Personally, I’ve never been one to enjoy just sitting and waiting for a gobbler to walk by during a spring turkey hunt. While this strategy can be extremely effective for turkey hunters who have done the necessary scouting, I prefer a more aggressive approach to turkey hunting. This style is often referred to as run and gun turkey hunting and is used by many turkey hunters each spring.
What is Run & Gun Turkey Hunting?
If you’ve hunted turkeys long enough, you’ve more than likely heard the term “run n gun”. The run and gun approach to turkey hunting is a more aggressive, fast pasted approach, that allows you to cover more ground than the sit and wait approach. A run and gun hunter is constantly moving through the woods, attempting to strike a tom that may have lost his hen.
On the flip side, the sit and wait approach to hunting turkeys typically consists of setting up along field edges, food plots, or in areas that the hunter has found turkeys spending a lot of time in. This method of hunting turkeys is very similar to deer hunting.
How to Run & Gun
So, how does someone run and gun while turkey hunting? The basic concept behind running and gunning is to cover and cast your calls over as much ground as possible, with the hopes of striking a lonely gobbler. However, its a good idea to consider that size of the property you plan to hunt before tearing off through the woods.
Running & Gunning on Small Tracts
On smaller parcels of public or my family’s hunting grounds, I take a more methodical approach to running and gunning. On these smaller tracts I want to hunt in such a way that minimizes the amount of pressure I put on the birds. The majority of the time I will do the bulk of my calling around the perimeter of the property and only dive deeper into the property if I strike a gobble.
I like to check smaller properties like this every couple days. Just because a tom doesn’t gobble doesn’t mean he’s not there. Odds are, on the days that the bird doesn’t respond to your calls, he likely has a hen or hens. By running and gunning the perimeter of the property every few days, you increase the likelihood of finding him in the right mood while minimizing the amount of pressure on the birds.
Running & Gunning Large Tracts
I personally do the majority of my turkey hunting on large tracts of public land each spring. On these larger parcels I like to be aggressive and cover a long distance. To do this I like to study topographical maps to find terrain features to follow while running and gunning. The majority of the time I look for long ridges that have several secondary ridges connecting to them that allow me to work a long distance. I will work my way down these long ridges, casting calls from either a diaphragm call or from pot calls into ravines or down secondary ridges. Over the years I have been fortunate enough to harvest several birds employing this method.
While I do prefer to work ridges when running and gunning, sometimes the terrain doesn’t allow for it. When hunting these flat or bottom land type areas, working along creek or river bottoms can work extremely well. One thing to keep in mind while running and gunning through flat open creek bottoms is that birds can normally see a lot farther. Keep this in mind while hunting these areas and adjust your approach to reduce the chance a bird sees you before you know he’s there.
Run and Gun Tips for Increased Success
Don’t Sound like a Human Walking Through the Woods
If their is one tip that I can give you that will put you leagues above other hunters, its to pay attention to to sounds your making while walking through the woods. A turkey spends his entire life honing his skills to avoid potential threats and trust me if your walking through the woods, stepping on sticks, and just making sounds that are not natural, that ol tom will be gone before you ever knew he was their.
While running and gunning, pay attention to your surroundings and try to blend in. If your walking down a logging road trying to strike a bird, scratch in the leaves in combination with softer calling like clucks, purrs, and soft yelps. This will imitate the sounds that an actual hen might make moving through the woods. The key to this tip is to attempt to enter and exit the area without anything ever knowing you were there.
Walk and Gun
Whoever named this style of turkey hunting “Run and Gun”, honestly missed the mark on the name. But hey, I guess “Run and Gun” does roll off the tongue better than “Walk and Gun”. Many hunters that I’ve spent time in the timber with chasing turkeys in my opinion get in a rush. Heck I too used to have this problem. But the more time I spend chasing these birds, the more I learn that always being in a rush can put you at a big disadvantage.
Even though the name says “Run”, slow down. Just because you called and a bird didn’t gobble the next second, doesn’t mean he’s not their. In my experience, a gobbler might wait 10 seconds to a minute before he decides to respond. If you’ve already taken off, the odds of you hearing the gobble decrease. Theirs no telling how many gobbling turkeys I walked by in my early years as a run and gun hunter that could have made for a good hunt had I been more patient.
Don’t Skimp on Your Setup
While calling is important for the run and gun style of turkey hunting, I would say that where you decide to setup after striking a bird is even more important. Lets say you’ve worked your way back into a piece of property a quarter mile and strike a gobbler. The moment you strike the bird the hunt is on and the gears in your head should start turning. Where is the bird? What is the terrain or ground like between you? Are you currently in a location where the bird is likely to come? These are all important questions to ask yourself the moment you hear him gobble.
Unless the tom is right on top of you, typically you will have enough time to make the necessary moves to make sure you are setup in the optimal place to call the gobbler in.
Final Thoughts
The run and gun approach to spring turkey hunting can be one of the most effective strategies when done correctly. While some hunts can happen fast, don’t get discouraged if morning turns into the afternoon and you haven’t had any luck. In my experience once you cover and call into enough ground, you’ll eventually find a turkey that ready to work.
