There are few hunts more challenging than attempting to tag a public land turkey. There are fewer birds, spread over a large area, who tend to be less cooperative than their field dwelling cousins. With every big challenge comes big rewards, and there is nothing more rewarding than hiking out of public land with a tag notched and a long beard slung over your shoulder. Here are 6 tips to help you accomplish that reward.

1.Locate Roosted Birds- Finding a public land turkey might seem like a logical first step in actually hunting one, but its not as easy as it sounds. Most often you can’t just slam your car door and expect to hear a shock gobble pinpointing their exact location (although its awesome when that works). Finding them early, sometimes hours before shooting light, can be the difference between success, and a day of sitting in the woods scrolling through Facebook.

Start with logical roosting locations, such as a nearby water source, or a small clearing in the woods. Using a locator call, like a owl hoot, or a crow call, can often create a gobble from nearby toms. Sit motionless in the dark, and periodically use these calls. Often you can spark a response from a roosted bird, even miles away. Be vigilant in pinpointing the direction of any gobble, and slowly move in that direction.
The purpose of locating a bird so early in the morning is not set up under a roosted tom and wait for him to fly down at dawn. The purpose is to eliminate barriers between you and the bird, before his feet hit the ground. Little things like old fence crossings, a creek bed, or a road, might hold a gobbler from closing in. If you can take the hours before dawn to pass those obstacles so he wont have to, it makes for a much better chance he will cooperate.

2. Be Mobile- One of the biggest mistakes turkey hunters make is sitting in one location, as if they are hunting water fowl. Turkeys are constantly on the move, and if your plan is to call from one stagnate location all morning, a mature tom will likely catch on quickly. A public land turkey will cover hundreds of acres in search of other turkeys, and you should too.

When you hear your first return gobble of the morning, immediately close the distance. Whether that be 50 or a 100 yards, all depends on his distance from you. There are a lot of uncontrollable variables that can happen when calling in turkeys, and the closer you get the better chance you have of eliminating some of them.
Once you have made your initial move, and have resumed calling, as long as you are still able to determine where the gobbler is, don’t sit idle. Continue to move, even its just a few yards in a lateral direction, it will give the perception that you are indeed a hen on the move.

In large tracks of hard woods, turkeys are not able to use their eye sight nearly as well as a turkey on a neighboring farm, so they rely almost exclusively on their pinpoint sense of hearing. Using decoys are not nearly as effective as subtle movements that give the perception of realism.

3. Pay Attention to Weather– A public land turkey, is still a turkey, and when rain is in the forecast they become almost an entirely different animal to hunt. Conversely, your strategy will need to change as well. Turkeys, who rely heavily on their sense of hearing, have a difficult time hearing in rainy conditions. In order to combat that, you will often find birds gathered together in fields, where their superb vision is easily utilized. In vast tracks of standing timber, large fields are not readily available, but they will use small openings in the forest floor and logging roads in the same fashion.

Rain also has a strange affect on their willingness to vocalize, making their approach virtually silent. Being an aggressive, mobile hunter will likely work to your disadvantage in these conditions. These rainy day hunts can be perfect opportunities to try your luck at using a decoy in those small open areas.

4. Find Water Sources- Turkeys, in general, are a difficult animal to hunt using food as a strategy. They literally are willing to eat just about anything from insects and mice, to flowers and acorns. To capitalize on a specific food source is nearly impossible, unless you have had opportunities to pattern their behavior over a few days.

Water on the other hand, can be slightly more predictable. You will find that turkeys will tend to roost near water sources, whether it be a small pond, a creek, or even a flooded field. They like the water source, because often right before flying up to roost in the evening they will get a last drink of water for the day. In the morning, they tend to grab a quick drink immediately after they fly down.

5. Hunt Dust Bowls- After the morning activities, of collecting food and water, and breeding, by mid day you are likely to find hens beginning to dust themselves in dust bowls. No one knows these places better than an aggressive gobbler. He will often check these areas during mid day in hopes of finding a receptive mate.

These areas for hunters are easily found as well. Dust bowls are just as they are described, a bowl of dust. Typically made in soft sandy soil. Sandy soils are often created from very acidic pH levels in the ground, which are closely related to places like edges of conifer stands and overgrown fields, which are readily accessible in large timber stands.

As a hunter these areas are possibly one of the best times to try and decoy a gobbler in. At this time of the day, typically turkeys are less vocal, so calling should be limited to purrs and soft clucks. Its common to have a tom show up unannounced, so sitting in one location during the afternoon hours is your best bet.

6. Put them to bed- Ask anyone who has spent considerable amounts of time chasing a public land turkey and they will tell you that it is extremely difficult to tag a bird on the first day. Each consecutive day you are able to put into the field, will increase your chances, especially if you are able to put a birds to bed.
Finding those same areas you were trying to locate birds in the morning is your first step. Field edges, water holes and logging roads are all great places to start. The objective during the evening hours no longer is kill a bird, but to visually watch where they roost for the evening. Once they choose their final resting place, they will stay there for the entire night, giving you the best chance to ambush them once they fly down in the morning.

What tactics do you use to hunt public land turkeys? Please share your tips, stories, and pictures below.

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