Spring Turkey Season
Topic:
March Magic
When I learned that we would have an early spring this year, (due to the ground hog’s prediction) my thoughts turned quickly to Spring Turkey Season both here in Florida and in Georgia. I love calling in wild turkeys and fooling them into believing I’m their next girlfriend. Watching these majestic and beautifully plumed birds strut their stuff to entice my hen decoy to leave my puffed up gobbler decoy is a hunter’s dream. This bird is “hot” and he is either going to beat the heck out of the male decoy or he’s going to strut his stuff to get the hen decoy to come his way. When the hen doesn’t move, (because she’s plastic and only moves when the wind blows) he charges the puffed up gobbler decoy, swatting at him with his sharp spurs, smacking him with his wings and trying to smash him to the ground in victory. Now is the time to take him as it won’t take this smart old gobbler long to figure out he’s been fooled.
There are things you must learn about fooling a wise old gobbler or “long-beard” into thinking you are real in the way you talk to him, in the way the decoys look and in the location where you choose to set up. Let me begin by talking about rules and regulations for a quick sentence or two. Wild turkeys have a season and bag limit and sometimes time-of-day to shoot; these are all dependent on which state, which zone and whether you are on private or public lands. To ensure that you are aware of the proper rules, regulations and bag limits for the area where you are hunting, you should check with your local game commission. For Florida, www.myfwc.com and for Georgia www.gadnr.org and proceed from there looking for “hunting season and regulations”. You can also purchase your hunting licenses from these websites. Ok, let’s get back to hunting this beautiful, good to eat bird.
Locating birds can sometimes be easy and yet other times you may spend days just finding turkey sign. Turkey hunting can be just like fishing, you have to be where they want to be so finding them is important. My favorite way to find them is to walk the woods prior to the season and periodically call, either a shock gobble, crow call or some lost hen calls. If there is a “hot” gobbler near, he will sound off with the famous gobble that he’s named after. If you’re lucky enough to hear a gobbler, note the time of day and his location and be there once the season opens, he’ll be near. Roosting (not roasting) a gobbler is done late in the afternoon, just at dusk, the gobblers will be near their hens but will sound off in the tree to make sure their hens are roosted near. Just before first light in the morning a gobbler will gobble a few times before leaving his tree perch. The second way to locate birds is by looking for their tracks in sandy paths or road-ways where they are strutting. You will see the bird’s wing tips digging into the sand with a much larger track than a hens track. Dusting areas are also a sign that turkeys are near; this is an area of sand that the turkeys sit in and dust themselves with sand to remove bird lice and dry their feathers. Dusting is usually done just before the bird roosts for the night.
.
Now that you’ve found them, or him, you have to set up a decoy. You can use just a hen decoy but I prefer to use the newer gobbler models including a full strutting gobbler with two hens near him. You don’t have to use decoys, but the advantage of using one is keeping the gobbler’s keen eyesight off of you and focused on the decoy. Towards the end of the season when gobblers are done fighting for hens I use just a hen decoy and only call like a lost hen to attract him to one more girlfriend to try. You want to place the decoys at a shooting distance that is comfortable for you, definitely not too far for a good clean harvest with a shotgun, yet not right on top of you. Part of this set-up is finding a good place for you to sit, always have a tree at your back, especially if you are hunting public lands. A tree at your back is not just to break up your silhouette; it is an important safety factor. You should be camouflaged from head to toe, using a facemask and gloves because turkeys will pick up the slightest of movements. Cutting a few palm fronds or scrub trees and placing them in front of you will also help hide you and any movements you may make.
The next process to learn is “turkey talkin”…there are plenty of turkey calls on the market; you have to find the one that works best for you. A mouth (reed) call is the hardest to use, sometimes my first call of the year will sound like a mouse being stepped on, but when the gobbler is near and you need that one tiny persuasive putt or purr there is less movement required with a mouth call. I prefer a slate/glass pot call, using a striker to cut, putt and 
purr him in. I can call loud or soft and with little movement, yet it takes up one of my hands, which should be on my shotgun just prior to harvesting. I occasionally will use a gobble call; this is a good tactic early in the season but can also bring other hunters close to you. I do not advise using a gobble call on public hunting lands. I am fortunate to be able to hunt private land and I know who I am hunting with in Florida and in Georgia. A month or two before turkey season, I drive around town in my vehicle calling with my mouth call. You should see the guy next to me at the stop light wondering what the heck is she doing...I just smile back and wish him a good day at work, I’m going hunting. Like anything you do, practice is an important part of doing it right. You can purchase cd’s with turkey calling how-tos and practice while you commute to work or the grocery store. I recommend leaving the call in the vehicle while grocery shopping though, it bothers the cashiers.
To me turkey hunting is an experience that cannot be properly explained in writing. It takes a lot of skill to bring one of the smartest and most cautious of game birds within shotgun range. You are interacting one on one with this bird and it only takes a slight movement or a wrong squeaky call to make him turn tail and you won’t even know he was there. Just picture a brisk morning, light is at bare minimum and you are all set up and quiet. You get your slate call out and make your first call of the season. Behind you 20 feet up in a long-leaf pine tree a thunderous gobble answers your hen tree yelps.
It is magic...March Magic.
