Tips for Making Turkey Hunting Opening Day Special This Year

March 06, 2025
By Brian Lovett

The night before the spring turkey opener conjures up many images, including toasts to previous years and fresh optimism for the campaign ahead. Unfortunately, it also finds some hunters living a cliché. They’ll be searching for gear, woefully unprepared and essentially starting the season with no clear plan of where to go or what to do.

Been there? We all have. But don’t repeat that mistake. After all, the days leading up to turkey season offer loads of time to scout, plan and strategize. Use those days wisely, and rely on these tips to be uber-prepared for this spring’s opener.

SCOUT FOR THE LONG HAUL

Long-term scouting efforts should begin the day after the previous turkey season ends. It’s never too early to identify potentially productive properties and learn the lay of the land. Mapping apps help this search tremendously and give you a first look at farms or public dirt that might hold turkeys. In-person follow-up is essential, however.

First, determine the property boundaries and the best ingress and egress points. Then, walk the property and look for elements that attract turkeys, including good timber for roosting and seasonal food sources, such as pastures, ag fields, food plots and hard- and soft-mast-producing trees. Note open areas where gobblers might strut, and seek likely travel corridors, such as logging roads, timbered ridge lines or even fence gates between pastures or fields.

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Seeing turkeys or finding sign during these jaunts is a bonus. It just confirms that the property appeals to birds. Your real focus should be on gaining an intimate knowledge of the land, which puts you ahead of the curve when hunting—especially when moving on turkeys or finding killer calling setups.

SCOUT FOR THE NOW

As the season approaches—say late winter or early spring—gather intel on the relative abundance and the daily patterns of turkeys on properties you can hunt. Glass fields and pastures at dawn or late evening to find feeding flocks. Listen from good vantage points to hear roost gobbling and, if possible, get an idea of how birds disperse after fly-down. Search for other clues, such as tracks, droppings, feathers, scratching, dusting areas and strut marks. If possible (and legal), run cellular trail cameras at likely spots to get real-time info.

Two important scouting notes: First, be as low-key as possible when traipsing through a property. Glass areas carefully before proceeding to avoid bumping or spooking turkeys, and don’t run turkey calls. You want the birds you hunt opening day to be as unpressured as possible.

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Also, it’s important to continue scouting right up to the opener. Spring is a time of great change for turkeys, as family flocks and gobbler bachelor groups are breaking up, and birds are expanding out of their winter range to fill their habitat. As spring progresses, you’ll note gobbling from spots where there was nothing weeks earlier. Likewise, hens will spread out in their search for good nesting areas. Keep tabs on those changes.

ROOST AGGRESSIVELY

Gathering short- and long-term scouting info greatly helps you prepare for the opener. But roosting turkeys the night before your hunt can be the critical step to success.

As with scouting, most turkey hunters are familiar with basic roosting concepts. They err, however, in two areas. First, they try to roost birds too early, before turkeys have flown up for the night. Second, they might identify the general location of roosted birds but fail to get more specific info.

Get smart and aggressive with roosting. Wait until the sun is beginning to set and find a good vantage point where birds can likely hear your calls. As daylight fades, try an owl-hoot or two. If that fails, throw out a fly-up cackle. Maybe even try a coyote howler, which can be very effective. Repeat that routine every 5 to 10 minutes until you get a response.

When a bird gobbles, use available cover and terrain to cut the distance to the roost. If possible, go about halfway, then utter another hoot or cackle to check on the turkey. When cover allows, slip even closer to the bird and try to determine its precise location—right down to the tree in which he’s roosted. Learning a turkey’s exact whereabouts will let you slip almost underneath him on opening morning.

MAKE YOUR MOVE

When finished roosting, quietly slip out of the area and refer to your scouting notes or a mapping app to determine where the gobbler might fly down the next morning. Obviously, birds roosted on field edges might simply sail to open ground at dawn. Turkeys roosted in timber usually fly down to relatively open areas, such as oak flats, logging landings or small patches of high ground. Birds in steep ridges or valleys typically fly down to the short side of the terrain. That is, a bird roosted on a 45-degree slope will likely pitch straight out toward the rising slope rather than sail downhill. No matter the scenario, identify a likely fly-down area and determine how to set up within shotgun range of that spot.

This brings up another critical consideration: slipping close to a roosted bird. If a gobbler sees or hears you on the morning of the hunt, the jig is up. He might not flush in the dark, but detecting danger will certainly change his mood.

The night before your hunt, identify the best path to your setup. Field edges or logging roads offer relatively quiet approaches. If you must slip through timber, go very slowly, paying attention to every footstep. In either case, you want to slip in and set up well before light begins to break.

When the game begins, let the turkey gobble on its own. Then, utter just enough tree yelps and clucks to let him know you’re there. If he doesn’t have hens, he might pitch right to you.

