Tips for Successful Turkey Hunting in the West

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Serenading tree yelps broke the silence as dawn broke in the high desert. Soon, gobbles echoed across the sagebrush flats. My buddy, Austin Moser, and I were right where we wanted to be.

Hunkered down amid sagebrush that was well over our heads, we took in all the turkey chatter. Multiple gobblers fired off in the pine trees scattered across the scree slope to the south. Soon, all the toms were on the ground, strutting on open hillsides. The closest was 300 yards away; the farthest well over half a mile from our setup. Every tom answered the loud hen yelps of my diaphragm call. They knew where we were.

I didn’t make another sound for nearly 45 minutes. That’s when the hens started dispersing to feed. Some toms lost interest in following the hens, so I ramped up the calling. The tom farthest away gobbled at every sound I made. Then it retracted its fanned tail, stacked its wings and ran down the hill. The last we saw of it, it was sprinting toward the sagebrush flat and heading right for us. We didn’t see the tom again until it was 25 yards away. A payload of HEVI-18 TSS ended my hunt. We grabbed the bird and slithered through the tall sagebrush behind us, where I commenced calling 20 minutes later. Two toms responded. They were already in the sage flats. Five minutes later, both birds were gobbling in our faces and Moser filled his tag.

The next day we hunted the same area, this time from a ground blind and with decoys. It took longer than anticipated for a tom to show up, but eventually one did. It strutted by the tom decoy and hopped on the breeder hen. That’s when I filled my second tag.

The season prior, in 2023, Moser and I had hunted this spot in northeastern Washington on the final days of the season. We encountered multiple toms each day, and though we didn’t fire a shot, we came away from that experience having learned the lessons that enabled us to punch our tags last spring. Turkey hunting the West’s vast sagebrush country can be one of the most thrilling encounters the sport has to offer. It’s far different from hunting in big timber and river bottoms, and with the season fast approaching, now’s the time to prepare.

SCOUT NOW

Though breeding in some locations around the West can start as early as March, many hens will have yet to start sitting on their nests by opening day. Once a hen starts laying, it’ll deposit one egg in its nest about every 24 hours but won’t start incubation until all eggs are laid (a hen lays an average of 11 eggs). This means the hens will be roosting and feeding with the toms early in the season, but once they finish eating, they’ll often head to their nest to sit and lay an egg.

During pre-season scouting, look for flocks of hens and toms after fly-down, but more importantly, watch to see what toms do and where they go once hens finish feeding. If hens head into the sagebrush (where their nests often are located), toms will follow. This is where you can slip in before daylight and be ready for a chance at multiple encounters.

If hens are nesting on brushy hillsides, toms often stay on their higher elevation strutting grounds. These toms can be tough to call from their commanding view into the confines of sagebrush, meaning you’ll need to get into the hills or trees to close the deal.

Many hens move to higher elevations to build a nest and lay eggs. It’s nothing for them to cover 15 miles from their wintering grounds to nest. Don’t overlook every knob, bench, timbered ridge and high sagebrush flat when scouting. Where there are hens, toms won’t be far. When a hen heads to the nest to lay an egg, and especially when it starts incubating the eggs, it’s the perfect time to call in one of these toms. However, because these high-elevation hens are so spread out, only one or two toms might be with them. Because of the open terrain, it can be tough moving close enough to a tom to call it in off the roost. When scouting, watch where toms pitch to when flying off the roost. If you can reach that spot in the dark, there might be an opportunity to greet that tom when it hits the ground.

Keep watching toms once they’ve given up on following hens that are feeding. This is when you can pattern their movements and set up accordingly. Even early-season toms have routines and paths they follow consistently in search of food every day. Get ahead of where they want to be and you boost the odds of success.

THE SETUPS

Having hunted turkeys in sagebrush country in multiple states throughout the West, I’ve learned to base setups on the habitat being hunted. When hunting in tall sagebrush, I like moving and calling. Here, I don’t use a decoy because I want to keep toms on the move, constantly searching. Toms that come to a hen call in thick sage are looking for a hen, and if they don’t see one, they’ll keep searching for it. This means all you need is one or two shooting lanes to pull a tom into for a clear shot opportunity.

