Turkey Hunt
LEARN FROM THE PROS
Using Turkey Calls
Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s Canada Pro Staff, Paige Galea
Learn how to purr like a pro and bag the bird you’ve been dreaming of.
How To Lay Out Your Decoys
Bass Pro Shops & Cabela's Canada Ambassador, Taylor Wright
These tips and tricks will help you lure even the most hesitant hen.
Proven Tips to Locate Spring Gobblers
Achieving success in turkey hunting requires proper preparation and a good understanding of the birds' behaviour. Spending several mornings before the season listening to turkey gobbling on the roost from afar is crucial. These birds are vocal on the roost, especially during the morning and evening hours.
If you are new to turkey hunting, here are a few tips to get started:
- While turkeys can be predictable, the best way to locate them is through scouting. Signs of scat, feathers, or tracks on travel routes and roost trees can be spotted during camping trips or if you drive on gravel roads in the evening. Hunters can also use binoculars and a shock gobble inducer to locate the birds.
- Hens cackle when flying up to their roost in a tree, and gobblers often respond by gobbling. You can replicate the same cackle on a slate, box, or mouth turkey call to locate the gobbler's position and begin the hunt the morning after.
- If the cackle fails to elicit any response, hunters can use an owl hooter, coyote call, or crow call to get a reaction from the gobbler. In some instances, toms might not gobble, and hunters should pay close attention and listen for any wingbeats or flaps of a flying down turkey to determine it's location.
- Experimenting with different turkey calls is also essential. By calling quieter and softer than usual, hunters can trick a gobbler into thinking that it needs to come closer to find the hen. Calling quietly makes it difficult for the gobbler to pinpoint the exact location of the hen, making it more curious and likely to come in at a faster pace.
Did you Know?
Turkeys make more noise flying up than down.
BASIC TURKEY TERMS
Think you can talk turkey like an expert? Test your turkey hunting terminology and learn some new lingo you can use out in the field.
- Tom: A mature male turkey
- Jake: A young male turkey
- Hen: A female turkey
- Gobble: The sound a male turkey makes (a “shock gobble” has a different pitch and happens when the turkey is scared)
- Purr: The sound a female turkey makes
- Pitch: A female turkey’s purr varies depending on maturity and mood.
- Strut: What a tom does when trying to impress a hen, or when he wants to show dominance over another male turkey.
SEASONS BY PROVINCE
Please defer to dates posted on each province/territory's government website, available by clicking on the province name.
How to Hunt Turkeys in Windy Weather
The reality of spring turkey hunting often comes with howling wind. Although strong wind conditions make it hard to hear even nearby toms and gobblers, there’s still a good chance to fill your tag in not-so-ideal conditions.
- Get Low: The strength of the wind varies throughout the day, and finding a low area will cut the wind by at least 25% to help you proceed. Birds gather in a low spot once they leave their roost. Take note of where you see and hear the birds in windy conditions.
- Calling Tactics: Winds often build up a while after daybreak and into the morning. Use a crow call or an owl hooter call. Move in fast and close more aggressively than you usually would.
- Decoys: On windy days, turkeys struggle to see their surroundings. Yet, the wind can be advantageous in making the decoys more lifelike and realistic. If you can't find a sheltered spot, using a decoy is essential. They come equipped with a leg pole strap that helps manage the movement caused by the wind, resulting in a more natural and convincing decoy.
- Finding Turkeys: Strong winds make turkeys nervous. Hens find calmer areas where they can hear and be heard while some toms fly all the way into valleys and others slip down a level or two to benches, side bowls, and hollows to shelter from the breeze.
- Tip: Turkeys move to fields and pastures to use their 270-degree vision to protect themselves from any danger and escape from the noise of clattering branches.