Gettin’ ready for spring gobblers

Consistently successful spring turkey hunters will agree: the key to success is pre-season scouting and preparations, and the time to begin is now.

Combine a dry, mild winter, coming after fall’s bumper mast crop, with a large, healthy population of turkeys going into the winter, and you have the recipe for another banner spring gobbler season.

When scouting early in the spring, look for hens, specifically in their roosting and feeding areas.

On opening day, the location of toms will be relative to the movements of the hens. When scouting preseason, don’t take your game calls along.

Practice your calling at home. Many fine cassettes and videotapes are available that are a great help to both novices and veteran hunters.

When hunting, remember:

Never stalk any gobbler you may hear. It is unsafe and unlawful. You must call to them.

Always look for the beard. Hens are not legal game in the spring. The scrutiny it takes to note the beard will assure positive identification of your target.

Observing these two points alone would significantly decrease the turkey hunting accident rate.

I have known many people over the years that considered trying their hand at gobbler hunting but never did. When I ask them “Why not?” I always get the same answer, “It’s too complicated” or “I don’t have the time to learn to call.”

The problem is, most would-be gobbler callers begin by reading everything they can get their hands on concerning this subject. They have little trouble finding such material, as turkey hunting is popular subject among outdoor writers. A pet peeve of mine is that most articles leave novices intimidated, and give the impression that these birds are the smartest things since the microchip and calling is as involved as learning to speak French.

Spring turkey hunting is only as hard as you want to make it. The most difficult thing is showing up.

Walking alone on a dark, secluded, wooded road at 4:00 a.m. while tooting on an owl hooter (locator call) may not be the mark of a sane person, but to a gobbler hunter, it’s heaven.

The birds have the eyesight of an eagle and can hear you blink. They can elude you in an instant. However, they are not at all smart. Beginners even fool them regularly. Their intelligence is limited to their instinct for self-preservation.

A simple one-syllable “cluck” on an easy-to-use push button caller will work wonders – if you’re in the right place at the right time with the right tom.

Enjoying a spring dawn, sharing a conversation with this remarkable native bird, is a wonderful experience. If you’re lucky enough to draw him into shotgun range, so much the better.