Early in my sagebrush hunting experiences, I had too many toms hang up once they spotted a hen decoy. This was especially the case on windy days. Going without a decoy affords a hunter the ability to freely move and adjust to incoming toms. Often, multiple toms come in from different directions, so hunters can quickly move and anticipate the best shot window.

If scouting reveals toms scattered across a large sagebrush flat, mobility is the key to filling a tag. The flat Moser and I hunted last season was roughly three-quarters of a mile wide and nearly 2 miles long. We counted 11 mature toms using this stretch of land. This gave us options to move through the tall sage and set up where and when we needed based on what the toms were doing.

When scouting sagebrush habitats you plan to hunt on foot, map out potential paths of travel. Once in the sage, stay committed to it until late in the morning. There’s plenty of cover, feed and shade in tall sagebrush, meaning toms often hang out there all day long. This gives you many opportunities to move and call.

When calling toms on sagebrush fringes or along the edges of fields bordered by sagebrush, consider using a pop-up ground blind. Because the terrain is so open in these spots, visibility can be a concern. Turkeys see in color and have vision nearly equivalent to 8-power binoculars. This means a turkey will likely see any movement you make. A ground blind not only allows you to set up in any open spot, it hides your movements and allows you to hunt in comfort. It lets you use box calls and slate calls without the fear of hand movements alerting approaching toms.

When hunting from a blind in more open areas, I like using decoys. In spots with high tom-to-hen ratios, one tom and one hen decoy is preferred. When tom numbers are high, competition to breed is intense and a bird will often aggressively move in on a tom decoy. The hen decoy completes the ruse, and an approaching tom may pass right by a strutting tom decoy on its way to the hen.

In areas with low tom to hen ratios, try a lone hen decoy. This is a less intimidating setup and often pulls in hesitant toms.

Trail cameras can be a great scouting tool for patterning early-season toms. Because toms can cover so much ground during the course of a day, positioning trail cameras to learn when and where they are moving will unveil a lot of valuable information.

I set all trail cameras on video mode because a video clip reveals sights and sounds still images can’t capture. Often, you’ll catch a hen or lone tom on camera but hear other toms gobbling in the distance. A still image might capture one tom, but a 15-second video might reveal multiple toms moving through.

Trail camera video clips help determine the number of toms in an area and provide an accurate idea of the timing of their movements. Keep track of these times and you might be surprised at how active toms are late in the morning. Where cellular coverage is good, I like running Moultrie Mobile trail cameras to monitor bird movement. I prefer the Edge Pro and Edge 2 Pro cameras as they allow you to monitor and reset Smart Zones. This means you can block out grass, sagebrush and even shadows that may trigger the cameras. There are other settings you can control in order to optimize battery life, too.

I like using solar panels on my Moultrie Mobile cameras because the continuous sun in open sagebrush country keeps the cameras working for several months. In fact, I keep many sage-country trail cameras running year-round in order to monitor spring broods, poult survival rates, predators and fall turkey movement. Trail cameras are our eyes in the field when we’re not there, offering incredibly detailed insight to animal behavior we’d otherwise never see. Be aware of trail camera rules and regulations in states you’ll be hunting prior to deploying them.

STAY OR GO?

Sage-country toms can be stubborn, and birds pressured on public ground quickly grow very smart. Their unwillingness to cooperate injects doubt into the minds of hunters, with the big question being, “Should I stay put and keep calling, or go on the move to try and close the deal?” The answer lies in where you’re set up at the time and whether or not you can make a move without getting busted. It also hinges on how often the birds are being hunted.

Two years ago in Washington, there was a monster Merriam’s I wanted in the worst way. I’ve shot some nice Merriam’s over the years, but this one was exceptional in coloration and had a thick beard that dragged on the ground. I hunted that tom for 3 days, passing other toms in order to not spook the ridge ruler. I never got a shot at the grand bird, but I learned a lot, mostly through mistakes.

The first morning I hunted the tom from a ground blind. It never left its elevated strutting position on an open hillside. When it slipped into the shade of some old-growth pines at midday, I snuck in to try and call the bird but bumped it.

The next morning, I was set up near where the tom flew down from the roost the prior two days. That morning it flew to another location. Late that afternoon, I returned and set up along the path it traveled when heading to roost. Wouldn’t you know, it flew to the roost from another location that night.

The following morning, I set up in the sage, ready to run-and-gun the wise tom. No matter what sounds I offered, he wouldn’t leave his commanding view of the sage flats below. It confirmed how smart and tough to kill these birds can be.

