An Opening for Youngsters

Fields and Food Plots Provide Great Starting Places for Turkey Hunting

By Brian Lovett

A veteran Alabama turkey hunter once told me he’d rather kill a gobbler in the woods any day before trying to shoot one in a field. And after almost 20 years of chasing spring turkeys, I wholeheartedly agree.

But that wasn’t always true.

When I started turkey hunting in 1990, I didn’t know much about turkeys, but I knew they liked fields and other open areas. So of course, that’s where I hunted them. I couldn’t call very well, and I was petrified at the thought of busting turkeys while slipping through the woods. So I usually staked out some decoys, plunked down near a field-edge oak and sat. And then sat some more. And if I could stand it, I sat even longer.

Believe it or not, that simple strategy worked. During one early turkey season, my brother-in-law and I stumbled upon a breeding flock in a hidden corner of a corn-stubble field. Naturally, we set up there the next two days, and my brother-in-law killed his first gobbler. On the fourth morning, I had the choice of chasing a hard-gobbling roosted bird or sitting in the field corner. You guessed it; I chose the field corner. And do you know what? I killed my first longbeard later that morning.

Those memories prompt a smile nowadays because, of course, my early tactics betrayed my inexperience. Yet years later, the simple fact remains: Food plots and other open areas are great places for youngsters -- or anyone, for that matter -- to hunt turkeys.

The Case for Open Spots

In hindsight, I think my early field tactics came from more than inexperience. For any veteran spring turkey hunter, the thrill of the game lies in the gobble and tactics you employ. However, to a neophyte, visual confirmation -- that is, seeing the bird -- is very exciting.

Food plots and other open areas naturally attract turkeys (see the sidebar), especially when the first green shoots of spring or leftover food from the previous season attracts hungry birds. And because the view is wide open, food plots and fields allow new turkey hunters to see and observe more turkeys than they’d ever see in the timber. If nothing else, that's very important from a learning standpoint.

Turkeys are fascinating critters that do things no other animal does. They strut, gobble, spit and drum, peck at the ground and exhibit myriad other unique behaviors. The sun strikes their feathers like a thousand facets of obsidian, and their red, white and blue heads shine like lighthouses during a foggy morning. When new turkey hunters see those things for the first time, they’re often awestruck. In fact, merely watching a gobbler do his thing for a few minutes is often enough to hook a young turkey hunter for life.

Further, when youngsters learn about turkey hunting, one of the lessons they hear most is, “Turkeys have very keen eyesight, and if you move, they will spook.” If new turkey hunters can watch a turkey and even perhaps shift their gun or otherwise move with the bird in sight, they learn the important skill of slow, subtle movement in the heat of battle. Conversely, if they move hastily or at the wrong time, they learn the painful lesson that turkeys indeed have tremendous eyesight.

Field or food-plot edges also provide easy setups that let mentors teach youngsters the basics. When you hunt a field edge, you must find an ideal set-up for a new hunter. That could come in the form of a big white oak just off the food plot or, if the new hunter is active and impatient, perhaps a pop-up blind set in a strategic location. Blinds often provide the best option for children because they hide the inevitable movement of youngsters.

Further, they're nice because young hunters aren’t backed against a tree for hours with dog ticks crawling up their legs. Whether you use a blind or traditional set-up tree, the set-up must be comfortable, and it should hide the hunter as much as possible.

After you’re situated in a good set-up, you can begin teaching a young hunter the basics, including calling, gun position, staying still or moving slowly, and watching and listening for the subtle signs that turkeys are nearby. If you’ve done your scouting, you’ll likely be rewarded when turkeys enter the food plot and put on a show. Then, your new hunter can begin to learn how to stay still and maintain his composure during the heat of battle. Whether they succeed is immaterial. Win or lose, they'll take a powerful lesson away from that day, along with the excitement of seeing wild turkeys up close and personal.

Getting Tactical

Of course, the down side of hunting turkeys in a field is that, well, they’re in a field. Field turkeys are often categorized as the toughest birds to hunt, perhaps being surpassed only by henned-up field turkeys. When birds are in the open, they can see danger from left, right, in front, from above and -- yes, to a great degree -- from behind. If you goof up, they'll leave that field quicker than you can say “tag soup.”

But despite being tricky, field turkeys are not impossible. For one thing, the size of a field has a lot to do with the difficulty of a gobbler. A longbeard in the middle of a 500-acre beanfield is quite different than a tom in a 20-acre food plot. The bird in the small plot is surrounded by cover, which affords you the chance to maneuver on him.

If you’re hunting with a newcomer, however, your strategic moves will be limited, so let’s assume you’re set up on a field edge waiting for the turkey. Your most important moves should have been made days earlier -- when you scouted. Unless they fly into a field from the roost -- which they do often, by the way -- birds must come through the timber to reach a field. As they do so, they leave telltale signs of their presence and travel paths.

Scout for tracks, droppings, feathers and dusting areas. Listen for birds in your hunting area before the season. Hear where they gobble from the roost, and then -- whether through locator calls or just letting birds gobble on their own -- track their location through the woods. Note how they move across the terrain, and where and when they enter a field or food plot. Putting a few of these pieces together before hunting goes a long way toward solving the puzzle.

