Let's say I was going to hunt the last weekend of the season in an area with plenty of turkeys. I'm new at this and am trying to read as much as I can, so please chime in if you have an opinion. What setup/calling/decoy strategies would you use and how would you spend your two full days, assuming you could put some birds to bed Friday night? Thank you.

Hen decoys only. No use challenging toms now, they're tired and beat.

Call as usual, but let the gobbler tell you what he wants to hear.

If you get an answer, but no one shows, stay put. Hens should be either nesting, or going to lay by now, so his hens will disappear about 0930, and he'll come back looking for you.

Gman

Well the hen only idea is cool and has worked for me in the past during late season, but one of the setups I've had birds come running into all season long is what I call the "Freaky Deke" setup...lol.

I put a hen decoy on a shorter stake to make her look as though she's squatting down to be bred and I place a strutting jake or smaller strutting tom behind her just above her tail so she can still be seen, but to make it look like he's about to mount and go in for the kill. Don't know what it is about it but when other gobblers sees a strange tom they're not familiar with breeding hens in an area they frequent it drives them nuts!

I've used the setup in areas that there's quite a bit of pressure as well as lightly hunted areas and it seems to work every time. I usually don't do too much calling but just enough to let them know I'm in the area...that is unless they're extremely hot and responding to most of your calls.

Either way I've had a lot of success with this setup. If you find that the local toms are skittish and seem to shy away from your gobbler deke then go to a hen only setup.

I may give it a shot as well

Thanks guys, I'm going to try some of this. I'm headed to a 3000 acre ranch that has been hunted for one weekend where three gobblers were shot. Going to try to connect on a couple more on the last weekend of the season.

I don't know a fraction of what I should about decoying turkeys as I am just getting back into it. I can tell you my observation is the reply about the toms not wanting a challenge anymore is what I assumed in my situation. I have had 6 set ups in 3 days of hunting. Everytime the toms would get to a 40 yard mark from the decoys and stop. It is as if they just had no fight left in them. I didn't think about it until after milling it over and over that it was late season and they just don't want to fight anymore. Reading this thread makes me feel a little better that my suspicions might be correct.

Agree 100% with the single hen decoy. Only other tip I have is get a seat that elevates you about 5-6" off the ground. They make the hunt much more comfortable allowing you to stay still and sit longer. Good luck!

I've been using chairs specifically designed for turkeys hunters for the last 10 yrs. This year, I found the ultimate chair in size and comfort:

ALPS Outdoorz Strutter Maximum Comfort Chair



I'm a big man (6'2", 300 lbs.). I've destroyed several chairs in just a couple of hunts. I've tried the Cabela's chair, the WalMart chair, and several others. Hands down, for comfort and durability, this chair is it. Yea, it 's built a little heavier than the others, and cost a few dollars more, but well worth it.

You can get them at Macks Prarie Wings:

http://www.mackspw.com/Item--i-ALP8525214

Gman

I might have to snag one of those chairs! That looks comfortable.

I've heard that sometimes birds get very quiet late in the season and you have to set up where they really want to be. Some people say water. Is it a good idea if nothing is gobbling to head to a stock tank or creek bottom and just set up and wait?

In dry country do they go to water to drink every day?