Born And Raised Outdoors: Five Steps To Kill a Public Land Turkey

There aren’t many hunting scenarios more exciting than an early morning in the turkey woods. Hearing that first predawn gobble and working your call as a tom comes strutting in is hard to beat, but it can also be just plain hard to do. Consistently killing mature birds on public land is a skill that only comes with experience, but Born And Raised Outdoors is here to provide a few tips and tricks to up your odds and help you punch a few more turkey tags. This video is packed full of useful information, so give it a watch and put it to work this season.

Scouting: Know Before You Go

The hunt starts long before you step out of the truck and start your walk in. From finding likely habitat to choosing your route, scouting with onX Hunt on your phone or desktop helps you assemble the building blocks of a successful hunt and increases your chances of crossing paths with a puffed-up tom. Then, take your plan to the woods for boots-on-the-ground confirmation. Identify sign, verify that the terrain is what you expected, and put the finishing touches on your opening morning gameplan. 

Locating Birds: Hunt Where They Are

All the scouting in the world won’t help if you aren’t on the birds. Using the strategy of ‘ridges and stadiums’ will put you in the ballpark, and understanding how a bird is likely to move through the terrain will give you the information you need to determine where to be and how to approach your hunt. Additionally, a sensible calling strategy provides confirmation that you are—or aren’t—where you need to be.

The Setup: Small Things and Big Consequences

With your back to a wide tree and a couple decoys within your acceptable range, you watch a bird come charging in and realize, too late, that you simply don’t have a shot–sound familiar? Whether you’re running and gunning or camping out on a spot you scouted, getting your setup right is critical. From cover and shadows to decoys and comfort, pay attention to all the details. 

Calling: The Sauce on Sweet Talk

Watching a practiced caller work a turkey call is something to behold, and there’s no better way to bring a gobbler in than a well-executed calling strategy. Of course, the opposite is also true—it doesn’t take much to turn that bird’s breeding urge into a sense of danger. If you’ve done everything right up to this point, the last thing you want is to ruin it at this late stage. Nothing will deflate your confidence like a pick six in the red zone.

Finishing Birds: It All Comes Down to This

Putting the finishing touches on a public land turkey hunt can happen in a moment, but it relies on the days, weeks, or months of preparation that went into your comprehensive strategy. From the right finishing calls to close-range tactics, learn what you need to do to make sure everything goes right when the time comes to pull the trigger or loose an arrow.

With the tips and tactics Born And Raised Outdoors provides in this video, you’ll be well on your way to bagging a public land bird this season. Armed with this knowledge, it’s time to hit the turkey woods with confidence.