Spring turkey hunting in Texas is not an easy pursuit.
That’s especially true if you define quick success as the prime indicator of a good hunt.
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of chasing after a variety of turkey subspecies in Texas and New Mexico, and the toughest aspect of hunting any of these birds is attempting to expect the unexpected and trying to plan accordingly.
The general spring season kicked off this past weekend in South Texas and starts two weeks later in northern counties, and putting in scouting time is the most important thing you can do before going afield in search of filling even one turkey tag, much less seeking multiple successes. The most important things to consider are finding roost locations and logical food and water sources, locating setup areas that allow for good concealment and multiple lines of long sight and finding travel routes that intersect these locations.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my hunting failures and miscues and those of others while chasing after turkeys, it’s that they simply are creatures of habit. Until they are pressured from hunters, predators or other outside influences, they typically will react the same way and do the same things. That means good things if you’re able to find where they are and where they want to go, while doing it without spooking them.
As with scouting, hunters should know as much about the quarry they’re chasing, and after studying up on various reports and discussing the issue with biologists and wildlife experts, and seeing the same things in the field, it leads to the conclusion that turkey behavior has a distinct biological component. Knowing why turkeys do some of the things they do is another way to put in your homework and examine a number of scenarios before you head out.
With that in mind, here’s a glimpse at the three seasons within a turkey season, and why gobbling picks up in two, a great thing for hunters looking to fill their tags.
Turkey hunting in Texas brings need to know tips, tactics, regulations
Early season spring turkey hunting in Texas
The beginning of the spring turkey season, regardless of whether it’s in the eastern Panhandle, the Hill Country or deep South Texas, is much like fall bass fishing: It’s a big transition time. Around the middle to end of March and even into the middle of April in northern locales, turkeys will begin to break up from larger winter flocks and gobbling activity will spike. Birds will move away from locales where they spent a lot of time in previous months and seek out breeding areas. This typically occurs in the same locations where they have built nests, which can play into your favor if you keep track of where you bagged a bird the previous year.
During the early season, I’ve seen and heard amazing amounts of activity from toms and hens, including fighting and general cutting up, and it’s not unusual to hear hens being more vocal during this time frame, too. The reason for this behavior has been linked by biologists to being a result of the uncertainty and very nature of birds that have broken off from flocks where they had spent lots of time.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from hunting turkeys, it’s that familiarity makes turkeys feel most safe, and when they don’t have the security of other birds for whatever reason they often will go silent, which always means tougher hunting.
The dynamic for the season usually is set early and dominant gobblers looking to breed will cut out hens, leaving subordinates ripe for the plucking, especially younger toms and jakes that usually will come running to your hen imitations. It’s not unusual to see large groups of jakes and subordinate toms hanging around the boss gobblers and their hens, which makes locating birds easier in the early season, especially if you can find roost sites. This is where safety in groups plays the largest role, and before birds begin to break off into even smaller flocks as the season progresses is one of your best bets to bring home a nice bird.
Midseason spring turkey hunting in Texas
During the middle to end of April in much of Texas — and even earlier in South Texas — a gradual change begins, and gobbling and loud behavior that had been present even just days before slowly tails off. Biologically, the birds have established their dominance or lack thereof and the challenging nature of birds in the early season gives way to less aggressive tendencies, especially as the pecking order has been set.
Gobblers typically stay close to hens all day and also roost near them at night, and birds that are this henned-up are almost impossible to lure away from their harems. The toughest aspect about this part of the season is that toms will respond to calls a good majority of the time, but they simply won’t break free from hens they’ve already found. Even if you try to tempt them with sweet talk or challenge them with raucous gobbles they often end up following their harems whatever direction they feel like going — usually the other way.
One way you can swing things in your favor is to consider another aspect of turkey biology involving hens. As the middle of the season wears on, hens typically begin to visit their nests during late morning to lay eggs after breaking apart from toms at daybreak.
This precisely is why changing up your tactics and hunting later in the morning and into the afternoon can mean the difference between bagging a bird and coming back empty-handed.
Texas spring hunting pursuits bring out critters that bite back
Late season spring turkey hunting in Texas
This portion of the turkey framework sees another peak in gobbling activity, and like many hunters, this is my favorite time to hunt these wily critters. The biological aspect during this time of year to consider is the fact that this period sees most hens on nests incubating their clutches of eggs, while gobblers are left to roam in search of other hens to breed with.
This is the magic time, though there are some things to think about that could make things tough. The first is that there simply will be fewer gobblers and the ones left will have heard myriad calls, especially if you’re hunting public lands. These birds also may have ended breeding activity before the season is even over, meaning your calling will fall on deaf ears. In this case, targeting food sources and setting up an ambush likely is your best play, especially as hungry toms that have eaten little during breeding season look to replenish themselves.
Hunting has the potential to be tough early this season, but there’s no better time to enjoy a fine spring day. It should be rewarding with or without filling your tags.
Texas spring turkey hunting seasons
The spring Rio Grande turkey framework in “northern” counties runs from April 1 to May 14, 2023, while the season in southern counties is from March 18 to April 30, 2023. The north zone youth-only season is March 25-26 and May 20-21, 2023. The youth-only dates in the south zone are March 11-12 and May 6-7, 2023. There also is a one-turkey bag limit season than runs April 1-30, 2023, in the following counties: Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, Milam and Wharton. Birds killed in those counties must be reported to TPWD under mandatory requirements.
The Eastern turkey season in East Texas will run April 22 to May 14, 2023. Hunters are required to report harvest of eastern turkeys electronically to TPWD within 24 hours of harvest. Reports in mandatory counties can be made through the TPWD My Texas Hunt Harvest App or online from the TPWD website.
In addition to a Texas hunting license, an upland game bird endorsement is required to hunt turkeys.
Turkey hunting in Texas can make fools out of hunters during early season
Texas turkey hunting tactics can swing odds in your favor in spring
