Backyard Versus Backcountry Turkey Hunts

For those of you on the fence, you’re probably thinking, why go that far out of your way? After all, you’ve got your customary spring stomping grounds just down the road. The turkey population there is doing well, and you’ve learned their patterns and routines. Admittedly, I fall into both camps.

Part of the appeal to turkey hunting is the simplicity of the endeavor. While still far from easy, turkey hunting tactics tend to be less complex than that required of your average public land whitetail hunt. The turkeys are vocal and tell you right where they are. Any male turkey will do; a jake and a tom both satisfy the legal requirement, and the freezer. With that being said, learning is growing, and curiosity runs deep in a hunter’s veins. So, for those of you wanting to turn a turkey hunt into a bit more of an adventure, I see you.

Identifying Suitable Habitat

First things first, do turkeys really live in the backcountry? Backcountry usually translates to miles from the nearest road, with no cell service and no people. Do turkeys live at 11,000 feet with mountain goats and granite peaks? No. But that doesn’t mean a good turkey hunting adventure, far off the beaten path, can’t be had.

Typically, turkeys inhabit very accessible country, close to roads and human disturbance. As a result, not many hunters choose to spend their time and energy chasing the hard-to-reach flocks. In large national forest systems, that could very well mean several miles from the nearest road. Alternatively, sometimes ascending and descending a single nasty ridge or two will put you in turkey country less traveled. Still, why bother with these isolated flocks? Similar to the local private flock that very seldom gets hunted, these birds tend to be more cooperative than the parking lot flock that gets called to all season long.

Like any North American game animal, turkeys require a specific type of habitat to thrive. Not every inch of the mountainside is conducive, or preferential, to wild turkeys. To key in on areas likely to be inhabited by turkeys, learn to identify habitats with higher plant diversity than the norm. Locationally, that might mean keying in on riparian areas, young timber cuts and clearings, isolated meadow and grassland habitats, highly vegetated north-oriented slopes, or even areas that have experienced a recent fire, where early successional plant life is present due to a break in the forest canopy.

Another important consideration is winter habitat. In areas that experience long, hard winters, refuge is paramount for northern turkeys. Many times, this is synonymous with lowland habitats, riparian areas, and human disturbance. If available, turkeys will often winter near cattle yards, where windbreaks and food sources are readily available. Come spring, when the surrounding countryside greens up, hens will strike off in search of the best nesting habitat, dispersing and occupying more remote areas. How far away they go is the fun part.

Hunt Strategy

Depending on your hunt area, take what the landscape gives you. If there are scattered vehicle trails, no shame in covering country that way. If you’re dealt a plethora of closed logging roads, start your search by walking the roads and expanding your search once you’ve located some turkey sign. If you’re looking for open country birds, glassing obviously becomes a valuable tool.

However you go about it, you’ll want to cast a wide net and slow down once you’ve located a pocket of isolated birds. Naturally, you’re going to bump a few turkeys along the way. That’s okay, now you’ve found a starting point. Give those birds a little time to calm down and come at them from a different angle.

If you’ve broken up the flock pretty good, scattering them in different directions, that flock is going to be looking to reassemble. Use that to your advantage and initiate the assembly call yourself. This is when it pays to call sparingly, not revealing your cards and allowing the birds to associate the faux hen call with your human presence. Alternatively, some very successful turkey hunters opt to call very frequently, hoping to strike up the one lone gobbler who is looking to tango, leaving the nonresponsive birds for another day.

Lastly, don’t overlook the most basic turkey hunting strategy of them all, roosting birds at morning and night. Remote birds don’t tend to talk on the roost as much as a flock roosted near the community roost, but they still do. Due to this fact, locator calls and shock gobbles earn their keep in these sparsely populated turkey woods.

Learning a completely new area will always have its challenges, especially when you make things harder than they need to be and choose to seek out backcountry birds. But what’s not to love about exploring new places, removing yourself from the hustle and bustle, and soaking in the beauty that the backcountry has to offer? If all else fails, you’ll likely learn a few new things about turkey behavior that you can use on your next hunt, even if it’s back at your cherished local flock.

Feature image via Matt Hansen Photography.