Fall Turkey Hunting In New York Summer is over; the leaves are changing into brilliant colors and starting to fall. It's beautiful this time of the year here in Western New York and everything is opening up as far as hunting. Bow hunting for deer is in full gear along with fall turkey hunting and each fall I look forward to both. Hunting fall birds with a dog is very exciting and lots of fun. But I still prefer to hunt the old fashion way by locating a flock and busting them up. The key here after locating them is to scatter the flock in all different directions and this is where a dog can do a great job. To me, breaking up a flock by scaring them and listening to them fly off in all directions is an incredible sound and is all a part of the hunt. After you've scattered them, sit down right where you are and wait. From 15 to 20 minutes before you start calling. In this time frame I'm listening for the birds to start calling to reassemble and at that point I start calling. If I don't hear them calling to regroup after 20 minutes, I'll start calling to them and they will answer back. At my age, I'm going deaf and my Walker Game Ear really helps me out listening for them. The call that you want to make here or mimic is called the Kee Kee sound or the Kee Kee Run call. This sound is made by turkeys to locate each other and to regroup. I've heard turkeys make this call in the spring too so it's not just used in the fall. It's a very rhythmic sound with three distinct notes and a few yelps thrown in at the end. If you think in terms of a musical scale, each note will be going up the scale as you make this rhythmic sound and your first note is the lowest sound and your second note is a higher pitch. Your third sound is even higher pitched than your second sound and follow it up with a few yelps. Listen to the turkeys and mimic them. You can make this KEE KEE Run sound with a box call, friction call, wing bone call, tube call or a mouth call. It doesn't matter but it does take some practice to learn. Once you've mastered this call you can get very creative with it and run different sounds with it or off of it. In the fall I use one or two hen turkey decoys or you could use a hen and a Jake decoy. By including decoys along with you calling, it only enhances the illusion of your setup. Ol'Tom's Hollywood Jake decoy or Roxanne hen turkey decoys are perfect for this. When I bow hunt for deer, I always have turkey decoys out and a turkey call with me. Why? Because where you see turkeys, deer are very close by and visa versa and it creates that illusion of security. For fall hunting, I cover a lot of ground trying to locate a flock. Using Ol'Tom's Vestless Hunting System is the ticket. A shirt that carries multiple calls, with zippered pocket with magnets to insure you don't loose anything by accident. The shirt also has Magnattach for incorporating Ol'Tom's turkey seat. That seat will also carry a turkey decoy too. Along with Ol'Tom's Technical Pants using this system really lightens up the load and everything I need is right on me where I can reach for anything real quick and easy with little movement. Every pocket has been laid out with a lot of thought and turkey hunting experience into it. The removable Spine Pad is a real plus and you'll see what I'm talking about the first time you lean against a tree. This mesh back or vestless shirt is excellent for the bow hunter too. You've got to check this system out. With a little practice with your game call, you'll have these turkeys running into you to regroup like a freight train. You will hear them Kee Keeing as they're coming. The sounds coming from a scattered flock will be coming from every direction and they will come hard and fast, so you better be ready. Very exciting sounds you'll never forget. Fall turkey hunting is a lot of fun and it's even more fun when you and your hunting buddy are hunting together. Good luck and have yourself a great time. |