April means spring gobbler season for Texas turkey hunters
When spring gets in the air, Tom turkeys get in the mood for love. The colorful game birds exhibit their affection with haughty displays of self importance marked by ruffled plumage and boisterous gobbles, often followed by peculiar struts, spits and drums. Experts say it is all in the name of romancing receptive hens and discouraging other long beards from venturing onto their turf.
Each year, thousands of spring turkey hunters disperse onto the Texas landscape with high hopes of witnessing one of nature's greatest shows first hand. Texas Parks and Wildlife says the fraternity numbers close to 50,000, and that they harvest about 25,000 gobblers each year.
There are several ways to hunt turkeys, but spring hunting has to be the most challenging. And the most fun.
A good idea is to tap into the turkey's line of communication by using any number of manual or mouth blown calls to mock the sounds of wild. Sometimes spring gobbler hunters will use crow or peacock calls to shock a wary gobbler into blowing its cover, but most often they rely on the sounds of a hen turkey to rev the gobbler's sex drive and ultimately tease him within 40 yards or less.
No two hunts are ever the same. Things are forever changing out there, including the moods of Tom turkeys.
I have seen instances when calling a mature gobbler into shotgun range hardly seemed like a challenge. Conversely, I have seen other times when it wasn't so simple, even when all the conditions indicated it should have been.
Turkey hunters will be out in force in coming weeks as another spring season kicks into high gear. The season began March 19 in 54 Texas counties, but does not open until April 1 or April 2 in the remainder of the state.
Here are 10 spring hunting tips gleaned from expert interviews and dozens of days spent tagging along with guys I consider masters at the game. Follow them and you are sure to up the odds of spending a tag or two this season:
* KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: There is no substitute for scouting hunting areas ahead of time. In addition to listening for birds, you should look for sign such as scratching areas, feather drops, fresh droppings, tracks and dusting areas.
* COVER SOME GROUND: It is always best to have multiple birds located before you actually go hunting, especially on public land. That way you will have something to fall back on in case plan A doesn't pan out. A mountain bike is good alternative to walking on forest roads that are closed to motorized traffic.
* KNOW YOUR AREA: A poor turkey caller with an ideal set-up is much more likely to be successful killing a turkey than an expert caller with a bad set-up. Location means everything in turkey hunting. Learn the lay of the land and use it to your advantage. Know where drainages and creeks are, and always set-up in a manner that creates a path of least resistance between you and the gobbler.
* PRACTICE CALLING: The essence of spring turkey hunting is interacting with the birds, usually with friction or mouth calls. Turkeys make a variety of sounds when communicating among themselves. Learn to yelp, putt and purr and you can call turkeys successfully.
* SOUNDS THEY MAKE: Learning to play the game means learning how the birds operate. To accomplish this, you must know the sounds a turkey makes, and listen for those sounds while you are in the woods. To become familiar with turkey chatter, check out nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/sounds_of_turkeys.
* GEARED UP: Turkey hunting is no different than any other outdoor sport. It requires specialized equipment.
A turkey vest or backpack is handy for carrying spare calls, ammunition, food, water, bug spray, a knife and other essentials.
A 12-gauge shotgun loaded with three-inch magnum shotshells (No. 6) is hard to beat for hunting spring turkeys. Shotguns should be equipped with a super full choke to produce tight pellet patterns at long distances.
* FULL CAMO: Turkeys have incredible eyesight. To beat it, you must dress in full camo, head-to-toe. If you can see a turkey's head, you can bet it will see any movement you make.
* HANG TIGHT: If you know an area is holding turkeys, but the birds aren't gobbling, it can pay off to be patient. Pick a spot and hunker down, calling occasionally. But don't call too much.
* DECOYS: A gobbler coming to a call is constantly looking for the source. It can be a big advantage if he's got a nice looking lady to look at once he gets there.
Hen decoys work wonders, particularly on reluctant longbeards. Whenever possible, place the decoy in an opening so it can be seen from a distance.
* THE RIGHT SHOT: Never shoot at a gobbler in full strut, or a spooked bird that is flying off or running away. Wait until the bird is calm or standing normally. Aim for the base of the neck, right where it meets the feathers. You are almost guaranteed to get some pellets in the bird's head, even if you pull high on the shot.
Matt Williams' email address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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