Once again another spring is upon us and we eagerly anticipate the upcoming turkey season. Climbing out of bed well before dawn, theres still a bit of winters nip in the air and you wonder if another layer of clothes may have not been a bad idea. We have all our gear, blind, calls, decoys, gun, and shells packed neatly so we are set and ready to begin the hunt. You have the ideal spot picked out and its a guarantee that old big boy will be marching right to you for that perfect shot. Yep, its all gonna work out...right? Well more times than not it never does go according to plan. Oh yeah, they're gobbling their heads off on the roost and they may even pitch down in the field you are set up in, so why on earth isnt he coming to your calls? Your scratchin off calls that are truly better sounding than any "real" hen could make. Whats the deal? Hens, thats why and plenty of them. This romeo that you are tryin to get away from his harem just aint gonna budge and you watch him slowly walk away and out of sight. "Man I hate this turkey hunting crap!" How many times has this been said?I know its been said way too many times on some of our hunts and having to video hunts can really be frustrating. Well, Ive basically come to the conclusion that if you cant get the hens to come your way and thus bring the big man with them, just make an end run and out flank him. To some of you this sounds like more work than neccessary but in Missouri our shooting hour stops at 1pm so we cant wait till they break off from the hens late in the day (like most states) and coax him into a little afternoon delight. This seems to be our most effective way and it certainly was the case with my gobbler seen in the picture. We watched them walk from field to field and finally found a draw they were certainly going to be using and set up in a creek bank. The ambush was perfect and they walked in on a string. Im sure there are easier ways and Ill bet some of you are more experienced callers, having no trouble in any situation but to us novice hunters the flanking manuever seems to work...for the most part anyway.
I do love turkey season but I too can get as aggravated at this as I can golf. Come to think of it they are kinda similar. Spend good money and time only to get frustrated but then you have that one good shot and thats what keeps you coming back for more. I know I'll be out there again and I bet it wont be easy but it wont stop me from trying. Go get em' and dont be afraid to out flank them. The extra walking will be good for the heart especially when it works out.
A special thanks to Rick Lowry (Bolivar MO) and Mark Lamb (Springfield MO) for busting their butts in making my hunt successful.
Good hunting.
Scott Turnage
Host/G3 Sportsman
