The spring turkey season is nearly upon us; the youth hunt is set for April 25, and the statewide season runs from May 2-30.

Hunting hours from May 2-16 begin one-half hour before sunrise and end at noon. Hunters are asked to be out of the woods by 1 p.m. during that period.

From May 18-30, the hunting hours begin one-half hour before sunrise and end one-half hour after sunset.

Needless to say, those of us who are into spring gobbler hunting have been doing some serious looking or scouting in our daily travels.

Hunters especially pay a lot of attention to that beard or bristly protrusion that comes from the chest of a gobbler. Turkey hunters are also interested in those spurs or sharp attachments that protrude from the back of the legs. Those spurs aid in fighting, and the longer the spurs and the longer the protruding beard, the greater the trophy for the hunter.

While the spur aids in fighting, the beard — which is really a modified feather — seems to have no known function other than attracting the attention of us turkey hunters.

Generally speaking, gobblers remain somewhat elusive or at least not all that obvious until spring arrives, and then they begin to make their presence known.

The turkeys have been flocked during the winter months, with the hens being together and the jakes or young gobblers in another flock.

The older gobblers are often in another flock.

While these are the three common groups, it’s not unusual to find an older gobbler mixed in with a bunch of hens.

I saw that very thing this winter, not far from my home, with a couple of nice-sized gobblers with a good-sized flock of hens.

Of course, come spring, one of the biggest changes in the gobblers’ behavior is that gobble. That gobble establishes a pecking order, and it serves to attract the hens. The dominant gobblers get to do the breeding, and the younger gobblers get in on the action only if they can get a hen away from the more dominant gobblers.

It’s this breeding period that becomes the center of attention in the turkey hunter’s year. The gobblers are doing a lot more talking, and they are often a lot more visible, making them more vulnerable than normal, and that’s what spring gobbler hunters try to take advantage of.

During this mating period, the gobbler is trying to attract hens, so he will often stand out in the open and gobble and strut, trying to get the hens to come to him.

What’s interesting is that we spring gobbler hunters are trying to get the gobbler to do the opposite and come to our hen calls.

I guess that what makes spring gobbler hunting such a challenge — trying to get that gobbler to come to us rather than the hen coming in to him.

Obviously, you want to make sure you have your hen calls pretty well honed and be careful not to move at the wrong time since the gobbler’s extremely good eyesight could put a quick end to the hunt.

Let’s hope we get it altogether this spring.