MN Turkey A Season – Do I dare even hope…

I’m back from a stay at The Minnesota Clinic for Turkey Hunter Mental Wellness. I had developed a strange condition where all I could do is stare outside at the ever-deepening snow and mutter, “Another A season shot to hell….Another A season shot to hell…”

I’m feeling much better now. But will it stay that way? That is the question.

We were losing snow fast at the hunting property east of Hinckley. As of last week, the ground was still covered with 6-8 inches in the woods, but open fields already had the high spots clear of snow.

I hope I’m not cursing the whole deal and I knock on wood as I write this, but dare we even hope that this could be an A season without snow up to our necks? The forecast looks good for the next 7 days as far as very little predicted precipitation and temps generally in the mid 40s. The precip that is in the forecast looks like mainly rain an not much of it at that.

Could it be?

Grouse

I opened up my blind in the garage last weekend and sat in it for a while… Even laid an imaginary bead on an imaginary bird.

That is why I don’t even bother applying for either the A or B season anymore. I got burned several times. The over the counter license has worked out well for me the last few seasons. As far as you chances for a snow free season A goes I say it is rather good at this time. Then again I can recall a few larger snow storms in early to mid April the last few years. Hopefully this is the year you have a snow free season and the BIG old toms are fired up and searching like crazy. Best of luck to you !!!

Given the choice, I think almost every turkey hunter would rather hunt earlier rather than later if the weather was not a factor because the birds wise up as the season progresses. Early season risks poor weather with snow and cold, but late season risks hot weather with humidity and bugs too. I apply every year for season A or B and I draw one every other year. The years I don’t draw one, I hunt a later season and the birds are noticeably smarter and more decoy/call shy. I didn’t draw A or B last year and it worked out when I went during season D but if you went really late it was almost 100 degrees out.

There’s a chance you may be able to do some open water fishing after you bag your bird. The St. Croix was showing open shorelines this weekend. The impoundment on the Willow in Hudson is already navigatable. May we see metro ice out by the end of the first week of April???

You may, however, end up dealing with the frost going out and/or rain. Might put the nix on off road vehicle travel.

I know it’s high risk, but also high reward if the weather turns out right.

Even the B season has been slow for us and the birds were already henned up and toned down some year. Not to mention skittish due to road calling and probably trespassing hunters as well. Unlike deer season it can get really hard to spot trespassers.

By the C season, things have completely gone to hell in my area. We don’t have the numbers that they do down south and my theory is it just doesn’t take long for the toms to get-r-done and run the table with all the available hens and then it’s game over. Down south where there are more birds and therefore more hens, I can see where there’d be a shot at a tom who was just sitting around chugging 10 Hour Energy and trying to get reloaded for the next Hottie Hen that came by, but up north I think things just wind up really quickly.

Yep, anything could happen in April, but compared to what things looked like 2 weeks ago, at least there’s hope…

Grouse

Early and late season’s can be really good. I’ve had just as much luck late as I do early. Just need to know what the birds are doing. Scout ,scout ,scout. I like the snowy hunts ,snow seems not to affect them as much as wind and rain. Turkey hunting I will never complain about weather it is what it is.

All I know the best part of the year is here now in my mind. The spring woods are awesome. Heading out Friday to NE and then back for opener here in MN. Cameras are out and I will check when I get back. This last weekend I went and setup and see what the birds were doing.
They gobbled good on roost Saturday and went right in to one of the food plots and put on a show for most the morning. Going to be a fun spring.

I see quite the opposite at our farm Grouse and we are in west central MN, not the south. I have been bow hunting them so I get to hunt the whole season if needed. I have had much better luck getting the birds to cooperate about season D on. I think it’s because most of the hens are going to nests and the Toms are looking for other action. Early season there are way too many real live hens to compete with.

sticker wrote:

I have had much better luck getting the birds to cooperate about season D on. I think it’s because most of the hens are going to nests and the Toms are looking for other action.

Do you hear gobbling at all out there after the A/B season?

Maybe what I’m interpreting as “game over” is really just a break in the action, but I don’t hear any gobbling after about the B season. Is it a case where you call and they don’t gobble back, they just come running?

Grouse

Less on the roost as the season progresses, but after 8-9am when the real hens have fed and head off to nest it is pretty easy to get them fired up again. We do still get some gobbling on the roost, but not the thunder every morning like in the early season.

What sticker says is probably true. In recent years, I’ve switched to no calls or decoys of any kind because the birds simply aren’t attracted to them. It actually turns them off. So I simply set up my blind along a travel route that I’ve scouted and wait for them to come along. Its almost more like deer hunting where its just a waiting game. If a hen comes along early season, there’s almost always a tom or jake in tow. Late season there just isn’t many hens around and therefore my hunting is not as good. So given these circumstances, early season hunting is almost always better than late season hunting.

Late season can be great for birds responding to calls. The hens nesting during the day. The boys are always up for a new lady. Decoys I’m not a fan of them ever I will rarely use them through a season.

Some days might feel like the birds do not want to do anything with calls. They will do a lot feeding later spring but they will turn again just like any guy always ready.

We hunt late May in WI every year low number of birds and have good success calling in birds. You might not get all the talking in the morning but they will come to calls. Our days we have success most come in the middle of the day.

Like stated above if struggling ,knowing where they want to go will kill more birds then the best caller. Scout and know what they are doing during the day. Scout for a day of your hunt and put a plan together. Talk to the farmers or land owners who see them every day. Getting that MRI is what is needed early or late in the season.

I’m not a fan of hunting roost spots I would rather get them other ways but that is up to the hunter. You can setup in those areas and wait them out in the evening. I just do not like doing that it’s like a safe area in my mind.I have done that once in the past but it was not my thing, tag soup for me if that is what it comes to now.

With a potential blizzard later this week and season A starting in 9 days, could we have a repeat of last spring for the first season? Yikes

gimruis wrote:

With a potential blizzard later this week and season A starting in 9 days, could we have a repeat of last spring for the first season? Yikes

So far northern MN is in the lower snowfall forecast for this system, but who knows, right? The only other good news is the ground temps and the forecast are for warmer weather than we got last year, so melting should be faster. In theory. Tax and license extra, your mileage may vary, professional driver on a closed course, past performance …

Grouse

Haha. Do you think it will be 100 degrees by Memorial Day again too Grouse?

My cousin shot one in that heat on Memorial Day weekend last year. He had like three different birds gobbling around him on a smaller WMA that had been pounded on for the first seasons and then people just gave up on it. They were still there and ready to play.I see this morning they had us in the 12-16″ range for snow. Whatever. I hauled last year’s bird and my gear out with a sled first season 2018.