Some people would rather hunt for their Thanksgiving turkey as compared to buying one in the store, and there are many ways that this can be accomplished. With the holiday just around the corner, you can utilize something that many hunters use for other animals to have an advantage over your game – and that is hunting from a tree stand during the fall. There are normally two turkey seasons: one season being in the fall, and one being in the spring. However, when you turkey hunting in the Fall, you’ll want to be above your prey. In this guide, we’ll tell you how you can utilize some of these tactics with even just the most basic deer stand!

How is Fall hunting Different?

You need to know how turkeys react in the fall compared to the spring season. Spring is normally the time when turkeys are finding a mate, so they are a little more open. However, during the fall, they only really go out to find food and forage to get ready for the winter months. This is why you may have a harder time trying to find a tom turkey in the fall as compared to the Spring. Because of this, you may need to deploy decoys in order to get a tom to come within shooting range. Being above them is a great way to do so, and then sit unnoticed so you can get a better shot.

Why Should You Use Tree Stands?

A lot of people think of using turkey blinds when it comes to hunting birds – and this is one of the most popular methods for hunting. However, in some cases, rather than using the scare and scatter hunting method with blinds, you may be able to greatly benefit from using a tree stand instead. Most people who go deer hunting already have their tree stands up, and this can mean that a turkey is more relaxed around them than they would a blind – they’re pretty used to them being up in trees to the point that they often disregard them. In these circumstances, wild turkeys are often not used to their attacker being above them, and therefore, it’s easier to catch them off guard.

How to Find the Right Cover

Your best bets are to use mobile stands, or a fixed position stand so that way you can just simply put a camo blind cover over it for better cover. However, the more natural you can make your deer blind with you in it, the better. This is when the RealTree® camouflage patterns can come in with the best opportunity. They can help you blend in with the natural looks of the trees above your turkeys so they have a harder time seeing you (also since you’re farther away).

How These Tactics are Better – Additional Tips

As you can see from everything we’ve discussed above, you can definitely hunt well using a tree stand for fall turkey hunting to find that big tom. There are many additional things you can do, however, in order to improve your hunt as well. Some of these are as follows:

Try using a trail camera to survey the grounds and see where the turkeys roam and loiter the most. This will give you an edge on where to place your stand. You will also be able to see where they’re going when they run and hide in their homes more.

During the fall, it’s a bit different than spring. You aren’t going to get much improvement using a female decoy, but you could probably put up a jake turkey (a younger male turkey) decoy because this will help the other toms be more curious since they’re territorial.

Another thing you definitely want to do is practice and using the right turkey calls. You’re not going to be wanting to use a mating call during the fall, as this isn’t a common mating season. You do, however, want to give a few slow yelps, and then wait – only to do a small three-note yelp. If you listen carefully, you may find out that other toms are calling back to you to warn the “gobbling” turkey that they’re coming.  If you use this combined with a jake decoy, you will find that they’re going to come sprinting out to see if the new turkey in the area is a threat or not.

Conclusion

Hunting in a blind may have been the previous most popular way to hunt turkeys and other types of fowl game. However, in recent years, hunting for these gigantic meal-making birds has become more popular by using tree stands, and you should definitely consider using one this fall season too! See how it improves your hunting quality!

Author: DJ Cartledge