There are several ways one can use to bait turkeys. One of which is audio baiting and the other is food baiting. Turkey can be easily drawn by sounds that mimic them in a similar way they get attracted to food scent. Unlike old days where you had to go into the bush and find them physically. These two strategies exhibit a clever approach.
Turkeys can survive in almost any habitat, from desert zones to savanna areas. They mostly require a large and wide open area that can be perfect for mating and feeding. Even though you might barely find them in the winter season, it is in the spring season that hunting such animals is favorable. By looking at things such as feathers, tracks and scratch marks in muddy roads, you can easily know their location and directions.
There are many ways to catch turkeys but this article will particularly focus specifically on how to bait them.
Let’s dive right into it.
How to bait turkeys
1. Choose the required equipment
Failing to capture a turkey on a hunt can be frustrating, let alone embarrassing. However, by using the proper tools, you can maximize your chances of capturing a turkey on any hunt. Some of the equipment you’ll need for a good hunt include a turkey caller, turkey decoys, and cracked corn. Most importantly, the kind of firearm determines whether you go home with anything or not. Unlike ancient times when bows were the only hunting equipment, nowadays shotguns can be readily obtained. They are without a doubt the best shooting rifles to have.
2. Scout your hunting spot
First, begin with gathering all the equipment before you can begin locating the best place to bait the turkeys. Normally, you will want to choose your hunting location in a place that is near the prey’s habitat. Mostly it will be a place consisting of a lot of trees. It is there that they get shelter, food , resting places and cover from predators.
3. Do correct timing
If you’ve acquired the necessary equipment and a suitable hunting location, the next challenge will be to determine the best time to locate the turkeys. It is no wonder that turkeys are not always available. It is only by timing that you will be able to determine when and where to look for them. Set the bait and plan decoys before they appear after you’ve determined the best times to locate them.
4. Setting the bait
This is the easiest task to do, simply spread the corn seeds or any other baiting food in the field where you expect the turkey to be. You should also make sure that the place near your hunting spot is.
As turkeys come out in the fields in search of food,the corn being one of their best meals,they will make haste to draw near to the place where the corn has been spread out for a feast thus drawing closer to your firing position.
5. Set up the decoys
Decoys are strategically placed near your hiding spot. Depending on where you are, set the decoy to be around 20 yards from your hiding spot. Decoys are important as they give turkeys a false sense of protection. That way they will not fear to approach your hunting spot. To achieve this, you ought to use high quality decoys and set them in the correct posture.
6. Call the turkeys
You might think calling turkeys is a difficult thing to do but you will be surprised at how easy to use. So,When you are through with setting up the bait, choosing a location and getting yourself a good turkey caller, then it is about time you start calling. There are different types of calls that can be deployed when hunting turkeys. Let’s take a look at the common ones.
- Calls for friction
If you’re hunting in windy conditions, this caller is ideal because its sound is quickly transmitted by the wind. Sometimes this diaphragm call might become noisy and disturbing but that can be easily fixed by hitting globber’s ears in a similar manner as scratching wood or slates.Box calls and po-and-peg calls are the most common friction calls to use.
- Mouth call
Using mouth call might be difficult but the more time you take to practise mouth call, the faster you can get used to it. Mouth calls are specifically important as it guarantees perfect communication with turkeys.
What Makes Turkey Baiting Unsuccessful
1. Overcalling
It is fine to be persistent when calling turkeys but overcalling is detrimental to your hunt. When you call too much, a male turkey might be tempted to think you are a hen who is interested in his attention and spending time with him. According to him, if you are a hot hen, then probably you will go looking for him. At last, it will get boring waiting and he might end up showing up in a gun rage.
2. Out of sight calling
Sometimes you make a call to no avail only to realise that turkey is nowhere to be seen. So when turkeys are out of range, don’t dare make a call until they begin approaching your hunting spot.
3. Bad call
Everytime you make a bad call, turkeys will become suspicious and alert. Any mistake and they will flee meaning your hunting for the day is over.
Hunters never confess to being bad at making turkey calls; instead, they blame something else. Learning how to make a turkey call will help you have a great hunting trip. This is due to the fact that calling is more about how you sound; it is all about knowing what to say and when to say it.
Conclusion
As you have discussed above, turkeys are very intelligent animals Despite the fact that they lack smell, they have good ears with high capability of detecting any form of noise. This makes them distinct from other animals and hence difficult to hunt. Traditional hunting methods may not work with them.
However, By deploying the strategies indicated above of using food to bait or calling with turkey callers, You can easily draw them to your hunting place and from there you can be in a position to catch them. So, with all the information provided in this article we believe that capturing a turkey through baiting shout be nothing but a breeze.