Turkey Bonus Feature:

Time-Tested Turkey Tips
The school of hard knocks

By Rob Marotta

Tim Van Dyke, a noted turkey calling champion, once told me turkey hunting is easy. “You yelp. A Tom gobbles. You shoot him.” Of course, this was over twenty years ago when we were turkey hunting in New York, and in four years I had only run into one other turkey hunter in the woods.

Back then, even a novice blundering with a box call could get birds to come in. There was no other pressure in the woods, and toms had only heard real hens and would come in almost every time out. That did not mean I would get my bird every time. As a matter of fact, I only shot and killed one tom in my first four years of hunting. I did shoot at many toms, but my lack of knowledge about where to shoot them, how close they had to be, and what choke to use assured I was not doing much damage.

There was very little information available on the market about turkey hunting in those days, so I stumbled through the first four years learning from my mistakes. The only piece of advice I had was from Eric Hanson, who told me to buy a box call, go out turkey hunting, and that I would love it. He was right, I did love it, but even the few turkey hunters I met were not willing to share much advice with me. Thinking back, that first year I shot at several toms 50-60 yards out using dove loads. It was more than my old Sears and Roebuck shotgun with a modified choke could handle, and aiming at their chest didn’t help me bring home anything.

Little by little I started putting the pieces together, thanks in large part to attending turkey hunting seminars. By the mid 80’s I realized you had to get turkeys in to less than 35 yards, shoot them with a full or extra full choke, and aim at their heads. That added up to shooting my first tom in my fourth season. Soon I was filling both tags, and felt the need to hunt other states. In what seemed like a flash, I was working for company designing turkey calls and making my living in the industry.

Shooting

One of the first things you have to understand is that being able to have your gun hold a pattern at 40 yards isn’t everything. I am from the old school, if you can’t get your gobbler in to 35 yards or closer you did not call him in all the way. Plus, the closer the tom is, the more exciting it gets.

Many times, I have had hunters I guided miss close shots at 15 yards or less because their patterns were so tight they had little room for error. The up side is that when a gobbler is that close, the experience lasts a lifetime whether they kill him or not. The same can’t be said for when you fold a bird at 50 yards.

The lesson to be learned is pattern your gun at 10, 20, 30, and 40 yards. Know its effectiveness at all these distances.

Calling

Calling turkeys is not as easy as it used to be. Turkeys were less pressured back then, and it made them easy to kill. Now I believe a tom that is three years of age or older is a much different bird. Generally, jakes get a taste of hunting pressure their first year and they do learn a little. Often it is a little too late for them. The next year, the survivors who have become two year olds have sat through a long winter and started to forget about the hunting pressure they faced as jakes, and start to think about love, making them easier targets. Once they get a refresher course, the two year olds become a little harder to kill.

At the age of three, all a tom needs is to feel a little hunting pressure and he will be much more difficult to hunt. Bringing these babies into 35 yards or less is not easy. To fool him you need patience above all else and the ability to work against their male egos.

A lot of times, jealousy is the best policy with these birds. A gobbler call may be just what you need to get him to commit.if hen calls are not working, as well as a full strut decoy. A tom sees the decoy strutting around and think its safe, as well as that he can push him out.

Do Not Stalk

One rule of thumb turkey hunters must remember for safety considerations is to not stalk a gobbler. Now, that is not to say that you can’t move up on a gobbler, but rather when you set up on a tom and call him in you won’t find yourself shooting another hunter’s decoy or worse.

Turkey decoys look incredibly realistic these days. It is easy to make a mistake. Think it won’t happen to you? Let me tell you a little story.

Last year a friend was guiding the host of a local tv show and his cameraman here in New York. On that day they had heard gobbling off in the distance in a long field. My friend, who had hunted the area often and believed he was the only one with permission to hunt the farm, guessed they would be in a spot near a logging road where he had frequently seen birds strutting.

After getting close, my friend, the guide, told the host to stay put and he would sneak up and see how close the birds were. He did not go far when, through the red brush, he saw a red and white head strutting. He crawled back and told the host what he had seen.

The host, with cameraman in tow, crept around the bend. After getting in position, the film started rolling, and a second later the host shot. Immediately there was a shout in the brush from an irate hunter who had just had his decoy filled with pellets.

I will not mention names, but the point is these were experienced hunters who should have known better. It’s easy to spot a real turkey walking in to you, and much more difficult to identify one that looks real but barely moves.

Now more than ever it is imperative for hunters to practice safe hunting and be aware of their surroundings.

Rob Marotta lives in Scotia, NY and is a licensed NY State Guide. He is also a pro-staffer for Woods Wise game calls.