Can You Turkey Hunt in the Evening? A Guide to Success During the Fading Light

Turkey hunting during the evening hours can be an extremely effective strategy for filling your tag. While many hunters focus their efforts exclusively on the morning hours, the evening shift offers prime opportunities to call in and harvest longbeards. As with any turkey hunting scenario, understanding the biology and behavior of the birds is key to success in the evening. Here are some tips and tactics for effective evening turkey hunting.

Why Hunt Turkeys in the Evening?

There are a few reasons why the evening hours can be a great time to hunt turkeys:

• Increased Activity – Turkey activity often spikes in the evening as birds start making their way back to roosting areas after a day of feeding and breeding The evening offers your last chances to intercept them

• Heading to Roost – Many birds will be on the move as they start working their way back to their preferred roosting sites for the night This means increased opportunities for ambushes along travel corridors

• Stopping to Feed – Even lovestruck gobblers will often pause evening breeding activities to feed and refuel. Food sources become gobbler magnets.

• Avoiding Pressure – In heavily hunted areas, evening hunting allows you to avoid pressure from other hunters who focus on mornings Gobblers may be more relaxed as well

• Extending Limited Seasons – Evening hunting adds more hours to enjoy during short spring seasons. This maximizes your chances for success.

How are Evening Gobblers Different?

To effectively hunt evening turkeys, it’s important to understand how their behavior changes compared to the morning:

• Less Vocal – Gobblers tend to call and gobble less as evenings progress, likely because they are focused on roosting.

• More Cautious – Evening birds are often extra alert and cautious as they approach roost areas. Subtle calling and concealment become more critical.

• Traveling to Roost – Expect birds to be on the move headed for their preferred roost trees as evening approaches. Ambush travel corridors.

• Stop for Food – Gobblers will pause evening breeding to feed and refuel, making food sources key hotspots.

• Stop Calling on Roost – Roosted gobblers will eventually stop calling entirely, even when worked up by hens on adjacent trees.

5 Tactics for Evening Turkey Hunting

Here are some key tactics I’ve found effective for filling tags during the evening shift:

1. Use Soft, Subtle Calling

Since gobblers call less in evenings, avoid loud, aggressive calling. Instead, focus on soft clucks, light yelps, and subtle purrs. Often, less is more. Silent setups in the right areas can be deadly as well.

2. Pick Prime Ambush Spots

Focus on intercepting birds along travel routes between feeding and roosting areas. Funnels and field edges crossing these routes can be goldmines. Food sources are magnets too.

3. Bring a Blind or Brush In

With evening light angles often silhouetting you, concealing blinds or brushing in are critical. A turkey’s eyes miss nothing in low evening light. Blinds allow you to draw or shift safely too.

4. Monitor Roosted Bird Behavior

Note when roosted gobblers stop calling completely in evenings. Use this to gauge if a hot bird has stopped responding or has left the roost before approaching.

5. Maximize Scouting Intel

Thorough scouting to pinpoint evening food sources, roost sites, and travel routes gives you a major edge. Trail cameras on these areas can provide key intel as well.

Prime Evening Hunting Hours

The last 2-3 hours of legal shooting light are primetime for evening hunting. However, consider your state regulations – some prohibit evening turkey hunting or have specific evening cut-off times. When possible, stay out till dark to maximize your odds.

Gobbler activity ramps up quickly in the last hour before dusk as they try to sneak in a few last breeding attempts. Intercept them along routes headed to roost as legal light fades. This is often your best window for success.

Field Setups for Evening Hunts

Prime field setups for evening include:

• High Vantage Points – Use rises, edges, or trees on a field’s perimeter for visibility and safe shots on entering/exiting birds.

• Funnel Zones – Target pinched zones where birds are most likely to cross between cover and feeding fields.

• Adjacent to Cover – Pick areas near woods, ditches, or fences to intercept wary gobblers as they transition to/from cover.

• Blind Up – Use a blind or natural vegetation to conceal yourself and allow drawing your shotgun undetected.

Adjusting to Bird Behavior

Remain flexible and willing to change tactics based on how birds are responding:

• If gobblers are silent, avoid calling altogether. Silent ambushes can work best.

• Try fighting purrs or prey distress calls if standard hen yelping goes ignored.

• If gobblers are still fired up late, get aggressive with your calling to exploit this.

• Not working food sources? Shift to setting up on known travel routes.

• Not getting responses? Try briefly roosting birds again but cautiously.

Safety Tips for Evening Hunts

When chasing gobblers in low light, keep these safety considerations in mind:

• Pinpoint shotgun patterning and effective ranges under evening conditions. Keep shots close.

• Use flashlight or headlamp navigating to/from your hunting spot – don’t risk injury in the dark.

• Take care identifying your target and what lies beyond it in poor light. Avoid risky shots.

• Consider wearing a LED beacon during walks to stand locations to avoid potential accidents.

• If hunting public land, be aware of other hunters who may be out and about in the area.

Is Evening Hunting Right for You?

The evening shift offers dedicated turkey hunters prime opportunities to tag out. However, it requires specialized strategies and tactics tailored to the birds’ late day behaviors and patterns. Evening hunting is also not permitted everywhere, so consult local regulations. If legal in your state and you have access to good roosting and feeding areas, an evening hunt can make a huge difference in your spring success. Listening close to the woods as the shadows grow, heart pounding when you hear the distant flutter of feathers – it’s an addicting way to extend your time in turkey country.