While driving the other day, I noticed that a large flock of turkeys gathered in one of the local farm meadows.
About 30 hens picked their way through the new sprouting grass while several toms strutted nearby. The big gobblers had their tails spread, fanning in the morning sun to show off for a prospective mate.
The two largest toms faced each other for a fight, the winner earning the privilege of being the boss tom in the area. Suddenly, there was a flutter of wings as they jumped up and spurred each other. I pulled to the side of the road and watched. The fight lasted 3-4 minutes before the bird on the left retreated. Immediately, the big-bearded tom went into full strut to show off his superiority to the nearby hens.
As most of you devoted turkey hunters realize, the mating season starts well before hunting opens on May 1. I have always thought the hunting season opened too late in New York. If the Department of Environmental Conservation started turkey season a couple of weeks earlier, it would be far better.
By having an earlier season, turkeys would be more vocal. That's a great part of the hunt. When turkeys respond to your call, there's more excitement. Before the season, a number of hunters are out scouting and often call the birds in close. All they do is educate these birds. By the time the season opens, the toms know the difference between a hen and some hunter's impersonation.
I had a seasoned hunter tell me that we have shot off most of the really vocal turkeys. Those who talked a lot in the past have already been served for dinner. I think this view has a lot of merit. It's Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection or survival of the fittest. Those who gobbled a lot quickly lost the game, and those who didn't are still chasing hens.
Certainly, the game has changed since the re-introduction of this great bird. In the 1980s, hunting turkeys was a relatively simple sport.
I remember my first turkey. I saw a big-bearded tom in a field one morning with a couple of hens. The next day before the sun came up, I climbed a hill and walked out onto an old logging road. When I heard the hens quietly tree talking, I sat down against an old maple tree and made a few yelps on my Lynch box call. The old tom gobbled and ran right in. He was 23 pounds and had a 101/2-inch double beard.
Others would do drive-by hunts. They'd just cruise along the back roads and stop occasionally to call. When a turkey answered, they'd head into the woods, set up and shoot. Turkeys today don't regularly fall for that trick. More often, when the hunter makes a call, the birds shut up.
As the turkeys have changed, the successful hunter also has adapted. It takes more scouting and more honed skills.
Why not show our kids what we've learned over the years? The Spring Youth Turkey Hunt takes place April 26-27 and gives young hunters a chance to get a head start on turkey season. So take young hunters out and show them how to play the game.
What's happening?
A home-study hunting safety course will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 27 at the Dechenago Rod and Gun Club. For information, call Dick before 7 p.m. at 607-865-5969.
A Hunter Safety Course will be held at the Burlington Flats Fish and Game Club. Call John at 607-244-1068 for more details or to pre-register.
Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. E-mail him at robrockway@hotmail.com.
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