Turkey Hunting - Passing The Tradition

Turkey Hunting - Passing on the Tradition
By Bill Saiff III

A thunderous gobble erupted from the far tree line as we stared across the field at the ominous stand of hemlocks. My hunting partner, Jim Rehley, and I had been in this position hundreds of times before. Twenty minutes before dawn, the first bird gobbles and the hair on the back of your neck automatically stands at attention. Today would be different, because on this day we would see turkey hunting through the eyes of Jim's 9-year-old boy. We listened intently for the monarch's lusty gobble, and when it came, other gobblers sounded off in a domino effect and I snuck a peek at the wide grin on the boy's face. We hurried to get in position; our class on "Turkey Hunting 101" was about to start.
Jim had been working with his son all winter, prepping him for the first day he would hunt turkeys. All winter they discussed the wild turkey's phenomenal senses. He explained their uncanny ability to pinpoint the calls of other turkeys (or hunters) in vast woodland expanses. He schooled Jim Jr. on proper camouflage and movement, as this knowledge would be necessary to help hide from the turkey's searching eyes. Jim also made his young protégé aware of what's perhaps the most difficult aspect of spring turkey hunting-getting out of bed at 4:00 a.m.! All these things were rushing through the boy's mind as our trio hunkered near a narrow spit of trees that jutted from the field edge. This was the closest stand of cover to the hemlock edge where the birds were gobbling. We quickly set decoys and as Jim and his son took positions, I slipped behind them with video gear to record the action. I lightly tree-called towards where the birds were roosted and was surprised when we got no response. We decided to be a bit coy in our calling and sat quietly as the birds continued to gobble. As the day began to dawn, little Jim beat his seat cushion against his leg and we used a fly down cackle to announce our presence. The cackle was immediately met by multiple gobbles and we could faintly hear the sounds of heavy bodies dropping from the trees. Seductive hen yelping was the order of the day and while we had plenty of responses, it was obvious that one "big boy" was more interested than the others. Every time we cutt and yelped, the gobbler would hammer back as he worked his way down the far tree line. I strained to pick up his movement across the field, but could pick up nothing as the woods fell silent. We called periodically after his last response, but never heard another gobble. I was contemplating a move when the "spitting and drumming" of a gobbler reached my ears. I swung my eyes to the right and was sickened by the sight of the big tom displaying just 30 yards away. This old boy had crossed the field staying directly behind the only huge oak tree that blocked our vision - Murphy's law at its best! He eyed our decoys, but was reluctant to move towards them. A narrow band of brush separated Jim from the bird, so there was no chance for a clean shot. We purred and clucked, hoping to coax him in, and finally just sat and watched as he walked away. We all discussed what had gone wrong, and embarked on the prospecting portion of our turkey hunting class.
At 9:00 a.m., we struck pay dirt as a gobbler answered some excited cutting on a long box call. We called excitedly to this bird in an effort to take his temperature. When we realized he would respond, we set up where a woods road entered a clearing surrounded by brush. We called and gobblers responded from both sides of the cover, converging on our location. Finally, 4 or 5 gobblers got together and began fighting just out of sight. The woods were alive with gobbler yelping and the fighting purrs of Toms vying for dominance. We could hear the birds spurring each other and beating one another with wings just 50 yards away. Unfortunately, the brush was so thick, we could only guess what it must have looked like. Two hours and 40 minutes passed as we worked the group of gobblers towards our set-up only to lose them at the last minute. I must have hit the record button on the camera 20 times in anticipation of a gobbler rounding the corner. Jim Jr. actually became desensitized to the non-stop gobbling and fell asleep at the base of his tree. I rolled footage of him lightly snoring as birds gobbled close enough to knock your hat off! We finally quit calling to the birds and let them work away. Jim got up, stretched, and woke his son. We discussed throwing in the towel but I felt like a 15 minute hiatus might give enough time for our gobbler group to break up. The divide and conquer strategy has worked well in the past! Ten minutes of legal shooting time remained when we assumed our positions and began calling again. A single gobbler responded and began working in our direction. It took just five series of calls before the Jake rounded the corner of brush and spied our decoys. The Jake craned its neck as we lightly purred to add realism to our set-up. The Jake slowly made its way up the woods road towards the Feather Flex family flock of decoys. Jim's set-up gave him a clear, unobstructed shot at the Jake decoy just 17 yards away. Most male turkeys will approach a Jake decoy for either companionship or to exhibit dominance. This bird strolled right in and at the sound of my double purr (our signal to shoot), Jim dropped the hammer and another youngster got his initiation into the world of hunting wild turkey.
We had hoped to harvest a longbeard with Jim's son, but under the circumstances, this Jake was a fantastic trophy. The property we were hunting was over populated with turkeys. When this happens, there are always more than enough hens around for gobblers to breed. This situation can cause gobblers to be fickle in the way that they respond. In retrospect, we believe that the group of gobblers we were calling to consisted of nothing but Jakes. They were willing to fight with one another (to exhibit dominance), but were unwilling to commit to our decoys for fear of taking a beating from the area's dominant gobbler. The sexual drive of wild turkeys in the spring is a powerful stimulant. Once the gobbler group had dispersed and become disinterested, it was easier to re-interest a single bird and have it commit. It's not surprising that the bird remained silent once it had seen the decoys. Announcing its intentions might lead to a whipping, while the silent technique might allow him to sneak off with a stray hen. The hunt was ultimately a success and our novice turkey hunter learned some valuable lessons that he can apply when it's time for him to slip behind the gun.
Passing on the tradition of hunting is an evolving process. The spring turkey woods are a great place to begin this introduction to a sport we all love and cherish. The sights and sounds of wild turkeys are truly astounding at this time of year, so boredom is seldom an issue. The woodsmanship that young sportsmen learn will transcend into a variety of hunting pursuits later in life. A cultured love of the outdoors gives kids something positive to concentrate on as they progress through their adolescent years. Sharing in the successes and failures of hunts strengthens the bonds between parents and their children. That can't help but make for a better society. It's all part of "Passing on the Tradition".