Turkey

Thunder chicken, hammerhead, boss tom and Mr. Waddles, are just some of the slang terms turkey hunters give to old, mature gobblers. One thing turkey hunters don’t lack is an imagination and the ability to have fun.

Mossback is another term you’ll hear, referring to an old tom that’s alluded hunters for years, living in deep, dark forests so wet, the bird has moss growing on its back.

Geography, as much as ingenuity, plays a role in what slang terms are assigned to a turkey.

We found my friend Chuck's Brittany, Wyatt, pointing staunchly into a laurel thicket twice as high as his head.

“Maybe it's a grouse,” I said.

We hadn't planted any training birds in that area, and were just letting Wyatt and another dog stretch their legs.

Chuck stomped around in the laurels, with no result, yet still his dog pointed, quivering. Chuck expanded his search, and soon started to back out of the thicket.

“You're not going to believe this,” he said. “It's a turkey.”

One of the reasons I love turkey hunting is the very act allows you, no begs you, to be somewhat mobile. Running and gunning for deer is a tough proposition, but turkeys are tailor-made for in-field travel.

However, especially when bowhunting birds, you might not find yourself as mobile as possible. You might also find yourself hunting a small woodlot, which does not allow you to cover much ground.

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.

Unlike hunting for other species, turkey hunting is like a dance. While the word dance might invoke thoughts of weddings or the hokey pokey, the analogy isn't as far off as one would initially suspect.

Think of turkey hunting like dancing in the way one move cues a corresponding action. A call is made, a bird responds, and now two parties are involved in a tango that includes moves and counter moves.

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.