Turkey

I entered the fourth and last week of the Pennsylvania season a desperate woman.

On the final Saturday of the season, I set up a lone hen decoy in a secluded corner of a newly planted field and settled into a ground blind.

And wonder of wonders, as the morning sky blazed red at the horizon, I saw a tom turkey strutting silently, just over the crest of the field. I called, and he immediately gobbled, and came over the crest so I could see his whole body, still strutting.

For a few happy moments, I was thinking, today's the day.

If you are a gear junkie like I am, with an OCD-like obsession for organization, the Cabela's Tactical Tat'r 2 Turkey Vest just might be what you are looking for.

In terms of organization, the Tactical Tat’r 2 has room for everything a turkey hunter could ever need.

If hunters out West waited for good weather to go hunting in spring turkey season, they might not set foot in the woods. I don't know how many turkeys we've taken over the years in the rain, but I can say it's 100-percent more than we've shot while staying home.

While rain isn't the most comfortable of conditions to hunt in, it presents some great hunting opportunities. Mainly, rain quiets the forest floor and helps hide movement.

The Benefits Of Scouting For Turkeys Online

You meant to get out there and scout. You really did. This year, though, the To-Do List at home and office was just too long, and you never got out. Not once. And now opening day is upon you. So tomorrow, you are going in blind. Or are you?

Can't bear to rise and shine at 4 a.m. again? No worries. Here's an hour-by-hour hunting strategy for the post-dawn hours.

I know turkey hunters, in states where hunting turkeys after noon is permitted, who swear they're never getting up early again, because the hunting from midmorning to evening can be just as hot as the crack of dawn.

Whether the tom you’re after has a rumble or romance on his mind, turkey decoys seal the deal.

Turkeys are killed every year by calling alone, but the most effective way of hunting turkeys, in most situations, involves using decoys.

The purpose of a turkey vest is to securely, comfortably, and accessibly carry the essential gear needed for turkey hunting.  In selecting “essentials” there often seems to be a miniature Boy Scout standing on one shoulder telling you, “Be prepared.” While the chiropractor clicks their pen on the other, reminding you, “Go light.” In between, you end up a quivering, indecisive mess.

The sound — or lack of sounds — was frustrating to say the least. A gobbler that I had in my sights roosted the evening before had simply glanced around him in the faint morning's daylight, and then he stepped off the thick limb where he was perched.

Getting as close to your targeted turkey as possible before making your first call is one of the most significant advantages that you can have when trying to call to a gobbler. When a hunter is able to get within a so-called ‘imaginary bubble,' it seems that magic is in the air, and the commitment of a tom coming to the call increases dramatically.

On a clear, calm day from a prominent ridge you can hear a turkey gobble a mile away. But how many clear, calm days do you encounter during spring turkey season?

A few, yes. But quite often, particularly in the early season, a howling wind is the norm. If you hunt in western states, this is a particularly common weather situation.