It appears that the daytime temperatures are finally reaching a more comfortable level and the snow (I hope!) is gone for the season. Now it’s a matter of double checking our gear, taking a shot or two just to verify the sights are still on, and maybe slipping out for a final morning or two of trying to locate a vocal gobbler.

If you do get out for some last minute scouting, you would be well advised to leave your turkey calls at home! The last thing you want to do just before the season opens is to educate a willing gobbler that the calls he is hearing are really from a human. It would be OK to use a locator call, such as a barred owl, peacock or coyote call, but don’t be tempted to purr, cluck or yelp on a turkey call — save those calls for the opening morning!

Recent reports of sightings of gobblers, or any turkeys for that matter, have been a bit sketchy. There also seems to be a lack of vocal gobblers at first light. Perhaps the late arrival of warmer weather has some of the turkeys still holed up in their winter hideouts.

Research has shown that turkeys often do have a winter range and a spring range. Tracking devices were attached to birds that were netted for the research, and the results were quite interesting. Birds often traveled up to five miles between their winter range (often in hollows or valleys with heavy conifer cover for thermal protection) and where they traveled to for the springtime activities of strutting, breeding, and nesting. One bird was recorded as traveling 25 miles between the two ranges! So, chances are, that the cold, snowy wintery weather we have been experiencing may very well have delayed the movement of the birds to their spring time hangouts. Nonetheless, on Saturday, the 28th at 30 minutes before sunrise, the legal shooting hours begin and go until noon.

With only a day or two left until the season begins, scouting can become critical to your game plan for opening day. If you are fortunate enough to locate turkeys just before the opening day, sitting and waiting may be your best approach. Feeding areas, such as grape vine tangles, oak forested areas, or nearby cut cornfields are good choices. If you can locate a last minute strutting area, then you really have a prime spot. Patience is the name of the game here, as some limited calling and an abundance of waiting in between calls can be very effective.

If, however, you cannot locate any birds in your usual hunting spots in the day or two leading up to opening day, then running and gunning may be your best alternative. Here, you need to enter the woods well before daylight to listen for a possible gobbler calling from his roost. If you don’t hear any gobbling to go to, then you can begin the process of calling, waiting for a response and if you hear nothing, move on to the next spot you want to call from. Give it a good 20 to 30 minutes before you move to the next calling location, just in case a wary old gobbler is coming in silently.

Decoys can be effective, especially early in the season. A single hen decoy will draw the attention of an incoming gobbler and will focus his vision away from you. Perhaps even more useful is a single hen decoy laying on the ground in the breeding position with a jake decoy standing closely behind her. An interested gobbler, once he spots the setup, will often close the distance quickly as he comes in to challenge the jake.

If you are mentoring a youth hunter or taking an adult hunter who is relatively new to turkey hunting, using a popup blind is a wise move. Turkeys have incredibly keen eyesight and will easily spot any movement of a fidgety hunter. The blind will also mask any movement you might make while working one of your calls or while you are instructing the new shooter.

Safety is a key element of spring gobbler hunting, so remember to “Always Positively Identify Your Target — and Beyond!”