The "Art" of Turkey Hunting

[CASH]

In my short turkey hunting career I have seen things change drastically from the day I started hunting until now.  Some of it I get caught up in and some things make me shake my head. 

The following is an article written by Steve Layton and Gary Finch in Alabama Living magazine.  My wife just received this in the mail today and I have read this article twice already because it hit home and really made me think about the stuff we as turkey hunters get caught up in.

'I don't know how it happened, or exactly when, but somehow the sport of turkey hunting took on some changes.  Some of these changes and inventions have advanced the sport while others seem to ring hollow in comparison to what our grandfather's considered to be the "art" of turkey hunting.

It was still an art, but already changing, when I entered the sport some 30-plus years ago.  All of the local men I knew who hunted turkeys in those days had gray or thinning hair.  They earned that appearance by losing months and years of sleep while chasing these frustrating birds.

Their calls were homemade contraptions created from the materials at hand.  There were crudely made snuff can calls, bent metal yelpers, along with hand-carved, rubber-banded box calls or simple slate calls.  Many of these hunters could call a gobbler just as well with their voice.  If they happened to need an additional call, they could quickly improvise by stretching a blade of grass between two fingers in order to blow an instant yelp..The majority of them did very little calling, from what I could ever hear.  What made them successful at this highly specialized hunting sport was knowledge-not the bulging backpack of gadgets and calls that i now feel I have to carry into the woods.  Like other modern day hunters, I am guilty of having fallen under the spell of "newer is better".

From my early mentors, I learned the best way to call a turkey, is to know and be a turkey.  That takes hours of observation while listening, and then observing, then listening some more.  The most important lesson they offered was: "It's hard to learn anything when you're the one doing all the talking."  For some reason, that statement struck hard, and I took to heart that comment was directed at me.  Part of losing the "art" of turkey hunintng has been our focusing on the finish, rather than appreciation the process.

All hunters know how to reproduce the common sounds used to call turkeys.  The yelp, the cluck and the cackle number among the calls that are practiced prior to the season.  But it's the small talk that turkeys exchange in their daily routine that builds confidence or settles their apprehension about a situation.  It's the barely audible purrs and clucks of feeding and traveling turkeys that tell every move they are making.  "Here's a seed, I'm scratching over here, Oh, a grasshopper!"  It's a continuous and running conversation among the drove that most people will never hear.

Overcalling is not our only vice.  Distance is the other.  In our efforts to use tighter chokes, better optics, and longer shooting shells, the trade off (and our loss) has been the excitement and anticipation of a close hunt.  By close, I mean anything inside 25 steps - as in "steps", not paces or yards.  There is nothing that compares to calling a strutting gobbler to the toes of your shoes before taking the shot.  You can see his eyes blink as the low frequency sounds of his strutting and drumming vibrate your clothing, hair and face mask.  Ask anyone who has done it, and they will have to tell you their hunting story while clutching their chest.

While the act of taking the shot adds punctuation to the end of a hunt, it's getting that bird as close as possible that becomes the art.

The ability to get close enough to hear those subtle conversations among turkeys and to learn their body language is a wealth of information.  It is information that can be filed away and used for future hunts.  Knowing when to move, when to call, when to shut-up, and when to shoot are all pretty important factors in turkey hunting.  Rather than forcing each act, it pays to observe the birds for their clues of when each act can be attempted.

Before entering the woods for your next turkey hunt or scouting trip, make a promise to start with a new canvas and clean palette.  Take in what you see and hear without attempting to jump to the end.  Allow each turkey hunt to come alive and become a new opportunity to learn more about the art your are honoring and practicing.  Each and every one is a masterpiece.'

[redarrow]

 "It's hard to learn anything when you're the one doing all the talking."

Amen,to that !!! Very good read.

[drenalinld]

Thanks, Cash. That's good stuff!

[FttFttVroom!]

Great post CASH, and very good points to consider.......takes me back to when I started.

[oatsj]

Wanted to post that article great one I like the part to bring him in close to see the eyes blink. That's my game . OH by the way I still use the first box call I ever made in the 70's

[wbpc]

Great post!  Nothing like a gobbler inside 20 steps!  Love it! 

[flintlock]

Good stuff!  I know too many folks that try to "technology" their turkey or buck and don't spend the time on the details!

Good luck
Wess

[guesswho]

It took me a while but I realized several years ago that as the quality and complexity of my equimpment improved, the quality of my hunts seemed to decline.  Now I have found a happy median and I'm enjoying my hunts as much as I ever did.

[Bustabeak]

While reading I was thinking of the hunts when I've called in Hens and they walked around doing their daily talking to each other. Don't get me wrong I love to have a big old gobbler at 20 steps but, its those hunts that i just got to watch that I've learn the most. Awesome post!

[twinters]

very good read,i guess it does make you stop and think,sometimes we forget why we love this wonderful sport so much.it really is an art that we need to cherish

[chatterbox]

Great read, Bob!
Thanks for sharing!

[Flydown]

Thanks for posting Bob! I'm glad to see that you will be just fine watching me pull the trigger when you come to the farm in a few weeks! Great post buddy!

[Ol'Mossy]

Great read, thanks for sharing 

[CASH]

Thanks for posting Bob! I'm glad to see that you will be just fine watching me pull the trigger when you come to the farm in a few weeks! Great post buddy!

I'll be just fine watching you pull the trigger buddy!  Right after me!!

[WildTigerTrout]

Very good read. I agree getting them close is what the game is all about.