I placed a tent blind in the same location as the previous turkey season, which was at the end of a lane in the corner of a large, plowed field. I had taken my first longbeard with a bow here, so I felt confident that this spot would produce for me again this year.

Opening day found me nestled inside the blind with bow in hand, listening to some distant gobbles to the west. The growing daylight finally revealed a dozen or so turkeys to the far end of the field, including a couple of nice toms. Naturally, the toms followed the hens and completely ignored my decoy setup, along with my last-minute attempts on a slate call, to lure them into shooting range.

This didn’t surprise me at all, but when I saw them in the same location later that afternoon, I became frustrated. With only one tent blind, I had two choices: Either relocate the blind to the far end of the field or sit tight in hopes that day two would find me surrounded by toms.

Two blinds are better than one

Having two tent blinds—or more—available to you while bowhunting for turkeys provides options should a scenario like this unfold. During the first day of the season last year, I quickly realized that I was at a disadvantage by having only one tent blind. Placing a second blind at the opposite end of the field would’ve increased my chances of intercepting the longbeards as they traveled back to their roost in the early evening hours. Because of this, I decided to add another tent blind to my turkey hunting arsenal prior to next turkey season.

After all, when hunting turkey with stick and string, concealment is essential to pulling off a shot on a turkey, and a tent blind is just the ticket. With their keen eyesight, you must be able to come to full draw undetected to get a shot off. Sure, I could’ve abandoned the tent blind and trotted across the field, taking cover behind a tree in the nearby fence row, but my chances would’ve been greatly reduced. And you can’t take chances if you want to walk out of the turkey woods with a tom draped over your shoulder.

Scouting

Before setting up your tent blinds, scout areas you plan on hunting prior to the season. Grab a crow, coyote, or owl call and head to these nearby locations during the first part of daylight; letting out a few sequences on these calls will trigger any gobblers in the area to shock gobble.

Besides performing quick scouting sessions from your vehicle, it helps to head into the woods on foot and look for turkey sign such as feathers, droppings and tracks. Areas where you find numerous feathers and droppings underneath trees indicate that they have been roosting in this location. This allows you to set up your tent blinds accordingly.

Searching for tracks is another great way to locate their travel patterns and where the birds are spending time feeding and strutting. Setting up in these areas also increases your chances of filling your tag.

When choosing areas to setup your tent blind, avoid placing them near obstacles that may interfere with the path of a longbeard. Examples include thick fencerows, water, steep terrain, and briar patches. Turkey hunting is challenging enough as it is, so place your tent blinds where the birds have easy access to your setup.

Unlike setting up a tent blind for deer hunting, you don’t have to brush the blind in or place it in a concealed location. With turkeys, you can set up in wide-open areas such as a field, and it won’t even bother them. When hunting in open areas, however, keep in mind the direction of the sun throughout the day. The last thing you need is sunlight blinding you as you come to full draw on a longbeard. Set up your blinds so that you aren’t facing east or west. I offset mine slightly to avoid this.

I’ve been hunting out of a tent blind each season for the last seven years and have had turkeys walk within mere feet of my setup with no care in the world. However, don’t let the comfort and concealment of a blind cause you to become careless.

During one morning hunt while using a bow, I heard a longbeard drumming to the east. Instead of waiting for the tom to walk in front of me, I impatiently leaned forward to peak out of the front corner window—and got busted. The startled tom walked back in the direction he came from.

Even though the interior of a tent blind is mostly dark, a turkey can still pick up movement; therefore, it is important to wear a black, long-sleeve t-shirt or jacket when hunting in a tent blind to help conceal you from their powerful eyes. If possible, before coming to full draw, wait for the gobbler to face away from you while it’s fanned out. This will allow you to make a shot undetected.

I like placing a bow holder in the ground inside of my tent blind. This holds the bow in an upright position, which allows me to have an arrow already nocked, and prevents having to move the bow more than necessary for a shot.

Turkey hunting throws many situations at us that can cause us to constantly make decisions and leave us scratching our heads in disbelief. This year, increase your chances of filling your tag by having two or more tent blinds available to hunt out of with bow in hand.

For more insight and tips on how to make the most of the time you spend hunting, check out the articles in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.