Father Son Spring Turkey Hunt

Turkey Basics

One of my favorite hunting seasons of the year is spring turkey. It’s definitely challenging, but anyone who hunts turkey already knows that. Turkeys are very finicky, which means there are many factors that can affect a successful hunt. For example, the calling techniques used can either bring a bird right in or scare them off, optimal weather conditions can keep birds in their roost, and hunting in a location with improper resources such as food can be the difference between seeing a whole flock or nothing at all. But regardless of the difficulties, spring turkey can be some of the most enjoyable hunting out there.

During the first week of Missouri spring turkey season, hens are in heat and ready for breeding. Most hens can be seen in crop fields foraging for food such as corn, oats, and wheat. Toms on the other hand, are much more allusive, and only seem to arrive after the hens have found a safe place to feed. Toms can be heard most clearly in the early morning before sunrise. Sounding off a cry of gobbling to attract hens and make other males aware of their presence. It’s best to arrive as early as possible to learn where the toms are address the hunt accordingly. This typically boils down to calling and waiting, or pursing the toms (the run and gun method).

Spring Gobbler

Strategies for each Hunting Week

The spring turkey season in Missouri lasts three weeks. With each passing week, turkey behavior will begin to change, and you’ll need to adjust your strategy accordingly. As expected, toms are going to be fired up in the first week and ready to breed. Most people are successful with just a couple of breeder hen decoys and a call of their choice. I normally use Avian-X decoys, one jake and one breeder hen, and my tried-and-true HS Strut box call. Each person has a different approach, but I’ve noticed that you can attract a large group of big toms willing to fight for breeding rights within the first few days. This is why a jake decoy can be a very promising method. By week two, toms have been breeding and hunted hard, so it’s time to switch up the strategy. I typically use just a couple of feeder hens calling very lightly, just to let the toms know it’s safe to come in. It’s important to try and find a location that’s been untouched, given the fact that are aware of grounds that have been hunted. The third week is the most challenging week to hunt. Birds have been fighting, hunted relentlessly, and most have already mated. Toms aren’t looking for a fight or go out of their way to breed if it’s going to cause them stress. However, they are much more accepting of other toms and exploring territory. For this reason, I tend I use a full strut motion decoy and a feeder hen during the last week. This lets other toms know that the smaller tom hasn’t bred yet and doesn’t pose much of a threat.  During this time, toms are much more interested in flying down to get a better view of what’s going on in the field. The video captured at the bottom of the post was taken in the third week of spring turkey hunting 2021. This how I know the method works.

Shots Fired

Having spent two and a half weeks hunting and coming up empty handed, I was about out of energy to continue. Perseverance builds character, so I kept going. It was at this point that my dad and I decided to go hunting as a team. We decided to hunt in a fairly secluded place that hadn’t been hunted that week. We brought a breeder hen and a full strut tom motion decoy. We sat in some tall grass about 30 yards away from a large field, given the fact that we were both using full chokes, which have tight patterns perfect for close range shots. Speaking of which, Bass Pro Shops 1Source has a great article on what you need to know in selecting the right choke. Low and behold, two big toms flew down about an hour and half after sunrise. They walked straight over to the motion decoy, more curious about his presence than anything else. But with most hunting trips, there was a problem. The birds were so close together that it was hard to tell if they were full-fledged toms. I didn’t want to accidently shoot a bearded hen.

They continued to walk parallel to one another the entire time which made it impossible to get a look at the bird on rear side. As their interest in the motion decoy waned, they started to walk away. As they turned, I caught a glimpse of beard on the big on the opposite side. We look at each other and motioned a 3, 2, 1, countdown. We both took aim and fired. My dad focused on the bird on the right while I focused on the rear side. Then… boom! Perfect ace in the hole shot for my dad. Bird down in the field. As for me on the other hand… swing and a miss. I was way to focused on not spraying his bird with pellets that I shot right over the head of my bird. I was in complete disarray.  However, this is all a part of the game. Anyone who says they’ve missed a bird in the field is either lying or hasn’t hunted enough for possibility to arise. Sometimes you slay a bird and other times you fall flat on your face. Even though I missed, I was still overjoyed that my dad got a bird. Not to mention the fact that just getting to hunt together was well worth it. The tom weighed just over twenty-five pounds with a 9″ beard and 1-1/4″ spurs. It would have been a much better day if we had gotten a double, but I’m still happy that a bird was shot. Regardless, my dad better watch out, because on our next hunt I’m taking the bird in the front!