Turkey hunting is an exciting outdoor adventure that requires skill, patience, and understanding your quarry. However, mother nature doesn’t always cooperate with perfect spring hunting conditions. Wind can significantly impact your hunt, from reducing gobbler vocalizations to blowing your scent towards wary birds. So how windy is too windy when turkey hunting? Read on for a complete guide on hunting turkeys in windy conditions.
How Wind Speed Affects Turkey Behavior
Turkeys rely heavily on their senses of hearing and smell to detect danger. Moderate breeze up to 10 mph may have minimal impact. However, once winds reach 15 mph, it can become more challenging
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Hearing: Strong winds can muffle sounds and carry calls away from turkeys. This makes it harder for you to hear gobbles and trickier for turkeys to hear your calls.
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Smell Brisk winds circulate scent, making it easier for turkeys to smell you They may hang up out of range or become extra wary.
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Vision: Gusty winds cause vegetation to sway, making it tougher for turkeys to spot predators. They tend to be more vigilant.
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Vocalizations: Gobblers often gobble less and hens yelp less frequently in windy conditions. Don’t rely on vocalizations to find birds.
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Movement Turkeys seek shelter from the wind, heading to lower terrain like creek bottoms and hollows. Expect altered travel patterns.
Above 15 mph, hunting becomes quite difficult. Turkeys decrease activity, hunker down, and become much less responsive to calling.
Ideal Wind Speed for Turkey Hunting
While turkeys can be hunted in mild to moderate winds, your odds improve significantly with lighter breezes:
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0 – 5 mph: Ideal conditions. Turkeys are most active and vocal on calm, still mornings.
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5 – 10 mph: Acceptable conditions. Birds remain active but may be slightly less vocal.
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10 – 15 mph: More challenging. Turkey sounds are muffled, but hunting is still feasible.
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15+ mph: Usually too windy, especially if gusty. Turkeys are less likely to be moving or responding to calls.
As a general rule, if wind noise makes it hard for you to hear, it’s probably too windy for effective turkey hunting.
Tips for Hunting Turkeys in Windy Conditions
While birds get tougher to hunt on blustery days, success is still possible with the right adaptations:
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Scout and set up in sheltered spots like creek bottoms, hollows, and on the leeward side of ridges where wind impact is reduced.
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Use wind direction to your advantage by calling from the upwind side so your calls carry towards them.
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Focus on areas turkeys use as wind shelters like dense brush and pine groves. Their patterns may shift on windy days.
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Opt for a mouth, slate, or box call that produces loud, sharp notes to cut through wind. Avoid soft sounding friction calls.
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Don’t rely on gobbles to locate birds – be prepared to do more legwork.
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Hunt patiently and persistently – action may be later in the morning when winds subside slightly.
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Use a decoy and call aggressively to increase visibility and audibility for incoming birds.
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Take advantage of lulls in gusty winds to call more effectively. Be ready when birds respond.
With the right adaptations, it’s amazing how many turkeys can be tagged even on marginal weather days. Don’t write-off hunting on windy days, but be prepared to change strategies.
Common Turkey Hunting Mistakes in Windy Conditions
It’s easy to make mistakes when hunting gets tough. Avoid these turkey hunting blunders on windy days:
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Calling too softly – turkeys can’t hear timid calling over wind. Get loud!
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Using poor carrying calls like friction calls not meant for windy conditions.
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Neglecting to use wind direction – don’t call into the wind or set up downwind.
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Assuming birds won’t respond – stay persistent and be ready when they finally do.
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Not using decoys – add visibility to help draw in wary spring gobblers.
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Sitting too long in unproductive areas – be prepared to move more to find active birds.
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Giving up too early – hunting often improves as winds subside later in the morning.
With preparation and smart adaptations, these mistakes can be overcome to make the most of tough spring hunting conditions.
Expert Tips from Turkey Hunting Legends
Seasoned turkey hunters share these proven tips for succeeding on blustery days:
“Hunt terrain features like creek bottoms and hollows where wind impact is reduced. Birds tuck into these areas to escape the wind.” – Joel Nelson, outdoor writer
“Aggressive calling is key – I pound my box call loud, hard, and often to overcome wind noise and draw in distant birds.” – Alex Rutledge, TV hunting personality
“Don’t assume birds won’t respond just because it’s windy. I’ve had great success being persistent and keeping calls going.” – Gregg Ritz, Former NWTF Grand National Calling Champion
“For run-and-gun hunting, focus on calling from likely roosting areas first thing, before birds leave trees and disperse.” – Matt Morrett, Guide and pro-staffer
“On marginal days, I concentrate on hunting funnels near feeding areas, allowing me to intercept wary birds.” – Eddie Salter, Former NWTF Grand National Calling Champion
As you can see, expert turkey hunters capitalize on wind to their advantage instead of being intimidated by it. Follow their lead, be adaptable, and you can find consistent success hunting spring gobblers in the wind.