I usually take an either/or approach when hunting sage-country toms. I either hunt from a ground blind and stay put, or commit to hunting on the ground without a decoy. When hunting from a blind, I set up where I’ve seen toms consistently. I don’t place a blind in a spot hoping to pull birds away from areas they frequent. These toms can be very habitual, and safe travel routs and precise strutting zones are chosen for a reason.

Once in a blind, commit to staying in it until at least mid-morning. The tom I killed last season from the pop-up blind didn’t come in until after 9:30 a.m., more than three hours after I expected it to. Patience is a must when hunting from ground blinds, and using decoys and mixing up the calls helps pull in birds.

When hunting on the ground, travel light. I like being mobile, and the less gear I have to manage, the easier it is to move. I also like calling more than usual when moving. Remember, in nature a tom typically remains on its strutting ground and calls hens to it, which means we’re often trying to defy a tom’s inborn behavior by calling it to us. If hunting in tall sage that conceals you and offers the ability to walk and cover ground, calling and moving toward an approaching tom will often entice it to come in more readily. The number of toms I’ve brought in while moving and calling greatly surpasses the number of toms I’ve had come in by calling from one spot.

Because tall sage offers cover, having slate, box and diaphragm calls is wise. Sage toms are smart and often approach with caution. Having the ability to offer a range of different sounds from different kinds of calls will boost the chances for success. If a tom gobbles at a box call but won’t budge, wait 10 minutes and try a slate. If the tom starts coming and hangs up, try a different striker. When a tom gets close, you might not be able to move your hands to work a friction call, meaning you’ll need to finish it with a diaphragm call. I have a diaphragm call in the side of my mouth all the time.

By scouting and preparing ahead of time, you’ll know exactly where to be come opening day. Just as important, you’ll know how to hunt that spot. Sage-country toms can be finicky, and the more versatile your approaches, the greater the odds of filling the pot.

GEAR UP

• Proven products for chasing toms in sagebrush country.

Having the proper gear for any hunt is important for both comfort and success. With time to shop before the season opener, here are a few pieces of gear to consider.

SETUP STAPLES

Early last season I hunted from the new TideWe See Through Pop Up Ground Blind (prices vary). I was so impressed, I ordered two more. Three panels feature one-way, see-through mesh that not only makes hunting from a ground blind fun, but greatly increases what you’re able to see. A tom or jake decoy and a Final Approach Live Breeder Hen ($140) brought in multiple birds in multiple states last year. Don’t forget a comfortable chair, water and a snack, as you might be sitting for much of the morning.

HEVI HITTER

While sub-gauge shotguns have increased in popularity in recent years, a fully-choked 12-gauge topped with a red-dot sight and shooting 3-inch Hevi-18 with No. 7 shot ($94.99/5 rounds) is a great combo. You never know what kind of a shot opportunity might present itself when running and gunning in sagebrush, and this setup will increase shot accuracy and killing power.

HIGH-END HIKERS

Last season I logged many hours and more than 75 miles in Meindl’s Comfort Fit Hikers ($310). I also wore the boots on a safari in Africa. They’re quick to break in, durable, supportive and non-binding, but very lightweight.

GO-TO GLASS

Binos are a great tool to have when turkey hunting in sagebrush not only for identifying birds, but for evaluating the terrain. I like Leupold’s BX4 Range HD 10x42 ($1,599) rangefinding binocular as it allows me to get accurate range readings prior to taking the shot. Judging distances can be challenging in open country.

CALL CARRIER

I like traveling light when covering ground. Last spring and fall I used Sitka’s Turkey Tool Belt ($229). It comes with ample compartments, a water bottle pouch and a removable padded seat. For the minimalist hunter, this tool belt rocks.

TURKEY TALKERS

In the Turkey Tool Belt I carry two slates and three strikers, an all-weather box call from Point Blank Calls ($42.99) and six Slayer diaphragm calls (prices vary). I’ve been using some of my Slayer diaphragms for 3 years with no splitting, drying out or tape separating. I love the crisp, clear range of sounds these diaphragm calls make, and I’ve called in hundreds of birds with them for both hunting and photography work. Having a range of sounds is important when hunting sage-country toms.

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• This article was featured in the March 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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