With the start of May here, even Northeastern hunters are finally done waiting for the spring gobbler season to start (or very nearly done waiting in one case. We see you Pennsylvania). Meanwhile, most hunters in the rest of the country are right in the thick of the season, with peak breeding beginning to wind down in many areas—and the chances of finding a lone tom improving.
Last month, we kicked off our 2025 Strut Reporters coverage by breaking down the five key phases of the turkey breeding season and asking 15 experts from across the country to pick the key dates when turkey hunting will be at its best in your neck of the woods. We’ve covered the pre-breeding, early-breeding phases, and peak-breeding phases, and now it’s time to dive into the post-peak or pick-up breeding phase.
It's an exciting time simply because it means fewer henned-up toms, a little more gobblings, and better odds to fill a tag. If you're not at the post-peak phase yet in your area, that’s okay. Check out the links above for the earlier phases. Meanwhile, all the information below will apply when you get here. The key is knowing what to look for. So, let’s start with a breakdown of the post-peak breeding phase.
Strut Phase: Post-Peak Breeding
Like the peak-breeding phase, the post-peak is just what it sounds like. It's the time frame just after peak breeding—and it's a sigh of relief for most hunters, as the toughest part of the turkey season is over. It's not exactly a bonanza of turkey activity. The hunting can still be tough, and you'll still find henned-up toms, especially in the early morning. But as more and more hens ditch their boyfriends to lay eggs and tend nests, your chances improve.
This is a period when a lot of hunters, burned out from the frustrations of peak breeding, can give up after a couple hours and go out for breakfast. That's a big mistake, as the chances of a gobbler finding himself alone as the sun rises higher, get better by the day.
How to Hunt the Post-Peak Breeding Phase
Roost hunts can still be difficult now, as hens may be roosted with gobblers or will run to them at dawn looking for love before trotting to a nest to lay another egg. That said, if you can put a bird to bed in the evening and then slip in very early and very tight the next morning, you could be right in the thick of it at fly-down.
It's the mid- and late-morning—and afternoon where legal—that can start to heat up again during this phase, because that's when hens are apt to leave gobblers and head for their nests. There are several of ways to take advantage of this—and, even better, most of them involve sleeping in.
If you have a lot of open ground to hunt, one tactic is to head out a little before mid-morning and glass from your vehicle to spot a lone tom, or a tom strutting with hens that you can get on and stay on until the hens leave. Another is to run and gun on foot, covering ground and trying to strike a hot bird. This gets a little easier in the post-peak phase, as there's more foliage of trees and brush to hide you.
If you hunt a smaller property, or properties, and can't risk bumping birds by running and gunning, your best bet is to do a milk run of just a few top spots. This is where you scouting and previous sightings come in. If you know a good mid- to -late-morning strutting area, or a place where you know hens like to feed or dust, or just a high-traffic area, sneak in, set up, and wait for a lonely gobbler to show. If you're patient and you have a lot of confidence in the spot, stick it out as long as you can. If not, try a spot for an hour or more, then sneak out and go hit another.
In many areas of the country, by the time the post-peak phase rolls around, gobblers have seen quite a bit of hunting pressure, and more and more have had enough of fighting with other toms and getting jumped by gangs of jakes. If you find a fired-up gobbler—which is certainly possible now—aggressive calling can be just the thing, but generally speaking, this is a time to tone things down and let toms come find you. By the same token, gobbler decoys and fans can work now, but they're a little riskier, as battle-weary toms might turn tail or even seem to spook from them now.
5 Expert Tips for Hunting the Post-Peak Breeding Phase
1. Brian Lovett, Upper Midwest
During this phase, I focus on areas that might have experienced less pressure; I hunt as long as possible, hoping that some gobblers get lonely after hens wander off to lay an egg or go to nest; and I really focus on getting tight with turkeys and being patient. I've found that they still gobble well, but often don't finish. So, when working birds, I'll stick with realistic soft calling mixed with long periods of silence to play on their curiosity.
2. Will Brantley, Mid-South
Many of the turkeys I've killed during this phase have been later in the morning, a couple hours after fly-down. It's like they roam around a while, get lonely, walk to a high point, and just start gobbling. You can sometimes hear them from a long distance, and the key to killing them is to drop everything and get to them. If I'm near my truck and can close the distance that way, I will. Otherwise I start walking, briskly, stopping every 200 yards or so to listen for the next gobble and keep dialing my approach. Ultimately, the goal is to slip to within 100 yards of a bird and get into a good setup before I ever make a sound. Those first sounds will be soft yelps and clucks, and lots of leaf scratching. Once I'm positive he's answered, I go silent on him. These birds often go silent in return, but their footsteps in the leaves, and especially their drumming, will give them away as they approach.
3. Jace Bauserman, Rocky Mountain West
Once most of the hens have been bred, I like to pick open areas, set out a 1/4- or 1/2-strut jake decoy over a laydown hen and call sparingly. Gobblers really gravitate to more open areas in my region now to strut and be seen by any available hens.
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