Always be safe and courteous, know your regulations.
When I learned that we would have an early spring this year, (due to the ground hog’s prediction) my thoughts turned quickly to Spring Turkey Season both here in Florida and in Georgia. I love calling in wild turkeys and fooling them into believing I’m their next girlfriend. Watching these majestic and beautifully plumed birds strut their stuff to entice my hen decoy to leave my puffed up gobbler decoy is a hunter’s dream. This bird is “hot” and he is either going to beat the heck out of the male decoy or he’s going to strut his stuff to get the hen decoy to come his way. When the hen doesn’t move, (because she’s plastic and only moves when the wind blows) he charges the puffed up gobbler decoy, swatting at him with his sharp spurs, smacking him with his wings and trying to smash him to the ground in victory. Now is the time to take him as it won’t take this smart old gobbler long to figure out he’s been fooled.There are things you must learn about fooling a wise old gobbler or “long-beard” into thinking you are real in the way you talk to him, in the way the decoys look and in the location where you choose to set up. Let me begin by talking about rules and regulations for a quick sentence or two. Wild turkeys have a season and bag limit and sometimes time-of-day to shoot; these are all dependent on which state, which zone and whether you are on private or public lands. To ensure that you are aware of the proper rules, regulations and bag limits for the area where you are hunting, you should check with your local game commission. For Florida, www.myfwc.com and for Georgia www.gadnr.org and proceed from there looking for “hunting season and regulations”. You can also purchase your hunting licenses from these websites. Ok, let’s get back to hunting this beautiful, good to eat bird.
Locating birds can sometimes be easy and yet other times you may spend days just finding turkey sign. Turkey hunting can be just like fishing, you have to be where they want to be so finding them is important. My favorite way to find them is to walk the woods prior to the season and periodically call, either a shock gobble, crow call or some lost hen calls. If there is a “hot” gobbler near, he will sound off with the famous gobble that he’s named after. If you’re lucky enough to hear a gobbler, note the time of day and his location and be there once the season opens, he’ll be near. Roosting (not roasting) a gobbler is done late in the afternoon, just at dusk, the gobblers will be near their hens but will sound off in the tree to make sure their hens are roosted near. Just before first light in the morning a gobbler will gobble a few times before leaving his tree perch. The second way to locate birds is by looking for their tracks in sandy paths or road-ways where they are strutting. You will see the bird’s wing tips digging into the sand with a much larger track than a hens track. Dusting areas are also a sign that turkeys are near; this is an area of sand that the turkeys sit in and dust themselves with sand to remove bird lice and dry their feathers. Dusting is usually done just before the bird roosts for the night.
.
Now that you’ve found them, or him, you have to set up a decoy. You can use just a hen decoy but I prefer to use the newer gobbler models including a full strutting gobbler with two hens near him. You don’t have to use decoys, but the advantage of using one is keeping the gobbler’s keen eyesight off of you and focused on the decoy. Towards the end of the season when gobblers are done fighting for hens I use just a hen decoy and only call like a lost hen to attract him to one more girlfriend to try. You want to place the decoys at a shooting distance that is comfortable for you, definitely not too far for a good clean harvest with a shotgun, yet not right on top of you. Part of this set-up is finding a good place for you to sit, always have a tree at your back, especially if you are hunting public lands. A tree at your back is not just to break up your silhouette; it is an important safety factor. You should be camouflaged from head to toe, using a facemask and gloves because turkeys will pick up the slightest of movements. Cutting a few palm fronds or scrub trees and placing them in front of you will also help hide you and any movements you may make.
The next process to learn is “turkey talkin”…there are plenty of turkey calls on the market; you have to find the one that works best for you. A mouth (reed) call is the hardest to use, sometimes my first call of the year will sound like a mouse being stepped on, but when the gobbler is near and you need that one tiny persuasive putt or purr there is less movement required with a mouth call. I prefer a slate/glass pot call, using a striker to cut, putt and purr him in. I can call loud or soft and with little movement, yet it takes up one of my hands, which should be on my shotgun just prior to harvesting. I occasionally will use a gobble call; this is a good tactic early in the season but can also bring other hunters close to you. I do not advise using a gobble call on public hunting lands. I am fortunate to be able to hunt private land and I know who I am hunting with in Florida and in Georgia. A month or two before turkey season, I drive around town in my vehicle calling with my mouth call. You should see the guy next to me at the stop light wondering what the heck is she doing...I just smile back and wish him a good day at work, I’m going hunting. Like anything you do, practice is an important part of doing it right. You can purchase cd’s with turkey calling how-tos and practice while you commute to work or the grocery store. I recommend leaving the call in the vehicle while grocery shopping though, it bothers the cashiers.To me turkey hunting is an experience that cannot be properly explained in writing. It takes a lot of skill to bring one of the smartest and most cautious of game birds within shotgun range. You are interacting one on one with this bird and it only takes a slight movement or a wrong squeaky call to make him turn tail and you won’t even know he was there. Just picture a brisk morning, light is at bare minimum and you are all set up and quiet. You get your slate call out and make your first call of the season. Behind you 20 feet up in a long-leaf pine tree a thunderous gobble answers your hen tree yelps.
It is magic...March Magic.
Always be safe and courteous, know your regulations.
