Fall Turkey-what do I need to know?

[Swamp_Yankee]

Our property has a pretty healthy turkey population and I have never hunted turkey before.  I'd really like to go this fall so I've been reading up on the regs.  I have good ground blind option in the form of a huge oak that uprooted during the Nor'Easters last March, but I was thinking of possibly using a treestand as well.  The turkey usually come across our land south to north, coming out of the swampy woods and thicket on the south side, across our pasture to my neighbor's fields on the north side.  Am I better off setting up in the woods or  waiting for them to get close to the edge of the field?  I'll be using my 1100 12 gauge 3.5" magnum with a turkey choke-favorite turkey loads?

[Stan Putz]

Fall time you usually try to key in on what the birds are eating. They call a lot & make a lot of racket in the fall, but they don't come into calls quickly like they do in the spring. It's a lot more fun to find the flock, bust them up, and call them back in (especially if you use a dog to bust the flock). But if you want to sit & ambush them, sounds to me (based on what you described) like you'd be better off starting in the woods, and if no action, head for the field and a tent blind.

Every shotgun/choke/ammo combo is different, but I'm partial to Hevishot mag blend or #7s.

Good luck!

[mazzgolf]

My one successful fall turkey hunt was during a downpour  I set up on the edge of a field in pouring rain - it took about 4 hours of waiting, but I had a group of birds walk into my decoys that I had spread out on the edge of the field, about 20 yards from the treeline.

I never did the whole "bust up the flock and kee-kee them back in" thing - but that sounds like a ton of fun. Problem with that is you need to find the flock first! 

[JerseyJaysTaxidermy]

Find scratchings under some oak trees and bowhunt them.. that way you can shoot a nice buck if he shows up because you know he will if you are carrying A shotgun. Lol

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[Gobblengrunt]

You don’t have to bust up flocks to hunt and call fall turkeys.  If you kee kee whistle along with assembly yelps, flocks will often start calling back and come in to investigate.  They are very family oriented in fall so once you get them to respond, mimic whatever they are doing and you will get a shot.  Fall calling is focused on hens and poults.  These tactics work better in woods than in fields so they have to search for the lost bird. Gobblers are generally to themselves in fall and difficult if not impossible to call in as they just don’t care to be social this time of year.  Gobblers are best hunted on food sources in fall.