If you can’t intercept a bird as he enters the field, don’t give up. Try to work him toward you. You'll need to use decoys to provide visual reassurance to your calling. After all, if a bird hears a hen but looks toward the source and sees nothing, he’ll know something isn’t right.

It also helps to set up a few yards in the woods from the field; not directly on the field edge. This gives you the advantage of being in the shadows. Further, if a bird pinpoints your calling and looks for the hen, it won't seem unnatural if the source of the calling is unseen within the timber.

Don’t overcall to field turkeys. Yes, they’ll gobble and put on a show — but that’s often all they’ll do. When you hammer at a bird, it gives the impression that the “hen” is red-hot and will eventually come to the gobbler for some action. In addition, it lets a bird pinpoint your calling better, which can lead to trouble. Start with soft, subtle yelps, clucks and purring. If a bird appears, don’t call when the turkey is looking at you. Wait till he struts or lowers his head. Further, call just enough to keep the bird interested. And if he’s coming, shut up!

If everything fails and the birds just seem to want to go their own way, there are two more little tricks you can employ. The first is merely to watch where they head, take an educated guess at their destination and then try to head them off. You’ll guess incorrectly more often than not, but it’s worth a shot. Try to pick out ridges gobblers might roam, or big timber where they might loaf in the heat of the day.

The other tactic is to guess where birds might leave a field. Turkeys seldom walk the entire length of a field or food plot. Instead, like a football player who runs out of bounds before being hit, they'll often traverse much of the field but then exit before reaching the other end.

Where will they do that? Take a guess. Look for logging roads, cattle gates, subtle finger ridges or patches of open timber. Try to set up or reposition there on field turkeys, and hedge your bets with subtle calling. If you guess correctly, you’ll have outsmarted a field turkey -- the toughest bird of all.

Open Shots

Fields and food plots provide another great advantage for new turkey hunters. After a bird is in range, the shot is usually wide open. That’s rarely the case in the woods.

In a field, youngsters can watch a turkey as it approaches. By doing so, they get a firm idea of when a bird is in range. Also, they can witness a turkey’s behavior. Is the gobbler spooky? Is he preoccupied by a hen? Is he coming to the decoys? Or has he drawn a line in the sand, refusing to approach farther? All that is easy to see in a field.

The biggest upside might be at the moment of truth, when it’s time to shoot.

This is when inexperienced turkey hunters fail more than any other time. They’re often unsure about a shot and very nervous. Being able to track a turkey as it approaches, know that it's in range and determine that the bird is offering a good shot -- ideally with the head and neck held high -- young hunters feel much more secure about pulling the trigger.

In the woods, experienced hunters often set up with a terrain rise or similar visual obstruction 20 to 30 yards from them, and between them and a gobbling bird. That way, when a turkey clears the rise or obstruction, it's in range, and a hunter can shoot the bird the second he sees it. However, a young hunter will usually hesitate at that moment, and if a gobbler doesn’t see the “hen” that was just calling, he’ll inevitably lower his head, tuck his wing and rubber-neck away, knowing something isn't quite right.

It’s much easier to coach a youngster while preparing to shoot a field turkey vs. a bird in the timber. Field hunts usually unfold relatively slowly, so you can talk a child or first-timer through the process and calm them down, if necessary. In the woods, as mentioned, the action is usually quick, and your instructions might get lost in the translation during the tense moment of truth.

Conclusion

If nothing else, fields and food plots provide great starting places for new turkey hunters. Even if the neophytes don't shoot a bird in the open, they’ll usually see them and get a good idea of what’s required in spring turkey hunting. And those lessons will serve them well throughout their turkey hunting careers, whether they prefer to sit on a field edge or chase hard-gobbling birds in the timber.

Editor’s Note: Brian Lovett is a writer from Oshkosh, Wis. His third turkey hunting book, “Hunting Pressured Turkeys,” was recently published by Stackpole Books.

SIDEBAR

Food Plots Provide Attraction Advantage

There are many reasons to hunt gobblers in food plots or agricultural fields, but the best reason is obvious: Fields and food plots attract turkeys.

Turkeys thrive in places that feature a mix of mature timber and open areas — especially open areas with lots of food.

“Turkeys take advantage of any foods they can,” says Lovett Williams Jr., a noted turkey researcher and contributing editor for Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine. “They sometimes remember good sources of food and revisit those places, especially open areas with a wide variety of plants and insects.

“Turkeys eat a lot of green stuff, especially grasses. Actually, they eat many hundreds of plants, and clover is only one of them. One reason [they] eat plant leaves is for moisture. Their digestive process produces water from the plants and many other foods.”
Williams is quick to point out that although turkeys will certainly use food plots and similar open areas, he doesn’t recommend any plantings specifically for the birds simply because their diet is so varied.
“Turkeys like open places and may visit [them] to see what they can find. People do not examine turkey craws and gizzards very much, but when they do, they are surprised at the variety of foods in any one crop. I have shot turkeys scratching around oak trees where there were many acorns on the ground, and when I opened the crops, they would have only a few acorns — or maybe none at all.”
Andrea Mezera, assistant upland wildlife ecologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, says food plots and similar areas will attract turkeys when the plants green up in spring and also through summer, when brood hens bring their poults to the best food sources.
“Clover does attract insects, such as grasshoppers, which turkeys feed on. This is especially important for young poults, as insects provide food that’s high in protein, which is good for the developing poults.”