Frequently Asked Turkey Hunting Wind Questions
Turkey hunters, especially beginners, have many common questions about hunting in windy conditions:
Q: Can turkeys be called in when it’s extremely windy?
A: In very windy conditions over 20 mph, calling often becomes ineffective. However, it can still be possible to call in turkeys, especially using loud, coarse calls. Be prepared to call aggressively and often.
Q: Where should I set up on windy days?
A: Focus on areas blocked from wind like hollows, creek bottoms, and on the leeward side of ridges or hills. Turkeys seek shelter from gusty winds in these locations.
Q: How do windy conditions impact turkey behavior?
A: Turkeys tend to gobble less, move more cautiously, and be tighter lipped on windy days. Expect them to seek shelter and be extra alert as vegetation movement makes spotting predators difficult.
Q: Can I roost turkeys successfully if it’s very windy?
A: Roosting birds may still shock gobble on extremely windy mornings, but gobbles will likely be fewer. Wind also makes pinpointing roosted bird locations more difficult. Still hunt roosts, but have backup areas to check as well.
Q: What turkey calls work best on windy days?
A: Loud box calls or mouth calls like diaphragms that allow sharp, high-volume calling work best to cut through wind noise. Friction calls and tubes often don’t have the volume required.
The more you hunt turkeys in windy conditions, the better you’ll become at adapting your strategies to match the weather. Don’t fear the wind – use it to your advantage to tag more spring gobblers!
Additional Resources for Hunting Turkeys in the Wind
For further reading on mastering windy conditions while turkey hunting, check out these excellent resources:
Hunting Turkeys in Windy Conditions – Tips from Field and Stream
How Wind Impacts the Sounds of Spring Turkey Hunting – Guide from Realtree
Turkey Hunting Tips for Windy Days – Expert wind strategies from Wide Open Spaces
Calling Spring Gobblers on Blustery Days – Advice from Nosler on fighting the wind
Turkey Hunting in the Wind – Game & Fish shares secrets for success
Don’t let challenging spring winds ruin your hunts
Tricks to overcome and use windy conditions to bag a bird.
Donald Devereaux Jarrett | March 27, 2013
I’m not real sure how well a turkey can hear in high winds, but I know it’s better than my hunting partner, Lynn Stanford, or I could on that cold, windy, March morning a couple of seasons ago. We had set up in one of my proven turkey spots on that morning with hopes of a turkey passing by within hearing distance of our calling at some point.
We were committed to hanging with it as long as we could stand it. Each time I called it would seem the wind would drown out my calls, and I wondered if we were wasting our time.
Forty minutes later I rolled a solid 3-year-old that came running in quietly. He was in our lap by the time we saw him, and I basically shot him in self defense.
Obviously, some days are better suited for turkey hunting than others, but I would rank windy days as one of the toughest. I believe it has more to do with the way it affects the hunter than the way it affects the turkeys, though.
I also feel that our success percentage suffers more on windy days because the turkeys adapt to it better than we do. Wind and turkey season collide on a fairly regular basis, so if you aren’t dropping the hammer very often when the wind shows up, it might be time to make some adjustments.
Calls and Methods: When the wind gets up, the first thing about calling that enters my mind is the volume I need to reach to get a bird’s attention. I used to think that a diaphragm had to be the loudest call there was. That was a long time ago, and I know better now, but it’s a common belief that a mouth call is best for producing 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 widely used on windy days and will reach quite a bit farther than the diaphragm. The tube call is another loud call, and since it isn’t generally as common to a turkey’s ears as other calls, it can produce fantastic results. All these calls can cut through some pretty high winds and again will certainly outrange the diaphragm.
Close friend and longtime hunting partner, Bobby Knight, has established himself as one of the finest turkey hunters I know. We have hunted turkeys together for more than 20 years, and I have seen him strike birds on windy days an awful lot by using a boat-paddle-type box call. He has confidence in it when the wind is howling because of its high-pitched, long-range ability. He said it is not a call he uses much at all until the wind gets up, but when it does, he prefers it over a standard box because he believes it will reach farther than any other call.
I have hunted turkeys in high winds on plenty of occasions and have used various calls and methods along the way. 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 use on calm days provided you get enough volume. I do, however, like to employ a couple of calls on windy days that I might not use quite as much on calm days. One is the assembly call, which I generally use in the mornings after fly down and in the evenings just before the birds fly up. I will use it throughout the day when the wind gets up. It is a natural sound, and it is also a sound that can give a bird some sense of security.
