Fall turkeys are comparatively very stupid. The groups are made up of birds that are only a few months old and haven't been pressured yet. I've hunted them the old fashioned way, and I've hunted them like most hunt pheasants. Ultimately I gave it up entirely since it wasn't much of a challenge and every bird I killed was one less that was around for the spring season, either as a tom or breeder.
The secret to hunting them the old school way is to bust the group. Find them, run into them, and get them all busted up. Then set up approximately where the majority went. 15-30 minutes later they'll be wandering around looking for a mature hen to lead them. Yelp some with a scratchy old hen and you'll have no trouble. You don't need a blind if you use a little natural cover and hold still. I only use a blind for spring archery so I can get drawn.
I posted here somewhere about the pheasant hunting style of fall turkey hunting. It's a riot, especially with a couple of guys, but it can be brutally efficient. That lethality plus several years of bad hatches is ultimately what caused me to stop doing it. If someone wanted a fall turkey for Thanksgiving or something I'd much rather push and block them than sit in one place.
I could have killed a few yesterday at a dove spot. I saw them driving down the field road. When I drove up to the place I would be parking they ducked into the trees. Just for fun I cut the dogs loose and they went racing into the trees. Seconds later all hell broke loose and there were turkeys running and flying everywhere. I drew down on a few of them inside 20 yards just for fun. I'm not sure when the Missouri fall season opens, but I don't have tags and I doubt if I'll buy them... It just isn't worth it to me.
