There is a saying that is often passed among fellow turkey hunters that “If you can’t kill a turkey, save a turkey!” It sounds a bit odd, but it has genuine merit when you realize what it means. There are times when one is spring gobbler hunting that something that comes to your calling is not what you intended at all. While the goal is to lure in a gobbler, there is the rare occasion that a turkey predator slips in instead. There have been several times that I have called in either a bobcat or a coyote in the early morning hours of spring hunting for turkeys.

One morning as it was beginning to become light enough to see, I had an old Tom rattle back to my call. It was deep in a hollow in front of me, so I sat against the trunk of a large hemlock tree, waited for several minutes and began my routine of seductive calls. He would hammer back, and after going back and forth with him, I went silent, hoping to arouse his curiosity enough that he would come my way. Minutes passed, then more time passed, when, suddenly I saw movement coming my way. Wait! That’s no turkey — it was a coyote, and he was closing the distance quickly. I had eased my gun up to my knee when I first spotted some movement at 80 yards, but now he was running and rapidly coming straight toward me. When he reached 20 yards, I became concerned that if I twitched, he might pounce on me! The 12-gauge roared, and he dropped in his tracks.

That was close! I looked at the coyote laying just feet away and thought to myself that my turkey hunting was over for the day. And then, I decided to try something. I waited another 15 minutes and then slowly stroked my slate call issuing a series of yelps. The gobbler, still on his roost, hammered back! The loud ring of the shot had not bothered him one bit. Before I could move to another location, I heard his wings beat, and he was headed to the ground. With my shotgun in the ready position on my knees, I waited until his big red head came slowly into view some 60 yards away. He took only a few more steps and then spotted the dead coyote and quickly turned and flew away! That old saying “If you can’t kill a turkey, save a turkey!” quickly came to mind.

Just last Wednesday morning, at 6:30, I happened to glance out the kitchen window and spotted two coyotes in the backfield, walking slowly as they watched and listened for moles or field mice. I raced to the gun safe and took out my Remington model 700 in .222 caliber and eased out to the picnic table that overlooked the backfield and gave me a good rest for a steady shot. With a single crack of the rifle, the female coyote dropped, but the larger male did not wait around to analyze what had just happened. Once again, I felt that I had just done a good deed in reducing the local coyote population in hopes of helping the turkeys, grouse, squirrels, and rabbits and assorted other wildlife that would have, in time, been a meal for the wily coyote.

This is the time of year, right after the lean pickings during the winter months that coyotes will linger later in the morning or show up while it is still daylight in the evening hours to look for whatever food they can find. They are also receptive to calling this time of year, including investigating any turkey sounds within their hearing range. Be aware that it might be something other than a turkey that is sneaking in to investigate your calling.

Another point to keep in mind is that if you are using a turkey decoy in the woods, have it facing you. A predator, such as a coyote — once he spots the decoy — will tend to circle around and approach the decoy from behind — thus you might be able to spot him stalking the decoy.

There is open season on coyotes, including during our spring gobbler season. If you do take a coyote, wait for 15 or 20 minutes and then try to resume your turkey hunt — it just might prove to be productive. Remember, “If you can’t kill a turkey, save a turkey!”