ADJUST YOUR PLAN

Of course, roosting doesn’t always work. Further, even great roost hunts sometimes go south, as your target bird flies down with a harem and walks off or simply plays hard to get and loses interest. That’s when it’s time to implement plans B, C and beyond. How you react to initial failure often wins the day, and having a mental list of good backup strategies keeps you in the game. Let the situation dictate your moves. If you hear a turkey gobble on an adjacent ridge, use your knowledge of the land to slip in tight and set up. When turkeys go silent—which is common immediately after fly-down—refer to your pre-season scouting to determine where hens m

ight travel or feed. If possible, slip to a good ambush site along their route.

If all else fails, again remember your scouting intel and set up for a cold-calling session in a spot turkeys like to frequent, such as an oak-studded ridge or a high point of timber in open ag country.

During rainy days, focus on open fields. When the wind blows, call from relatively calm spots where birds can get out of the breeze. If temperatures soar, spend some time in dark, shaded timber where turkeys might loaf. Above all, anticipate your next move and keep at it.

FOLLOW THEIR LEAD

When it comes to calling and decoys, folks often get too hung up on predetermined strategies. Whether it’s opening day or late in the season, let the turkeys tell you what they like.

When calling, it’s almost always best to start with soft stuff and, if necessary, ramp it up from there. Note a gobbler’s reaction to your calling and then adjust accordingly. Basically, you want to make him gobble just enough to keep him working to you and monitor his approach. If he reacts well to excited yelping and cutting, give it to him. But if he hangs up, switch to soft, subtle clucks, purring and soft yelps—even long periods of silence—in order to keep him coming.

Approaches with decoys vary, but again, defer to the reactions of turkeys. The basic setup of two hens and a jake or strutter decoy typically works well early in the season. However, if a gobbler gets jittery at the sight of a strutter, yank that fake. Likewise, in areas with high jake populations, where the youngsters might have ganged up on lone gobblers throughout early spring, consider ditching the jake decoy.

Even with the best preparation, opening-day success is never guaranteed. However, every bit of work and thought before the opener puts you one step closer to sealing the deal on Day 1. Moreover, it’s a great way to channel the surge of excitement that builds before the season. Prepare like never before this spring. It might just result in an opener you’ll never forget.

OPENING-DAY ESSENTIALS

Six pieces of gear that can help you bag a bird on day one.

Pre-season scouting is a huge part of setting yourself up for opening-day turkey success, but a good locator call can help you pin down where a gobbler’s hanging his hat just before your hunt. That and a variety of other gear items can contribute to your results on the day of your hunt. Below are several key items hunters can rely on to get the job done.

WOODHAVEN CUSTOM CALLS NINJA OWL

The Ninja Owl ($34.99),
designed by Grand National and U.S. Open owl hooting champion Scott Ellis, produces the entire vocabulary of the barred owl. This includes high-pitched screams and laughs as well as the original eight-note hooting sequence. It’s a user-friendly locator call with a championship-quality tone and sound.

PRIMOS DOUBLE BULL SURROUNDVIEW STAKEOUT HUNTING BLIND

This panel-style blind ($99.99) features thousands of small holes dotting the fabric, which lets those behind it see everything in front of it. From the outside, camo print and natural light force human and animal eyes to focus on the camo, leaving the holes invisible. Inside, black print and mesh enable the hunter to focus through the holes for a clear view.

FEDERAL PREMIUM 28-GAUGE HEAVYWEIGHT TSS LOADS

Acknowledging the increasing popularity of sub-gauge shotguns for turkey hunting, Federal has added four new 28-gauge turkey shotshells ($60.99-$74.99/5-round box). These include 3-inch, 1 1/2-ounce loads of No. 7 or 9 TSS shot with a muzzle velocity of 1,050 fps; and 2 3/4-inch, 1 1/4-ounce loads of No. 7 or 9 TSS shot with a muzzle velocity of 1,100 fps. The loads feature Federal’s FliteControl Flex Wad for optimum pattern efficiency.

ROLLING THUNDER GAME CALLS THUNDERDOME CRYSTAL POT CALL WITH PURPLEHEART STRIKER

The Thunderdome Crystal Pot Call ($50) utilizes a crystal playing surface over a polycarbonate sound board in a glass-filled nylon pot. The density of the call delivers exceptional range and rasp, even on windy days, and the ergonomic finger grooves let the pot fit naturally in your hand. It includes a one-piece flare-tip purpleheart striker.

NOMAD MIRAGE LS SHIRT AND AMBUSH PANT

Nomad’s new Mirage performance long-sleeve shirt in Mossy Oak Bottomland or Greenleaf ($70) is built for mobility in the spring turkey woods. It features a full back panel of wicking mesh that elevates breathability and improves drying time, plus ICE cooling technology to keep you cool on the warmest days. Made of 100-percent polyester, the new Ambush Pant in Mossy Oak Bottomland or Greenleaf ($80.00) is lightweight, quick-drying and durable. The pants are made with four-way stretch fabric that is stain-, water- and abrasion-resistant, providing good freedom of movement and protection. A Never-Pop button and Ever Adjust waistband keep the pants in place.

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

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