5 Types of Weather and How They Affect Turkey Hunting

Weather is unpredictable. Not every spring day is clear, calm, and warm. From rain to sleet to fog, the weather affects turkey patterns. Understanding what weather does to their behavior, and how to adapt to it to increase your success is critical. There is not much you can control when turkey hunting, but even in the worst weather conditions, turkeys are still out there. Knowing what weather is coming, when weather conditions are going to break, and how turkeys are likely to react to them is critical to spring turkey hunting success.

A typical spring turkey hunt might feature wind, sleet, lightning, and heavy rain. Bad weather conditions don't mean bad hunting. We can’t control the weather but we can learn how to deal with it. Knowing how turkeys react in poor conditions can help fill a slot on your gobble tag. Here are 5 types of weather, how they affect turkey behavior, and how you can adapt.

#1 Rain

If the day begins with steady rainfall, gobblers and hens may opt to remain on roost well after daylight. As the rain subsides, turkeys will leave their roost position and begin their day. Knowing when adverse conditions will break is key to effective hunting on a rainy day. Fresh after a rain, turkeys will get out, dry out, and meet up with other birds and continue their routine.

Gobblers will crowd into fields which are flooded and eat swampy insects and other grubs from the ground. Turkeys like to crowd in open fields during rainfall because their eyesight is not as good and the rain falling on leaves through trees limits their hearing. This is prime for setting up and getting on them. If heavy rain persists, find low areas that are nice and thick. In these spaces, turkeys will tuck up under pine trees, or other cover to protect themselves from wind and rain. When heavy rain is falling, turkeys may not gobble, but they will sometimes answer a call close by.

Prior to a hunt, be sure to scout for open fields, food plots, and thick areas. Visiting these areas ahead of a rain event can help clue hunters in to where the turkeys may enter the field. Use a quality pair of binoculars in the field while you scan for bird movement.

#2 Hot Weather

Heat waves during spring hunting are simply another weather event to which hunters and turkeys must adapt. Despite the weather, whatever it is, turkeys aren’t going anywhere. Heat wave hunting isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it’s not impossible, either.

During hot spells, early mornings and late evenings become prime hunting hours, as birds limit much of their activity to these periods. When the temperature spikes, hunting in the middle of the day can be tough. Turkey activity diminishes as the birds seek cool, shady spots.

A spike in temperature can play a role on the noise levels of wild turkeys. The rule has exceptions, but when it’s stifling hot, most turkeys will be reluctant to come to a call. Because turkeys are most active during times of mild weather, too hot or too cold weather slows their activity. It has been estimated that turkeys are most vocal in temperatures between 60 and 69 degrees fahrenheit.

On a hot day, the birds are still out there, but might be biding their time in shaded cover. Turkeys typically focus on water in the heat. Set up in a thick grove of tall oak trees, where shade and moisture-loving trilliums grow along a narrow, slow-moving creek. Get as close to the birds as possible, but be careful setting up, you don’t want him to see or hear you coming. Once set up, slow down and melt into the background for a while. When settled in a place where turkeys might spend time, produce a couple strings of yelps and be aware of the volume you produce. A reply may not come instantly, listen for several minutes. If you don’t hear a gobble right away, repeat the process until you’re convinced you should move to another location.

#3 High Winds

Perhaps the most significant weather condition for turkey hunters, high winds make chasing gobblers a lot more difficult. In the spring, a hunter’s main advantage is the ability to call aggressive gobblers. High winds make this task a lot harder. High winds also make hearing a gobbler’s response difficult. Unable to hear a tom calling back, puts even a higher premium on patience. Be prepared to sit longer without hearing many responses. A hunter needs to change his calling strategies to accommodate the wind. Using friction/slate and box calls are ideal during windy weather. These calls produce a high pitch and have a higher volume. This extends a hunters calling range. Mouth calls can still be effective; the active range will be shortened.

Windy weather changes a turkey’s daily pattern. When it’s windy, wild turkeys must depend on their eyes more and tend to be a lot spookier in poor weather conditions. A good strategy is to set up near hidden open areas that are protected by timber. Turkeys feel more comfortable in these areas and are less apt to feed in wide open fields. For hunters that like action, try running and gunning after birds. Do not be afraid to move often and check fields for activity. Moving on windy days can prove to pay off. A turkey will still depend on their amazing eyesight, so try to move in thick concealed areas surrounding these open areas.

Most importantly, hunters can use the high winds to eliminate sound and conceal some of their movement. Turkeys have a harder time seeing the slightest movement when most of their surroundings are blowing in the wind. It might give a hunter just enough movement to move their gun or draw their bow.

#4 Sleet & Snow

Snow in the spring? It could happen. In fact, many hunters in the Midwest have hunted turkeys in the snow.

A sworn enemy of wild turkeys, sleet and snow weigh down turkey feathers and lower their core temperature. Snow and cold temperatures will definitely change turkey patterns and leave hunters wondering where all the birds have gone. When cold weather arrives, gobblers tend to gobble less, making it harder to call a tom into a decoy setup.

Much like the rain, snow will also cause both hens and gobblers to stay on the roost longer where they can be protected from the elements. If their roost does not provide adequate cover or protection, they’ll head for the nearest open evergreen stand at first light.

A good strategy for hunting in the snow is to hunt mid-day. Mid-day temperatures are more appealing for movement compared to the frigid morning temperatures. Look for areas where the sun will warm the fastest. If the area is hilly or there are slopes, sit up on the southern side of the hills. These areas will heat faster and be the warmest areas. Also look for areas that will lose snow the fastest. Turkeys will tend to scratch and look for food in these open areas. Finding food is a lot harder in the snow but turkeys will look for the easiest way to find a food source.

#5 Fog

Fog is like glue. It makes everything run slower in a turkey's life. They start calling later, fly down later, loiter longer, move slower while feeding. Hunters can use fog to their advantage by concealing their approach and movement close to the roost.

If it's foggy at daylight, birds will stay on the roost until the fog burns away. Often, even though they refuse to fly down, they'll gobble just fine. If fog sets in throughout the day, gobblers tend to gravitate towards open terrain and fields much like they do in the rain.

HuntWise can track weather events for you so you can adapt your hunt style ahead of time or on the fly based on incoming weather conditions. With live weather reports, weather forecasts, wind direction, and sunrise/sunset times in one convenient place, you can stay one step ahead.