Greatest Day of the Turkey Strut: Could 15

In our final installment of the The Greatest Days of the Strut 2023, we’d simply flipped the calendar to maybe the turkey hunter’s favourite month, with seasons open throughout the nation, the climate enhancing by the day, and gobblers able to play. Now that we’re effectively into Could, an growing variety of hens are extra severe about nesting, leaving gobblers—together with a number of the spring’s most long-spurred specimens—susceptible to calling. Whereas seasons are winding down (or closed altogether) within the South, looking throughout a lot of the remainder of turkey vary will in all probability be pretty much as good because it will get all season. With the woods greening up, it’s simpler to maneuver tight to a gobbler and work him into gun vary. And, hey, if you happen to’re a morel mushroom hunter, you may need some extra luck after you’ve tagged your gobbler.

The Professional: Shane Simpson, Minnesota

Shane Simpson is an knowledgeable gobbler hunter who has been filming his hunts since he was a young person. His YouTube channel is full of glorious recommendations on turkey vocalizations, looking techniques, calling, and profitable hunts. Whereas he calls Minnesota residence, Simpson has hunted gobblers throughout the nation. He’s additionally an avid public-land whitetail hunter, however this time of yr, is all turkeys, on a regular basis for Simpson.

The Strut Stage: Fast Submit-Breeding

We’re on the bottom of the turkey rut’s bell-shaped curve. Nearly all of hens have been bred, and lots of are setting, which signifies that they’re principally out of the breeding image altogether. Remaining hens have began laying their one egg per day and are limiting their every day journey to areas near their nests. In brief, extra gobblers are discovering themselves alone for a big portion of the day, which makes them susceptible to hunters who haven’t given up or been distracted by different warm-weather actions.

Skilled Tactic for Could 15:  Triangulate a Roosted Tom

The outdated saying “roosted ain’t roasted” comes from the the various SNAFUs that may happen on a morning hunt following a profitable roosting the night earlier than. Whereas Simpson has skilled these prepare wrecks as typically as anybody, he insists that proper now is an ideal time to roost a tom at evening and tag him at daybreak. “It’s my go-to tactic this time of yr, and it may be scary-effective,” he advised F&S. “Final spring, we killed about 90 % of the toms I roosted the evening earlier than (Simpson calls for a lot of associates, sometimes on public-land gobblers) within the mid- to late-Could interval.”

The distinction now, he stated, is the breeding section. “With most hens nesting now, virtually each gobbler is roosting alone. If I can pin him down within the night, I really feel I’ve a superb opportunity at calling him in very first thing within the morning.” Simpson’s roosting technique may be very exact. “I begin driving roads near the grounds I need to hunt, about 45 minutes earlier than darkish,” he stated. “The most effective roost gobbling is usually half-hour earlier than official sundown, however I’m all the time prepared if one begins sooner than that. I’ll cease and owl hoot on my favourite owl name, which is Hook’s Hootin’ Stick. If that doesn’t work I’m going to a coyote howl, and in the event that they don’t gobble to that I’ll yelp at them. And as quickly as I get a gobble, I transfer barely to try to get a second gobble from the identical chook, which permits me to essentially nail down his location by triangulating it from at the least two places, and I take advantage of these to drop a pin on my OnX app that marks the roost web site. Then if I’ve time, I drive on and attempt to discover one other chook if doable.”

Later within the night after he’s been roosting, Simpson appears to be like on the gobbler pins on his app and zeroes in on the one that gives the very best entry and probabilities of success. “Ideally I desire a chook roosted on an extended wooded level that results in an ag or CRP subject,” he stated. “That evening I’ll have a look at the pin on the app, measure 75 to 100 yards from that spot, and drop a second pin, which is the place I plan to arrange within the morning. And utilizing my app, I stroll precisely to that spot in the dead of night, earlier than a single chook is awake. At first it was onerous to rely utterly on know-how like this, however I’ve discovered to belief it. As a result of when daybreak comes, I’ve snuck to inside 100 yards earlier than that first gobble. Even when I’ve to make a slight adjustment because it will get mild, I’m already arrange earlier than fly-down, and I do know that chook is in a complete lot of hassle.”