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Turkey Hunting Tips
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Biology
Since 1960, three subspecies of wild turkey have been introduced in Washington: the Merriam’s, Rio Grande, and eastern. Currently, the Merriam’s subspecies occupies portions of Ferry, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Skamania, Stevens, Spokane, Okanogan, Chelan, Kittitas, and Yakima counties. Rio Grande turkeys can be found in Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Lincoln, Walla Walla, and Whitman counties. Turkeys of the eastern subspecies can be found west of the Cascades in Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Thurston, and Wahkiakum counties. (WDFW website)
West side turkeys are the planted subspecies Eastern.
Eastern Turkeys tail feathers are tipped in brown and the body feathers are tipped in black. They are metallic looking as the feathers have an iridescence about them.
Blue Mountain area turkeys are the planted subspecies Rio Grande.
Rio Grandes have light brown lined tail feathers and on the lower back feathers.
Most all other Eastern Washington area turkeys are the planted subspecies Merriam.
Merriam turkeys have white lined tail feathers and on the lower back feathers.
Ponderosa Pine nuts are the number one winter food source of turkeys in Eastern Washington WDFW Game Status and Trends Report
In 2006, Washington State WDFW reported a total harvest of an estimated 6400 turkeys. WDFW Game Status and Trends Report
Turkeys are like all game birds and need to collect gravel to help digest their food. It is not uncommon to see turkeys spending a lot of morning hours in the middle of a logging road. (courtesy Mike D.)
Techniques
You have to pay attention to turkey droppings and foot prints. Look for these signs in openings in the forest.
Hire a guide for one season. Chances are that guide will teach you more during your hunt than you would learn from years of "trying to figure it out on your own." Guides are willing to teach and are getting paid to give you all their attention. Most guides will be flattered if you continually pick their brains for information.
Always get permission before hunting land that is private. You may think that the landowner wouldn’t mind if you took one out of that flock of 40, but, trespassing is never OK, nor is taking animals off of someone’s land.
There are quite a number of different types of turkey calls. Before purchasing one, ask around and see which ones work well. Diaphragm calls take a huge amount of practice to master. Slate calls are useless when raining. Box calls can be cumbersome and take both your hands to operate.
If you spot another hunter who is working a bird, be considerate and back off from the flock. It is unfair and unsportsman-like.
If using a shotgun, practice shooting with the same loads as you will be taking out in the field. Get used to how it patterns and your effective range.
Older mature gobblers usually have beards that average 7 to 10 inches in length. Many jakes males taken during the fall hunting season have beards that are shorter than 2 inches. Juvenile hens rarely possess beards, but a portion of the adult females may be bearded. Beards on hens rarely exceed 5 inches and are meager compared with the beard of a full-grown tom.
Full-grown toms have prominent spurs on the backs of the lower legs, which become longer and more pointed with age. On an old bird, spurs can go over an inch in length. Hens and juvenile toms (jakes) have only small, subtle spurs.
Turkeys have phenomenal eyesight. Camo up! Including your hands and face.
Believe it or not, a number of people have been able to use tree stands for turkey. It relies on the predictability of certain flocks of turkeys and limits your ability to be mobile. However, being well above the turkeys in the very early mornings and the evenings can allow you to not worry as much about your body movement.
Bad weather usually forces turkeys to shut down, they like to seek cover and attempt to stay dry. It is important to note that the turkeys are still in the woods, just not as vocal. Don’t let a rainy day spoil your attempt at a turkey hunt.
Don’t overuse your turkey call. Public land turkeys have heard the gambit of hunters calling at them. Use clucks and purrs and gently scratch the ground (do what others are not)
Turkeys are extremely mobile, they will cover significant ground during the day, so hunt the entire day. And if you don’t see turkeys right away, but, you see significant sign. Wait… they will show.
"Shock Calling" is something that can be done. Before heading into an area at first light. Blow a predator call or yelp like a coyote. Turkeys tend to "sound the alarm" when they hear a predator or when they are alarmed. If you pay close attention to where the bird has called from, sneak in that general direction.
When hunting a creek bottom or near a water source, turkeys will rarely cross water to go after another male or female. If you hear your birds on the other side. Move to their side.
When scouting or hunting really early or really late in the day. Look up in the trees. This is where turkeys roost. While it is very unsportsmanlike to shoot a turkey in a tree, mark where the bird is and come back later when the bird has come down off the roost.
Believe it or not, turkeys can fly quite some distance. They are very mobile and spook easily.
There are a lot of turkeys now in Washington State. Chances are most of them are going to be on private land. Get to know landowners before the season and seek their permission. The population seems to be exploding and with a yearly bag limit of 3, the WDFW seems to think so, as well. The turkey population increase on private land could mean that hunting turkeys on adjacent public land will be much easier in the future as the carrying capacity for these lands will eventually push more and more birds into more accessible land. It is important to note that a few of us here at HuntWashingtonState who have hunted in Washington all of our lives never saw turkeys growing up. Now it is not uncommon to see flocks of a hundred or more birds.
When contacting landowners be courteous and respect their not wanting to allow hunting of turkeys. Numerous landowners understand that turkeys actually help decrease the rattlesnake population. This is especially important if a landowner has cattle or other livestock. You can perhaps offer to do a bit of summer rattlesnake cleanup for the landowner in exchange for the opportunity to hunt a tom or to improve his land for turkey production. The National Wildlife Turkey Foundation has excellent tips on how to best enhance habitat for turkey production. http://www.nwtf.org/ When contacting landowners, offer to do some work. Chances are this offer will resonate much more than some strange guy in camo walking up to him and asking to trespass.
Purchase a turkey seat, you will make yourself much more comfortable for a much longer time.
Be flexible in your choice of camouflage, be prepared to hunt in snow, open areas or deep forests. Have different camo patterns to blend into your surroundings. (courtesy Mike D.)
Place your decoy well inside the effective range of your decoy. If a Tom hangs up 10 yds from your decoy, you are going to want to be able to still have a shot at the bird. (courtesy Mike D.)
If you are driving and spot turkeys, never stop and watch them. It'll surely spook them. Keep driving at a normal speed and look for a place out of the way to stop your vehicle. (remember to obey all gun handling laws when you are in and near your vehicle!) (courtesy Mike D.)
Safety Tips!
Be careful in chasing what you think is a turkey. In public land hunts, what may sound like or perhaps look like a strutting Tom, could be another hunter and a decoy or two. Remember that hunter orange is not required to hunt turkeys in Washington State. Always identify what you are shooting at.
Know your background before you shoot, turkey shot can carry quite a distance.
When going into an area or leaving, wear hunter orange. Easy way to keep yourself safe.
If you have decoys, stow them away when moving around. Don't have a decoy sticking out of a pack or under an arm. If you really are well camouflaged, other hunters will only see the deke.
Shoot at the head and neck of the bird. Don't shoot at the body. 1) you don't want to waste meat. 2) you don't want to ruin the feathers 3) your chances of merely wounding a bird are much higher. You don't want to have to go chasing your bird over hill and dale and screwing up other's hunting. And 4) If you wound and have to go chasing after the bird, your crashing around sounds exactly like a foraging or alarmed bear. There are some areas where bear hunters and turkey hunters share space. Keep yourself alive!
Modern style decoys are becoming more and more realistic. Be aware of other hunters approaching and that they may shoot at your decoy. In reciprocal to this advice, never shoot at a Tom unless you are sure it is a real bird.
Areas to hunt
Check out the big game species areas on this site to find access to public lands (go to Sitemap) for links.
WDFW has built a great game range map which will tell you generally where to look for the birds.
