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Calling All Hunters: Get Ready for Turkeys Looking for Love

April 29, 2009 - Whenever possible, I like to get a little jump on the season by heading south. Their turkey seasons open well before ours, providing a great opportunity for a little pre-season warm-up – in more ways than one.

This year, I got in some spring training and in the process, a pretty good approximation of what the Maine season should be like.

My first stop was at the Goldsmith Ranch outside Baird, Texas. Accompanying me were fellow outdoor scribe and turkey-hunting sage Steve Hickoff; Steve Nessl and Van Holmes, marketing and public-relations guys from Yamaha Motor Corp.; and old pal Eddie Stevenson from Remington. We arrived on the eve of the Texas opener, and the forecast was mixed. There was a sufficient number of birds around, but it was early in the season, and most were all henned-up and happy.

It's a fairly typical scenario for early-season hunting. The birds haven't been harassed by hunters yet, so they tend to follow something of a routine in terms of their daily behavior, which makes them vulnerable.

However, the mating season is reaching its peak, and with a harem of hens in tow, most longbeards are reluctant to come to the call of a turkey hunter. Scouting and being in the right place are particularly important elements in being successful.

Fortunately, we had some good intel. Ranch owner Steve Goldsmith and his son, Chase, had been keeping an eye on the birds and had their routine down. The first morning found Eddie, Chase and me at a regular roost site. Birds, and lots of 'em, were already sounding off when we arrived, so we quickly hunkered in to a narrow strip of cover between the edge of a wheat field and the roost.

The birds were supposed to pitch down and slowly make their way up the field edge and right into our laps. Unfortunately, our calling was a little too effective.

Instead of following their usual routine of looping around to our left, they came straight at us, entering the field to our right. Being a right-hand shooter, all I could do was stare as the flock, including three big longbeards, turned and faded away.

In addition to being largely indifferent to a call, henned-up early-season toms have another annoying habit. They often go silent once they hit the ground. A gobbler gobbles to attract a mate. Therefore, a tom with a dozen hens has little reason to vocalize. He spends most of his time and energy puffed up and fanned out, parading around for his ladies. One of the few ways to out-duel him is to get where he's going before he gets there.

And that's exactly what Eddie, Chase and I did. We made a wide flanking maneuver to the far end of the wheat field. The birds beat us by the slightest of margins, but the cover and terrain allowed us to close the distance.

It was a bit of a long shot for the average hunter. But Eddie was well-acquainted with the capabilities of his 870 Express ShurShot and Wingmaster HD shot, and he made one of those longbeards pay.

From Texas, I flew up to Oklahoma, where I joined a posse of outdoor writers hosted by Hunter's Specialties and Benelli. Our destination was Rut-N-Strut Guide Service. I'd done the same hunt the previous year with owner Todd Rogers, and we were plagued with jakes – year-old male turkeys. Anytime we got a longbeard to respond, a dozen or more jakes would come in and run it off.

This year, all those jakes would be 2-year-old longbeards, naive and often willing to come to the call.

The same should largely be true of Maine. After four consecutive cold and wet springs, we finally got some decent weather two years ago, and the hens brought up a good crop of young. While we won't see nearly the number of birds I witnessed in Oklahoma – roosts containing more than 100 birds – there should be a good proportion of 2-year-old longbeards. Some of them will be henned up, but many will still be looking for love when hunters hit the woods of Maine.

Meanwhile, back at the Oklahoma ranch, the first morning found me in the company of Hunter's Specialties pro-staffer and friend Rick White, and Benelli Media and Exhibit manager Cristie Gates.

We set up near a roost with similar hopes to those of my Texas hunt, and with a somewhat similar outcome. The birds went the wrong way. This time, however, things were far different. While the henned-up toms silently paraded their harems one way, small bachelor groups of very vocal 2-year-olds went the other.

Instead of maneuvering to a precise location, I merely needed to get within hearing distance. I fired up my Old Mama Hen box call and my Deuce Cutter diaphragm, and in as much time as it took them to cover the 400 yards distance, I had three longbeards in my lap. I hope my Maine season goes as smoothly; though I'm not sure I want it to end as quickly.

BOB HUMPHREY, Portland Press Herald, April 23, 2009


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