Does Wind Affect Turkey Hunting?

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Tricks to overcome and use windy conditions to bag a bird.

Donald Devereaux Jarrett | March 27, 2013

I don’t know how well a turkey hears in heavy winds, but I do know that on that cold, windy March morning a few seasons ago, my hunting partner Lynn Stanford and I couldn’t hear a thing. We had set up in one of my favorite spots to see turkeys that morning, hoping that eventually one would come by and hear our calls.

We were committed to hanging with it as long as we could stand it. It seemed like the wind would cut off my voicemail every time I tried to call, leading me to wonder if we were wasting our time.

Forty minutes later I rolled a solid 3-year-old that came running in quietly. When we finally saw him, he was in our lap, and I essentially shot him in self-defense.

I believe that windy days are among the most challenging for turkey hunting, even though there are definitely some days that are better than others. Though I think the effect on the hunter is more important than the effect on the turkeys .

Furthermore, I think that the reason we are less successful on windy days is that turkeys have a better understanding of the weather than humans do. Wind and turkey season coincide quite a bit, so if you’re not bringing out the big guns when the wind blows, it might be time to make some adjustments.

Calls and Techniques: When the wind picks up, my first thought is how loud I need to call to get a bird’s attention. I used to think that a diaphragm had to be the loudest call there was. That was a while ago, and I’m positive of it now, but a common misconception is that using a mouth call is the most effective way to generate loud volume.

The bottom line, however, is the sounds from a diaphragm just don’t carry that far. When you want volume, you need to go to friction calls mostly. Glass, crystal, or aluminum calls and boxes are the most common on windy days because their reach is significantly greater than that of the diaphragm. The tube call, which is less common in turkey ears than other calls, is another loud call that can produce incredible results. All these calls can cut through some pretty high winds and again will certainly outrange the diaphragm.

One of the best turkey hunters I’ve ever encountered is Bobby Knight, a longtime hunting partner and close friend. In our combined more than 20 years of turkey hunting, I have seen him hit birds on windy days multiple times with a boat paddle-style box call. He has confidence in it when the wind is howling because of its high-pitched, long-range ability. He said he doesn’t use it much until the wind picks up, but once it does, he thinks it will catch more air than any other call and prefers it to a regular box.

I’ve done a lot of turkey hunting in high winds, and I’ve used a range of calls and strategies during that time. The box has pretty much been the standard for me on those days, but the methods have varied. I think you can basically use the same turkey talk you do on calm days if you get enough volume. However, I prefer to use a few calls on windy days that I might not use as much on calm days. One is the assembly call, which I typically use in the morning just prior to the birds taking off and immediately following their descent. I will use it throughout the day when the wind gets up. It’s a natural sound that can also provide a bird with a sense of security.

The flock must stay together when the boss hen isn’t tending to a nest or rescuing a gobbler from an incoming predator, even though she can be a real pain in the ass. I have heard assembly calls throughout the day on windy days. I will also use the call of a lost hen on windy days. Wind can scatter flocks, and when it happens, the birds will want to regroup at some point. When it’s windy, I’ve had success tricking a gobbler into thinking there’s a lost hen nearby.

Of course, there’s more to going turkey hunting than simply waiting for a gobble, letting out a few gobbles, and pulling the trigger. Setups are always key, and I believe they will vary depending on the situation. I will always try to set up in an area that will help break the wind. Moving to a good bottom might be as simple as that if you find yourself in a situation like Lynn and I were in the first paragraph. However, we were unable to get in a bottom. We had to find the best setup that allowed us to hear.

We stood a big oak tree on the edge of a field so that the fierce March wind wouldn’t reach us. When I’m calling in an area where I’m unsure if there are birds present, I usually try to keep the wind to my back to increase the distance my calls travel. When I am slipping along, I will use the same method.

I will also try to avoid setting up where there is a lot of movement from nearby foliage. That usually isn’t an issue in the beginning of the season, but it might be in the end. When calling a bird, you should always select a spot where it will feel comfortable, windy or not. If the wind is blowing strongly and there are a lot of moving bushes surrounding your setup, an approaching gobbler will become slightly more cautious about spending too much time scanning the area in search of a hen that is out of sight. I’ll try to position myself in the woods so that any bird I see will be within shooting distance. When the wind is strong, you really need to pay attention because you might not hear him approaching.

When hunting open fields, I’m not a big fan of setting up on the edge of them. In order to lure the bird closer to the edge while it looks for the hen, I usually back out 25 to 30 yards into the woods. This method has helped me avoid hanging a bird up on many occasions. But I might have to sit a little closer to the field’s edge on windy days. They seem a little less eager to leave the field and search for the hen in the woods on windy days.

