To put it mildly – we love our turkey hunting. Turkeys in California are expanding their range every year, opening up new opportunities. In the areas we hunt it’s typically considered the Rio Grande subspecies of wild turkey. We offer spring California wild turkey hunts where you can experience your heart pound as a longbeard struts into view. We can also put you on an autumn turkey which requires a different approach but can easily be combined with several other hunting opportunities.
We offer hunts on exclusive private ranches in the beautiful oak woodlands of California and also on public forestland where you can match wits with a truly wild mountain turkey. The choice is yours.
Spring California Wild Turkey Hunts
Usually in February the male turkeys begin to gobble and that’s when we start hitting the hills listening and looking for strutting zones and roost trees. A day in the spring turkey woods is like magic. It starts early in the morning where we will set up near a roost tree long before first light. When the songbirds begin to sing their spring rituals is right about when the ring of gobbles echo from atop the roost trees. We will begin some light calling sequences to let the birds know there is a hen nearby. After the turkeys fly down it won’t be long before we will know if the plan worked out.
Getting turkeys soon after they land on the ground from the roost is an excellent tactic. Some folks end the hunt after the morning thunder turns silent. We don’t stop there. If everyone in the group hasn’t got their bird we will hunt all day. In our experience hunting gets better as the late morning turns to afternoon. If you can get a gobble out of a turkey at 2 pm, that’s a bird that wants to play.
Legal shoot time for spring turkey ends at 5 pm. On multi-day hunts the group is welcome to go and relax for the afternoon or join the guide to try and roost some birds in the evening for the next morning hunt.
Fall California Wild Turkey Hunts
Fall turkey hunting takes a different approach. A common method is to break up the flocks of young-of-the-year turkeys that are still with the hen and use an assembly call to bring them back in. This technique doesn’t work so well for big Tom turkeys because they aren’t in the flocks with the young birds. The big turkeys are either alone or in bachelor groups. To kill a longbeard in autumn requires pre-season scouting to understand where they are loafing, feeding, and roosting. Our guides spend countless hours in the fall turkey woods observing sign and marking fall territories. When the season arrives it’s all about being in a strategic location to intercept the turkeys as they move about. Glassing openings and sneaking into shooting range also can be an effective method.
The great thing about a fall turkey hunt is that there are so many other species that can be hunted at the same time, that live in the same region – including, mountain quail, valley quail, dove, squirrel, rabbit, gray fox, coyote, raccoon, bear, or even fishing. There is never any downtime in November and early December.
2024 Spring Turkey Season
General: March 30 – May 5
Archery: May 6 – 19
Additional Junior: March 23 – 24, and May 6 – 19
Spring bag limit is 1 bearded bird per day and 3 per season combined
2023 Fall Turkey Season
General: November 11 – December 10
Fall bag limit is 1 either sex per day and 2 per season
Rates – California Wild Turkey Hunts
Below is the rate chart for turkey hunting with accommodations provided. These are some common trip lengths, as we offer trips of nearly any duration.
Rates are per person. Two day or two hunter minimum.
| 1 day 0 night | 1 day 1 night | 1 day 2 night | 2 day 2 night | 2 day 3 night | 3 day 3 night | 3 day 4 night | 4 day 4 night |
| $600 | $800 | $1000 | $1,400 | $1,600 | $2,000 | $2,200 | $2,600 |
Extra days = $400
Extra nights = $200
Price includes the harvest of one turkey, additional harvested birds on multi-day hunts are $200 per turkey.
For combination hunts guests should have a focus species in mind. The rate is the price for the species that cost the most to hunt.
Inclusions
- A knowledgeable and experienced guide.
- Transportation from a pre-arranged meeting location to the field.
- Deli-style lunch.
- Non-alcoholic beverages.
- Breakfast and dinner for all inclusive hunts.
- Lodging for paid nights – sleeping arrangements vary by hunt type and guest preferences.
- Field care (plucking and gutting).
Exclusions
- Hunting license and upland game bird stamp.
- Personnel effects, daypack/vest, and clothing. Gear list will be provided. If you do need something let us know and we can usually work with you.
- Weapon and ammunition. Practice with your method of take. Plan to be accurate with archery equipment out to 35 yards and pattern your shotgun.
- Alcohol or tobacco products – no alcohol may be consumed before or while hunting.
- Lodging and meals for before and after the hunt dates.
- Transportation to the pre-arranged meeting location.
- Storage, butchering and processing of game beyond the basic field care. It can be hot, have a plan in place for the turkey after the trip.
- Taxidermy services.
Give us a call to book a turkey hunt that will be like hunting with a long-lost friend.
