it slow, and seeing what the woods might provide.
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