by Steve Sorensen

Open fields give turkeys a feeling of security because they can see danger at a distance.

When you’re moving through the woods attempting to get a gobbler to sound off, don’t just focus your ears. Focus your eyes, too. Look around, think about how turkeys use the landscape, and ask yourself questions. Do turkeys walk this logging road? Do they come up along this ravine? Is this a place where a gobbler can be seen and heard? Will he feel safe here? The more questions you ask yourself about turkey behavior, the more you’ll notice great places to set up.

Four Set-Ups That Often Do Work

1.  On field edges – Turkeys are comfortable in fields. That’s probably because turkeys are prey animals, and depend largely on their eyes for defense. They want to see danger at a distance. It’s also because turkeys find a smörgåsbord in greenfields – vegetation in the form of clover, and protein in the form of spiders, grasshoppers and such.

This visual dependency is why decoys work along field edges. When a gobbler sees a hen that looks comfortable, he has less fear in approaching. Even though the normal thing is for the hen to go to the gobbler, once the gobbler sees the hen he often needs no coaxing.

2.  At high points – Gobblers tend to sound off from high points, where they can be seen and heard. A high point doesn’t necessarily need to be the highest spot around, but it needs to be a spot where the gobbler expects to be seen, where he’s accustomed to meeting hens, where they see him strutting in all his glory.

These are the places experienced turkey hunters know where gobblers can be killed almost every year. These “bachelor pads” aren’t always high points, but they have three characteristics in common: visibility (where a gobbler can be seen), audibility (where he can be heard), and confidence (where he feels safe). To find out more about these places check out “The Bachelor Pad: How to Find Where Gobblers Die.” When you call from a bachelor pad the gobbler thinks the hen has beaten him to their meeting place.

3.  Along logging roads – Gobblers generally prefer to take the easy way, and that often means they move along some kind of trail. They’re comfortable on trails because they can see a distance.

When hunting a trail, set up on a curve. That gives the gobbler the impression that his voluptuous babe is just around the bend, or slightly off the trail. You have a built-in advantage – he doesn’t expect to see her until he gets close.

4.  On the level – You don’t always have to call a gobbler uphill. It often works even better to set up on the same level as the gobbler. When he’s on the same level, he’s likely to zigzag toward the call. Unless he’s on a clear trail or old logging road, he’ll have to walk around small obstacles – maybe a fallen log, a bush, or a rock. Those terrain features will give you an advantage because they give him more to focus on than the spot the calling is coming from.

When setting up for a spring gobbler, realize he’s a prey animal that needs a high comfort level in order to come to the call. When you keep in mind where the gobbler wants to go, and call him there, you’re apt to be more successful.

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About Steve Sorensen

Award-winning outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen loves the Havalon knife, and has been a fan of knives since he begged his dad for a hunting knife when he was six years old. His articles have been published in Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow his writing on his website, www.EverydayHunter.com.

Click HERE to read more articles about Turkey Hunting, and for the
best turkey skinning knives, click HERE.

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by Steve Sorensen

I’ve been hunting spring gobblers for a long time, and I’m still finding new ways to make mistakes. Seldom do I make calling mistakes, even though I’m not a great caller. I rarely make a mistake when it’s time to pull the trigger. I almost never misjudge distance. But sometimes I set up wrong.

Bad set-ups are mistakes in judgment that you can never overcome completely, but experience can teach you some “do’s and don’ts” that can help you make better choices.

Every situation offers a limitless variety of possibilities, but we make most set-up mistakes because we tend to choose spots for the wrong reasons. We choose them for what we want, rather than what the gobbler wants. Most often, a good set-up has two requirements, and both have to do with what the gobbler wants.

1. The number one requirement for a gobbler to come to a call is for the call to come from a place where he’s normally comfortable.
2. The number two requirement is that he wants to see and be seen as he approaches what he thinks is a hen.

With those two points in mind, here are three set-ups that usually don’t work. Part 2 will cover four that often do.

Three Set-Ups That Usually Don’t Work

Gobblers are easier to call uphill than downhill, but they always expect to see a hen and may "hang up" if they don't.

1.  The quick set-up – Some hunters make simple mistakes because of the fast pace of their hunting style. When they hear a gobbler they almost freak out, and rush to set up in the first place that catches their eye.

Instead, they should move through the woods with two things in mind. Not only should they be looking for a gobbling turkey. They should also be on the lookout for places to set up in case they hear one.

2.  Too close to a slope – We love to call turkeys uphill. That fits normal turkey behavior. And we also like to see a long distance. That’s normal hunter behavior. The problem is that turkeys like to see a long distance, too. So if we set up where we can see a gobbler approaching from a long way, he thinks he should see the hen from a long distance, and that she should be able to see him.

Often gobblers will hang up in that situation. They expect the hen to look down the hillside, see them, and come running like the wife of a soldier home on leave. We love to watch a gobbler approaching, but when he doesn’t see anything that looks like a hen, he gets suspicious.

3.  Behind obstructions – Obstructions can be almost anything, but most often they’re some terrain feature that creates a significant visual screen. Often, it’s a big blowdown that a gobbler won’t circle around. Sometimes it’s a patch of brush. Once, for me, it was a steep cliff someone made by bulldozing an oil lease road into the hillside. The gobbler just paraded back and forth below the cliff. Be on the lookout for obstructions, or you’ll notice them when it’s too late.

The successful turkey hunter is always making mental notes. He pays attention to landscape features that don’t spell success, and those that do. Next time, I’ll talk about four set-ups that pay off.

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About Steve Sorensen

Award-winning outdoor writer and speaker Steve Sorensen loves the Havalon knife, and has been a fan of knives since he begged his dad for a hunting knife when he was six years old. His articles have been published in Deer & Deer Hunting Magazine, Sports Afield, and many other top magazines across the USA. Invite Steve to speak at your next sportsman’s event, and follow his writing on his website, www.EverydayHunter.com.

Click HERE to read more articles about Turkey Hunting, and for the best turkey skinning knives, click HERE.

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