# Opening week or The whole month of May?



## saw (Aug 4, 2016)

What part of the season do you guys like? First and second opening weeks give you first crack but only the week and the birds are often still in groups.May gives you the whole month but the seasons been open a couple of weeks by then and mabee hunting birds that have been called to.Just curious what most like ke and why.


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## backstrap bill (Oct 10, 2004)

I always pick the first 2 weeks to get first crack at them before they get too educated,and it’s typically still cold out which is the weather I prefer to hunt in. I’ve been successful. But I only can hunt about 4 days of the week due to work. So in that short amount of time you got to be able to score. I also am limited to public land, which can be good too. 
I have never hunted the month of May, I know you get a lot more time but it also can warm up and you can get some 80° days which also means a lot more bugs. Mainly ticks, but I typically spray down with tick spray even in April. Which ever you choose good luck and be safe. Spring is a great time to be in the woods, I can’t wait!


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## fanrwing (Jul 31, 2010)

I go with whole month of May. The birds might be easier the first week of two but if due to work or other commitments your time will be limited, May gives you more options. If you pick the first week of two and set aside a few days and then get hit with bad weather, you're done. In May if bad weather hits you have more time to go to plan "B". It can be hot and uncomfortable in May but the birds are still there. I also think that in the later season most of the hens have been bred so the toms are out looking more.


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## Thirty pointer (Jan 1, 2015)

Turkey population plummeted around my property in the last 5 years .I hunt the whole month now but no luck the last 3 years and no toms even heard .


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## slwayne (Aug 27, 2009)

I strictly hunt public land and always hunt the season that covers the last three weeks of May. As others have stated, in my opinion too much can go wrong with work and weather (and life) to screw up a one week season. If I had access to prime private property and plenty of time to pattern the birds then maybe a one week season would work. I'm fortunate to have a lot of public land within a 1 hour drive of home and I really enjoy having the time to hunt as much of it as I may need to. I've had seasons where I was tagged out 15 minutes into the first day (kind of hate those seasons) and others where I've gone down to the afternoon of the last day (after putting in a ton of time in the woods) but I've managed to get it done 9 out of the past 10 seasons. I agree that hot weather and more bugs can make May hunting more uncomfortable but the added time and flexibility you get is worth it to me.


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## Jimbos (Nov 21, 2000)

fanrwing said:


> I go with whole month of May. The birds might be easier the first week of two but if due to work or other commitments your time will be limited, May gives you more options. If you pick the first week of two and set aside a few days and then get hit with bad weather, you're done. In May if bad weather hits you have more time to go to plan "B". It can be hot and uncomfortable in May but the birds are still there. I also think that in the later season most of the hens have been bred so the toms are out looking more.


I was torn as to what to do since last year was a wash due to that mid April snow storm but I went with the first two weeks again. 
I know they're always wrong but the weather guys are claiming winter will be over early this year.


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## MISTURN3 (Jan 3, 2012)

1st season is always iffy due to weather. used to go 2nd season regularly - now go with the 3rd......Area K - always pressure no matter what season - I like having longer (as others have said - commitments, work, etc.) and have killed a bird as late as Memorial Day wknd before........bugs are worse, ferns are up/higher but time trumps all other things.......


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## Buck city bowhunter (May 1, 2018)

Last year was my first Michigan turkey. I hunted the may season. I did tag out but Ihated the bugs the entire time!

More than likely I'm gonna get a early tag this year. Depending on if i find The public land I hunted last year was a ghost town so I might as well knock it out early. I want to go to Ohio and kill 2 birds.


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## Jdhunttrapfish (Jan 14, 2016)

I always hunt the first season, but have seriously considered the may season as well, early season around me the Tom's are always really henned up, but later on in the may season there are lone Tom's everywhere, I do usually get a few chances in the early season and the birds are unpressured, but my main reason for hunting the early season is I can't take sitting there knowing others are hunting and I could be too, I can't wait two more weeks lol, good luck to ya whatever season you pick, both can be great


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## Yankee#1 (Jun 3, 2015)

Late season. Simply invest in lightweight camo and a Thermocell. However, I'm biased because I grew up hunting NY and the CT during graduate school, therefore I'm 'conditioned' to hunting birds in May. 

