Chuck Papp, Contributing Writer
Well it’s that time ” Turkey Time “, Every Spring comes and so does the turkey hunter. I grew up running the hills and fields of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania chasing deer, small game and birds. It wasn’t till I moved south did I start with the turkeys and I can’t believe I waited so long.
The turkey hunter is a different breed of hunter. Everything needs to be taken with much detail. Camouflage needs to be chosen correctly to your surroundings. The eye sight of these birds is remarkable. They can pick you out hundreds of yards away with little effort. What makes this challenging is the calling. If you don’t practice enough and learn their vocabulary, then they will not come into you and your decoys. The Spring means mosquitoes, get your repellant and Therma-Cell; you are going to need them. Anyone can put a deer stand up and wait for a deer, but getting down walking, and trying to get them to respond to your calls, and learning where they roost at night is something else.
Once you get that first gobbler to call you back though, you will be hooked I can guarantee that. A lot of the WMA’S here do require special drawings and lotteries to get tags so if you haven’t done it yet time maybe running out. But a true turkey hunter practices the calling all year round and learning their ways. So, look into it, turkey season may just become your favorite.