One of the most often asked questions I hear is “when is the best time to hunt turkeys?’ The first week of our spring season is preferred by many and there are those who are convinced that the last week of the season is the best time to call in a lonely gobbler.

For sure the first week of the season is the favorite of many because the birds have not been disturbed as much as they are as the season progresses.

The beauty of the last week is twofold — by that time, many hunters have either been successful or have decided to move on to other activities. As to the turkeys, by the time the last week rolls around, the hens have been bred and are usually sitting on their nest and the gobblers are actively seeking the occasional hen that is not nesting — making them a bit more vulnerable.

But, my usual recommendation is to be out hunting whenever and wherever your time permits.

In the first half of our season, a hunter must quit hunting at noon and has until 1:00 p.m. to vacate the woods. Being in the woods well before daylight is essential so that you might hear the first gobbling of the day and move into a good shooting position to intercept the gobbler once he flies down from his roost site and comes looking for a hen.

All too often, hunters will only stick with it for the first couple of hours after daybreak and head home if they are not hearing a gobbler. Frequently, gobblers will come in silently — not gobbling at all, so you should wait at least 45 minutes after your last call before you move or decide to go home. Further, if you are calling, a gobbler knows exactly where you are and after he spends time with his harem of hens, he may come looking for you later in the morning.

Once the second half of the season rolls around, you can hunt all day — from dawn to dusk. Gobblers are on the move throughout the entire day, feeding and looking for hens. If you can, stick with it all day, and limit your calling, since by now in the season turkeys have heard all kinds of calling and are a bit call-shy.

What about the weather? Whether it is sunny and pleasant or rainy and nasty, the turkeys are out there. They can’t check into the local Holiday Inn Express to get out of bad weather.

Being retired, I have the “luxury” of being selective of the days I like to hunt and, as such, prefer to head out on days when the weather is pleasant. I watch the weather forecasts frequently and tend to avoid the nasty all-day rainy days.

Frequently, however, the weatherman is not very accurate in his predictions.

And so it was on Friday, the day before the end of the half-day hunting, that I decided to ignore the forecast and head out to see if I could connect with a gobbler I had watched the day before. Early morning thunderstorms were forecast to begin at about 7:00 a.m. and last several hours, but the weatherman had been wrong before, and this gobbler was getting under my skin!

I arrived at my setup location at 4:45 a.m., adjusted my equipment, and settled in to wait for the first gobbling to ring out, but the hillside was quiet. Until 7:10 a.m., when the thunder began to roll up and down the hills to my west. Often, a gobbler will shock gobble to the loud claps of thunder, but the hills remained silent. I thought about retreating for the day, but the thunder and lightning continued without any rainfall — until 8:10 a.m., when the skies opened up, and heavy rain began. I stuck it out for an hour as the rain never let up.

I stayed there since I was overlooking a field, and turkeys like to move into open fields when it rains, but no birds appeared.

Fortunately, I was wearing a rain jacket, but unfortunately, I had decided not to bother with rain pants. Slowly, the rain penetrated my wool pants, and the water began running down my legs and into my boots! The rain had stopped at 9:00 a.m., but by now, I was soaked to the bone! When an hour had passed, and the thunder began to build again, I had had enough and headed to the truck. When I got home, I peeled off one rain-soaked layer after another, took a hot shower, and crawled into dry, warm clothes. It was the best part of the day!

Lesson learned. I will listen closer to the weather forecasts and revert to my usual “fair weather” days to hunt.