I'll also say that if you take kids or new hunters, late season hunting in May has a few advantages. The extra vegetation allows for more movement and talking. It's not usually cold, which means the extra warmth feels good early morning. Late afternoons can get hot, but that heat reminds you to stick to the shadows (blind or no blind), which also helps to keep kids and newbies concealed from ole' tom's vision...

I'll admit that I tend to concentrate on the first week of May and then the last 10 days of the month, because the period between May 10-20th can be a real lull (in my case, it's also when I celebrate my wedding anniversary with the wifey). During the middle of the month many of the hens have started nesting full-time, which results in only 1 or 2 hens in a 5 mile radius that aren't nesting, which makes the toms nervous. They usually shut up as soon as they hit the ground, immediately go into strut, and no matter what you do the toms and jakes tend to follow those last few hens. The mosquitos usually fire up about this time of the Spring (at least in SW Michigan), usually making this a really frustrating time to hunt.

I say all that, but I still hunt almost every single day of the month (yes, even on my anniversary), just to get into the woods. During the middle of May I usually quit early and take the morning to look for shrooms and then scout new areas, sometimes even looking for new properties. I use this time of the month to note changes in travel routes/patterns (farmers are starting to till and plant big fields, etc.), and noting these changes allows me to stay on birds so once they start cooperating again I know the best places to setup.


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## F. Thompson (Jan 9, 2014)

Last year in northern Michigan we got hit with a ice/snow storm the first week. The birds became very spooky. We did manage to roost a few birds. The finally day, I messed up. That's why it's called turkey hunting. Had a great time, learned what NOT to do and will try again this year. Good luck, we are blessed to live in this great state.


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## TriggerDiscipline (Sep 25, 2017)

Up here in NW Michigan, the late OTC hunt is best. Last year the ground was still frozen into late April. May is when it starts to green up more. I prefer the warm weather, but last year the mosquitoes were hellacious. Definitely getting a thermacell this year. Pressure is usually not that big of an issue with so much state land, although I see more hunters in the last few years than years ago. Breeding activity ramps up in the second week of May too.


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## d_rek (Nov 6, 2013)

SEMI early season is the best. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## River raider (Dec 25, 2017)

I always take the first hunt. Don't like the bugs or the heat. I'm retired now so time isn't a issue. What ever allows you more time in the field and can keep the boss (wife) happy too is a win. Best of luck to all who enjoy the pursuit. Killing isn't everything, but wanting to is.


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## Buck city bowhunter (May 1, 2018)

TriggerDiscipline said:


> last year the mosquitoes were hellacious.


Man if that ain't the truth. I lived and hunted in Northern California for 5 years and I was born and raised in FLA but the mosquitoes were on another level up here. These must be a different breed of sqitters up here! I had a thermacell but chasing turkey around the woods it didn't really help that much unless I sat for a extended period of time.


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## freezen1979 (Mar 22, 2015)

saw said:


> What part of the season do you guys like? First and second opening weeks give you first crack but only the week and the birds are often still in groups.May gives you the whole month but the seasons been open a couple of weeks by then and mabee hunting birds that have been called to.Just curious what most like ke and why.


It's always a crap shoot in my opinion. I have fixed this problem by having multiple people to turkey hunt with so I am in the woods every weekend.


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## River raider (Dec 25, 2017)

The mosquitos in my area are like mini helicopters.LOL


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## River raider (Dec 25, 2017)

Remember you can call before and after your season. Just because I tagged out I still continued to call and learn from the smartest bird in the woods. Back in the turkey draws years ago I didn't get a permit for three consecutive years but I still called in birds . I would try and do things that a hunter wouldn't do. I do not hide , I hunt in the open .


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## RS1983 (Mar 16, 2009)

The late season by me means that mushrooms are out. I like to run and gun and then high noon I'm looking for mushrooms on my way back to the Jeep lol. I work 12 hour shifts so of course whenever I pick the one week season that means that I have to work every day that week.


