Turkey Hunting 101

Waking up at 4:30 in the morning might seem crazy, but when it comes to spring turkey hunting, it’s well worth it to me and thousands of other hunters in North America. A fresh cup of coffee, a bagel, and a look at the weather is just the beginning to a wonderful day in the woods.

One hunt last spring, after I got set up and the sun began to rise, the woods erupted with sound: Toms gobbling and hens yelping filled the air. I started calling with just a soft yelp on my slate call before the toms flew down, in hopes of drawing one right off the roost. Finally I heard the familiar sound of wings and turkeys flying down from their roost — one, then another, and another. What an awesome feeling of anticipation.

Sometime later, a hen came into my decoys with a tom in hot pursuit, and one well-placed arrow later, I knew my turkey tag