The boss hen can be quite a nag, and when she’s not tending a nest somewhere or stealing a gobbler from a would-be happy hunter, she feels obligated to keep the flock together. 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. I have had good results on windy days making a gobbler believe there is a lost hen in the neighborhood.
Of course there is more to turkey hunting than just hearing a bird gobble, making a few calls 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. It might be as simple as moving to a good bottom, but if you find yourself in a situation like Lynn and I were in, as mentioned in the opening paragraph, we couldn’t get in a bottom. We had to find the best setup that allowed us to hear.
We chose a huge oak tree on a field edge and put it between us and the stiff, March wind. If I am calling in an area and don’t know if a bird is there or not, I will generally try to keep the wind to my back so my calls will carry farther. 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’s not generally a problem early in the season but can be a problem later on in the season. When you are calling a bird, windy day or not, you should always pick a setup where the bird will feel comfortable coming to. If the wind is high and you have a bunch of moving bushes around your setup, it’s going to make an approaching gobbler a little more uneasy about looking around too long for a hen he can’t see. When in the woods, I will try to pick a setup that puts the bird in range when I see him. You really have to pay attention when the wind is high because you might not ever hear him coming.
When hunting open fields, I’m not a big fan of setting up on the edge of them. I will generally sit back into the woods 25 to 30 yards in hopes of bringing the bird closer to the edge as he looks for the hen. This method has helped me avoid hanging a bird up on many occasions. However, on windy days, I might be forced to sit a little closer to the edge of the field. They seem a little more reluctant to come out of the field and into the woods in search of the hen on windy days.
If you are a hunter who relies on decoys a lot, you will need to consider the wind when you start putting them out at your setup. When I was still a beginner in the turkey woods, I decided to give the decoy thing a try.
I had no clue as to what to do with them beyond sticking them in the dirt out in front of me. One particularly windy day, I had a couple of fakes out in front me and could not help but laugh as they spun like tops. From that point forward, when using decoys, I have always placed a stake of some sort on both sides of the decoy, usually by the tail, to keep the bird stationary. 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. Let’s face it, when your decoy gets airborne and blows away from your setup, you might want to forgo them.
I tend to move about more in high winds if I don’t have a particular place in mind to spend a good while. I just want to give myself a chance of being close to a bird and feel I stand a better chance of getting inside the hearing range of one if I am on the move a little more than normal. Again, if I have a particular area I know the birds like to hang out on windy days, I might be more apt to set up and call a while. Keep in mind, though, that while you can generally get away with slipping through the woods without being detected on windy days, provided you do it with caution, you won’t be able to hear birds scratching in the leaves or those soft feeding purrs that you might hear on calm days. You will need to stay on your toes because you might walk right into a bird and spook him. 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 you get a response to your calls in high winds, you need to realize the bird is generally closer than he sounds. 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. That’s not to say you have a huge advantage, but every bit of information as to where a turkey likes to hang out is valuable.
Lynn has been hunting turkeys for more than 40 years. His track record speaks for itself, so when he and I were discussing windy-day tactics one day, I paid way more attention to that discussion than I ever did to anything I ever heard in a high-school classroom. One thing Lynn said that really jumped out at me was when he told me that he treats windy days in the turkey woods just like he does rainy days. He went on to say that he found birds in the same places that he finds them on rainy days more than anywhere else. Big fields, power lines and new clearcuts are all great places to find the birds.
Lynn and I were hunting together one windy evening and were easing along the edge of a large field when we spotted a group of eight turkeys ahead of us 200 yards away. They hadn’t spotted us, so we froze on the spot until the birds wandered into the bottom below the field edge and out of sight. We then made a wide circle to get past the birds and set up on the edge of the big field and facing the bottom they were in. Over the next hour and a half I used a glass call, a box and when the wind would allow it, a diaphragm. All eight of the birds eventually showed up, and I removed a good 3-year-old from the small flock.
There were a total of five hens and three longbeards before the shot, and none of the birds had said a word the entire hunt. I had done little more than use basic hen talk with a lot of volume.
As I mentioned, turkeys are affected less than hunters on high, windy days, and it brings to mind another hunt several seasons ago that will always help me keep windy days in proper perspective. 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 first call I made got the bird’s attention, and I watched as he stretched his neck out to gobble. He began strutting, and I remember laughing out loud 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. When trying to slip through the woods, the noise you make will be minimal compared to calm days, and you can get away with more movement at your setup. Of course you still don’t want to be doing anything you wouldn’t normally do when a turkey is in plain sight, but the wind can cover a mistake or two occasionally.
Windy days coincide with turkey hunting a lot. The only thing turkeys might do differently on windy days is talk a little less and head to two predictable places—openings and bottoms. Other than that it’s just another day in the glorious spring woods. I’ll hit the woods on a windy day with the same enthusiasm as I do on a calm day and avoid any myths that say windy days are better spent at the house.
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