Big timber offers turkeys cover from wet weather, high winds and predators, and can be a great spot for early-season hunts. (Photo by Scott Haugen)
April 11, 2024
By Scott Haugen
Opening day of spring turkey season was sunny last year. I called in five toms—two in the morning and three in the afternoon—yet I didn’t shoot.
I was targeting a specific tom I’d first seen three years prior. He was a loner that hung out in timber and covered every bit of the three-mile-long ridge he called home. I only laid eyes on him three times in as many years, but had many trail camera-shots of him.
The big bird traveled game trails where I catch elk, deer and cougars on camera. He rarely ventured into open fringes other turkeys frequented. Early last March, I began catching the tom on multiple trail cameras two months ahead of his usual appearances.
Timber-dwelling toms can be reluctant to leave heavy cover. Hunting them from inside the timber is often the only way to get them within shotgun range. (Photo by Scott Haugen) On day two of the season, it was pouring rain and cold. I failed to call in a bird in the first two hours. Relocating to the backside of a timbered ridge and out of the wind, I placed a hen decoy on a muddy game trail before I sat against a fat Douglas fir tree and began calling.
Advertisement
The rain had turned to mist. The woods were calm and sounds traveled far. That’s when I heard the tom gobble. It was rough and deep and easily recognized. Minutes later, the tom cautiously walked down the game trail. I issued soft yelps and a couple purrs with my diaphragm call. The tom puffed up, its head turning from pale to bright red. There was no mistaking the body-like armor of the old bird as he silently strutted into the decoy. He only gobbled the one time. At 15 yards a payload of Apex 9.5 TSS from my .410 dropped the goliath of a tom. In my 35 years of turkey hunting, it was one of the most memorable and gratifying moments due to the amount of effort it took to close the deal.
SOUND SCOUTING Last spring’s turkey season was wet and cold throughout much of the West. If you sat around waiting for perfect weather, you may have only hunted a fraction of the season. This was especially the case during the first 3 weeks.
But what is perfect weather when it comes to spring turkey hunting? I’ve taken a number of toms in the rain and snow, and scouting has played a big part in my early-season success. After all, it’s photoperiodism that boosts testosterone levels in toms, and that’s what drives their desire to breed, not weather conditions.
Advertisement
I run trail cameras year-round for turkeys and physically start scouting for the spring turkey season in February. I’m looking for bachelor groups of toms, big flocks of hens with young birds as well as predators.
Early in the morning and in the afternoon, I rely on a spotting scope and binoculars to locate birds. I search for flocks, count birds, watch their movements and look for signs of the rut. The goal is to see them without them seeing me. Timber birds are edgy, especially when predator populations are booming.
I check trail cameras in the middle of the day when birds aren’t as active so as not to disrupt them. This is when I look for sign, too. Droppings, tracks, feathers and wing drag marks from strutting all tell a story.
I run all trail cameras on video mode because a video clip reveals more info than a still photo ever will. You might catch a hen walking in front of the camera but hear gobbles out of frame. A still photo would miss those vocalizations.
In wet weather, a Dave Smith Decoys Preening Hen simulates what many hens do when returning to the protection of the forest canopy from open areas. (Photo by Scott Haugen) Most of my cameras are set with a 1-minute run time—even longer in some situations. While it takes time to go through thousands of video clips, you can scrub through them pretty fast once home. I check trail cameras twice a week as the season approaches. If there’s a leery tom on the outskirts, I’ll move cameras to where it’s frequenting in hopes of patterning its movements.
As March progresses, hen flocks disassemble. Some hens travel 15 miles or more to nest where they do every spring, and a tom or two often follows them. Other hens drop in elevation to private farmlands where protection from predators is greater. Some hens stay put, nesting in cover where they live year-round. Those are the hens I watch closely.
As hens break away from one another, toms will hound them. Where I hunt, toms don’t have a strutting ground they hit and stick to every day. They follow hens through the woods and into mountain meadows where they feed on insects and fresh sprouting grass.
If a hen is not receptive, a tom courting her might leave and return a day or two later. I’ve seen a tom with a hen in the morning, then spotted the same tom nearly 2 miles away in the afternoon. Scatter trail cameras throughout the woods, even along river bottoms, and you might be surprised how far and how often toms move.
The travel routes and territories in which a timber tom lives overlap with those of other toms. This is perfect for the hunter, for where competition is high and toms are constantly on the move, other toms are aggressive to breed. Good calling and a decoy will go a long way in helping you close the deal.
The author first spotted this tom three seasons prior to tagging it on a wet day inside the Pacific Northwest timber. (Photo by Scott Haugen) HUNTING IN THE RAIN In downpours, turkeys often huddle under trees to keep dry. They’ll also hunker down in the open, feathers tucked tight so water rolls off their back. But when the rain subsides, birds will go on the move. It may not be fast since the forest is wet, but they will move, and this is when you want to be in position.
I like hunting rainy-day toms from the inside of the timber, out. I’ve had very little luck chasing them into timber, trying to call them back into the open fringes. But get on the inside of the timber, and move within a couple hundred yards of the fringes where birds often hang out, and it’s a different story.
Rainy-day toms—as well as all turkeys where predator numbers are high—may not budge if you try to call them across a meadow or field. But set up and call them into the timber, and they’ll often cover ground with speed.
On rainy days early in the season, I like using a single hen decoy, as hens are loners at this time. Position the decoy facing you to simulate a hen that’s moving from the open and into the forest. Toms will approach from behind; when they see the hen moving away, they’ll run to get in front of it.
Last season I had excellent success with Dave Smith Decoys’ new Preening Hen. It was so wet when I was scouting, I watched multiple hens immediately start to preen when they hit the slightest bit of cover in the woods. They might preen for an hour or more without moving, creating the perfect scenario for this decoy. I called in a lot of toms to this fake last season, almost all in the rain.
When hunting in the rain, especially if there’s a breeze, don’t be afraid to move. Toms can be reluctant to travel far in rainy conditions. If I don’t hear a tom within 20 minutes, I move. If I hear distant toms gobbling and they’re not budging, I go to them. You can be more aggressive in wet conditions, especially inside timber.
Think of scouting for and hunting early-season turkeys as you would big game. While scouting requires time and effort, and hunting in the rain can be inconvenient, it will take your understanding of these birds to another level. That’s when you truly gain an appreciation for how fun and effective it is to hunt turkeys in the rain.
RAINY-DAY GOBBLER GEAR Equipment options for early-season hunts. Diaphragm calls allow you to keep your movement to a minimum. (Photo by Scott Haugen) When hunting gobblers in the rain, I like to travel light. My go-to calls are diaphragms due to their hands-free operation and range of sounds. I’ve been very pleased with Slayer Call’s (slayercalls.com ) reeds the past two seasons, especially in the wet forest.
Quality rain gear, rubber boots with ankle support and a cushion to sit on make things comfortable. I love Chêne Gear‘s zippered knee boots ($240; chenegear.com ), which have proven tough in the Pacific Northwest rainforest. For rain gear I’ve been happy with Sitka’s Downpour jacket and pant ($359, $329; sitkagear.com ). I’ve worn this boot/rain gear combination on many hunts and when running trail cameras through the wet winter.
Dave Smith Decoys (davesmithdecoys.com ) are my go-to decoys when hunting the timber, especially when it’s raining. Timber toms are leery, and if the decoy isn’t perfect, they might not commit.
Over a year ago I tried Browning’s Dark Ops Pro DCL trail cameras ($179.99; browningtrailcameras.com ). I liked them so much I picked up three dozen more. Their HD video quality is tops.
