Turkey Hunting in the Rain: 5 Expert Tips
The sound of raindrops on the morning of a hunt is an unwelcome alarm clock for any turkey hunter. You might even be tempted to bail—after all, a wild turkey is more active in the sunshine, and who wants to hunker down all day in the rain?
It’s true that toms are more talkative in good weather. But in the spring, the height of mating season, male turkeys will be strutting, gobbling, and fluffing up their feathers regardless of the forecast.
Waiting for perfect weather means cutting your turkey hunting season short and passing up good opportunities for punching your tag. With the right insight, you can turn turkey hunting in the rain into an advantage.
Gear Up for Success
SITKA knows that rain can’t get a hunter down. That’s why we’ve developed a line of waterproof, breathable hunting rain gear that will keep you warm and dry as you wait for your shot.
A good raincoat is a hunter’s best friend, shielding them from the whims of Mother Nature. Our three-layer Dew Point Jacket has the entire package: it’s lightweight and packable but also highly protective against wind and rain. The jacket’s GORE-TEX technology is made of an ultra-waterproof membrane with over 9 billion pores per square inch—keeping rainwater out while allowing perspiration to evaporate.
Protect Your Equipment
Hunting in the rain means going beyond your standard kit to make sure your equipment stays dry. Our Turkey Tool Belt offers storage specialized for a turkey hunter, including a deployable rain fly for unpredictable spring conditions. The belt features a molded front call pocket that stows 2 pot calls, 4 strikers, and 6 diaphragm calls, a side-entry box call pocket with magnetic closure and snug fit to minimize noise, and a shock call pocket that holds 1-2 locator calls.
Beyond the call pockets, it has a removable seat for protection from wet ground, a removable water bottle holder, a zippered compartment for essentials, and straps for a rain jacket.
Take Note of Turkey Behavior in the Rain
Springtime is mating season for turkeys, rain or shine. And while they might tone down their gobbling during downpours, they’re still hardwired to strut and flaunt no matter the weather.
Advantages of a Rainy Hunt
Turkeys prefer wide open areas in the rain and will often hunker down in the open with their feathers tucked. They’re reluctant to move during heavy rain, meaning you can approach them more easily.
During lapses in the rain, turkey gobbling will be at an all-time high, making them easier to spot and more likely to respond to calls. Check out our blog to learn more about turkey hunting tips, including calling best practices.
Disadvantages of a Rainy Hunt
Reduced turkey activity and poor visibility will be working against you when turkey hunting in the rain, so you’ll have to be more strategic and aggressive in your pursuit.
Timing Is Everything
Mornings are generally prime time for turkey hunting: that’s when birds are most likely to fly down from their roosts. But turkeys are late to rise in rainy weather, meaning you can hit your snooze button a few extra times.
Make the Most of the Waiting Game
When the turkeys are MIA and the rain keeps coming down, you might be tempted to throw in the towel and come back when the skies have cleared. This is the time to practice the hunter’s sacred virtue of patience.
Be Strategic
Good scouting can help you find the fields that turkeys favor during rainstorms. Turkeys, and the weather, are unpredictable—meaning that at a moment’s notice, the sky could clear and a tom could step into the open—so stay on guard for breaks in the rainy weather. For these situations, we recommend considering a ground blind, which will keep you warm and dry while waiting for turkeys to fly down from their roost.
Don’t Lose Hope
The next time you second-guess your rainy-day turkey hunt, remember that bad weather can produce some of the most successful hunting days of the season.
Writer and turkey hunter Rob Ramsdale recalls taking a 24-pound gobbler in the rain with the following strategy:
Scouting thoroughly beforehand and finding a “magnet” field for turkeys on rainy days.
Showing up later in the day, after the turkeys had flown down from their roosts.
Setting up along the turkeys’ path entering the field.
Strategically using a friction call.
Waiting.
“This hunt proved to me that even when they are soaked, gobblers are thinking about hens,” Ramsdale writes.
The SITKA Gear Advantage
Flimsy gear makes turkey hunting in the rain a recipe for misery. But rain won’t dampen your spirits as long as you’re prepared.
SITKA’s high-tech hunting systems are designed to keep you comfortable, rain or shine. Our turkey hunting gear will equip you for the notoriously fickle spring mating season, while our GORE-TEX hunting gear will protect you from the elements without limiting your mobility in the field.
Rain may deter some, but at SITKA, we know turkey hunters won’t want to waste a precious day of turkey season. Gear up wisely, and you won’t miss a beat.
Sources:
New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Wild Turkey. https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/wild-turkey
Game and Fish Magazine. Rainy-Day Toms: How to Tag a Turkey in Foul Weather. https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/rainyday-toms-how-to-tag-a-turkey-in-foul-weather/495397
Portland Press Herald. Hunting: Weather Has an Impact on Turkey Behavior. https://www.pressherald.com/2019/05/12/weather-has-an-impact-on-turkey-behavior-ergo-how-you-should-hunt-them/
The Wild Turkey Zone. Rainy Day Gobblers. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x4Mmcq35LEs36X79WqEWUjT9lCZK9YvQW5C0Fuzk0v4/edit?tab=t.0