While it is sad to see deer season come to an end and duck season wind down, I always look at it in a different way… Turkey season is just that much closer! Every year when I wake up the day after turkey season closes, I am anticipating next turkey season!
Don’t get me wrong, I love to hunt deer, duck, hogs, squirrels and pretty much anything else that I can buy a license for, but, turkey hunting just does something different to me. There are few things that are better in this world than watching a big gobbler strut through a hardwood bottom while echoing gobbles through the woods. And the drum… that is one of the most beautiful sounds to a turkey hunter. Even some veterans of the turkey woods have never heard a turkey drum. It is a low-volume, deep-pitched humming sound forced out from deep within a gobbler’s chest to attract mates. Hearing a gobbler drum means the bird is close, interested and things are about to get serious!
While these are the main reasons I love to turkey hunt, there is one more big plus that this sport has. Turkeys are the working man’s big game. One’s success in the deer woods, duck holes and especially dove shoots, depends heavily on the quality of the land. If you don’t have private land, your chances for quantity and quality fall quickly. Turkey hunting, from my experience, isn’t like this. You may have to be a little more persistent, walk a little farther or work around other hunters, but if you put your work in, your chance for success can be just as good on public land.
I know a lot of you will disagree with me on this, and I used to think public-land birds were harder to hunt too… until I started hunting them. First, I tried changing tactics based on all I had heard about these birds being call shy, not gobbling, going the other direction, etc. I tried setting up and not calling, setting up the opposite direction of where I thought the turkey would go and just clucking at them all without success. So one morning after getting frustrated with a bird on public land, I decided to try getting aggressive. To my surprise, the tom hammered all the way to 20 yards. From that point on, I would say I have as much trouble killing private-land birds as I do public. I’m not saying aggressive calling will bring him in every time; every turkey is different, but that is a whole different subject. The point I am making is there are plenty of opportunities out there for anybody to have a successful turkey hunt.
Spring turkey seasons are opening up state-to-state over the next few months. Good luck in the hallowed turkey woods this year, wherever you may be!
Corey New is a member of Combat in the Wild, a group of hunters dedicated to catching awesome hunts on video. Subscribe to the Combat in the Wild YouTube channel to enjoy weekly shows or go to www.combatinthewild.com to purchase their new turkey DVD, The Turkeyologists Volume III.
By Corey New