You will need to consider the wind when setting out decoys at your setup, particularly if you are a hunter who uses them regularly. During my initial days in the turkey woods, I made the decision to attempt the decoy technique.

I put them in front of me in the dirt because I had no idea what to do with them. One really windy day, I had a couple of fakes in front of me, and I couldn’t help but laugh as they spun like tops. From that point on, I’ve only ever used decoys and, to keep the bird still, I’ve always positioned some sort of stake on both sides of the decoy, usually by the tail. There’s nothing wrong with a moving decoy, provided it’s not spinning beyond recognition. It’s also a good idea to leave the decoys in your vest sometimes. It’s true that if your decoys blow away from your setup and take off, you might want to discard them.

In strong winds, I tend to move around more if I don’t have a specific spot in mind to spend a lot of time. I just want to make it more likely that I will approach a bird, and I think that if I move a little bit more than usual, I will be in its hearing range. Again, if I know the birds like to congregate in a particular spot on windy days, I might be more inclined to set up and call for a while. Though you can generally slip through the woods unnoticed on windy days, be aware that you won’t be able to hear the soft purrs of feeding birds or the sounds of birds scratching in the leaves, which you might hear on calm days. You’ll have to be cautious because you might spook a bird by walking straight into it. You might also come up on another hunter, too. Safety should always be your foremost consideration when moving through the woods—windy or not.

When birds respond to your calls in high winds, you should know that they are usually closer than they appear. If it’s later in the season after the leaves are out in full force, you better get ready.

Bird Behavior: Turkeys, at times, can be slightly predictable. Windy days are one of those times. Turkeys are generally found more in bottoms away from the wind or in large openings. The woods, where the wind is a prevailing force, tends to make the birds skittish. While it may not provide you with a major advantage, knowing where a turkey likes to hang out is useful information.

Lynn has been hunting turkeys for more than 40 years. His reputation precedes him, so I paid much closer attention to our discussion about windy-day tactics that day than I ever did to anything I heard in a high school classroom. One thing Lynn said that really stuck out to me was that he treats windy days in the turkey woods the same way he treats rainy days. He continued by saying that he had seen birds more often on rainy days in the same locations. Big fields, power lines and new clearcuts are all great places to find the birds.

While Lynn and I were hunting one windy evening, we were slowly making our way along the edge of a large field when we noticed eight turkeys approximately 200 yards ahead of us. We froze there until the birds, not realizing we were there, moved into the bottom beneath the field edge, out of sight. Then, in order to avoid the birds, we made a wide circle and stood on the edge of the wide field, facing the area they were in. During the next hour and a half, I used a glass call, a box, and a diaphragm when the wind allowed. All eight of the birds eventually showed up, and I removed a good 3-year-old from the small flock.

There were three longbeards and five hens before the shot, and no bird had spoken the whole hunt. I had done little more than use basic hen talk with a lot of volume.

As I mentioned earlier, on high, windy days, turkeys are less affected than hunters. This takes me back to a hunt I went on a few seasons ago, which always helps me make sense of windy days. On one particular hunt, I was walking just inside a tree line that bordered a field. The wind was howling that day, and I remember fighting the urge to head to the house. My persistence was rewarded minutes later when I glassed a pocket on the field 200 yards away. I worked a little closer and set up. I knew I needed volume and grabbed my box. The bird answered my first call, and I watched him stretch his neck to grab something to eat. He started to strut, and I distinctly recall laughing aloud as his fan blew over his head. The next call I made produced the same results, and he began heading my way. He was close to 150 yards when I first called to him. He was not more than 75 yards the first time I heard him gobble. He had gobbled close to 15 times before I heard the first one.

I have often said that just because a bird isn’t gobbling doesn’t mean he isn’t there. That day made me adapt a new way of thinking on windy days. Just because you don’t hear a bird gobble, doesn’t mean he isn’t gobbling. The wind had little effect on this bird other than where he was spending the day.

There are a few advantages to the hunter in high winds. The wind will allow you to get away with more. You can move more freely at your setup and make less noise when trying to slip through the woods than on calm days. Of course, you still want to stay away from anything you wouldn’t normally do when a turkey is in the open, but occasionally the wind can conceal an error or two.

Windy days coincide with turkey hunting a lot. The only two predictable places turkeys tend to go on windy days are bottoms and openings, and they may talk a little less. Other than that it’s just another day in the glorious spring woods. By hiking on windy days with the same fervor as on calm days, I debunk the myth that windy days are better spent at home.

How to Hunt Turkeys on Windy Days