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## River raider (Dec 25, 2017)

We are lucky , in the northeast our first season is two weeks long. I remember those long days of work, I would always take a weeks vacation to hunt turkeys starting on Monday and the opener of trout in the same week. A week of that and I looked at returning to the long ours working as a rest.


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## Uncle Boopoo (Sep 15, 2008)

I prefer less bugs and snakes so I like hunting either of the first 2 seasons. Sometimes that first week can suck due to weather but by the second week it’s usually pretty nice. Lately I put the second week as my first choice for that reason. The lack of foliage helps with deer scouting at the same time.


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## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

May has been good to me, I can hunt Missouri in late April, then hunt here. My thermacell has been good to me when needed!


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## thill (Aug 23, 2006)

I agonize over this decision each year and always come to the same conclusion...I apply for the first week and chase cohos during May. Plus, I always have the opportunity to take my girlfriend, nephews or other friends hunting during the last season. Last year this strategy backfired on me because I only had one weekend to hunt and the weather worked against me. Last year was the 1st in many that I didn't fill a tag.


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## River raider (Dec 25, 2017)

Darn , we hunters are so perplexed on hunting decisions. If only the anti hunters new what agony we endure. Lol


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## TheLionsFan (Dec 20, 2011)

I've always done the Hunt 301 private land 2 week, but last year did the whole month of May. That wasn't for me. Back to the first 2 weeks.


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## dirtyfowlmouth (Oct 6, 2015)

Give me the first two weeks crystal clear cold frosty mornings with the silence cracked at day break but a thunderous gobble off in the dark


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## Sewey (Jan 10, 2017)

I’ll be going with the first two weeks on the ZZ hunt. I hunt private land down here and I feel that tag gives me an appropriate amount of time while taking advantage of the first two weeks of the season. 

I am also thinking that if I tag out early up here, I’ll head to OH for a weekend hunt or two, time permitting. I’ve never hunted turkeys on state land and that would afford me some more time in the woods chasing birds. Plus I could go back for deer at a relatively low cost in the fall.


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## Yankee#1 (Jun 3, 2015)

River raider said:


> Remember you can call before and after your season. Just because I tagged out I still continued to call and learn from the smartest bird in the woods. Back in the turkey draws years ago I didn't get a permit for three consecutive years but I still called in birds . I would try and do things that a hunter wouldn't do. I do not hide , I hunt in the open .


I hope you're calling for other hunters and not just blindly educating birds...

If you're just calling for your own pleasure - please, stop and wait until June, when the season is closed.


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## River raider (Dec 25, 2017)

If you call a bird in and don't scare it off, no damage done. I program birds to a area all the time , if it's a bird I want to harvest. No matter who calls the bird he will come to me first every time even if I don't make a sound. Calling birds has been a passion , learned so much , you could never accomplish what I have as far as understanding the bird, only hunting. I have called in as many as 50 toms in one year , before people started shooting them over corn.


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## jimlin13 (Mar 8, 2011)

I,ll take zz.spend as much time as I can.in the woods.don't like the mosquitos.


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## Yankee#1 (Jun 3, 2015)

River raider said:


> If you call a bird in and don't scare it off, no damage done. I program birds to a area all the time , if it's a bird I want to harvest. No matter who calls the bird he will come to me first every time even if I don't make a sound. Calling birds has been a passion , learned so much , you could never accomplish what I have as far as understanding the bird, only hunting. I have called in as many as 50 toms in one year , before people started shooting them over corn.


How do you know you called in 50 different birds? Unless you were in 50 different spots, you might have called in the same 5-10 birds at different times. 

I hold advanced degrees in Animal Science and have 20 years of applied animal research, so I'll agree with the amount of information you can glean from interacting with any animal. But you can learn more by simply observing and not calling, and you still didn't say why you call blindly during the season. If it's for your own education, then just realize you're calling may be disrupting another person's hunt - and for what it's worth, you can call birds in most of the year, and especially during early June a few weeks after the season closes.


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