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The Old Boss Gobbler

Lessons from a Turkey

by David Pershing


I was hunting a tough old gobbler that was the subject of many hunter's calls. I had tried to attract him, as had some of my friends, all with no success. This particular day I decided to hunt the opposite side of the hollow that he was inhabiting. Partly because we had hunted the other side with no success and partly because I had roosted him near where I planned to sit. At daylight he gobbled infrequently. I had decided not to call to him while he was on the roost. That didn't stop other hunters from calling. I could hear yelps and cackles even before the gobbler flew off the roost. I waited patiently until I heard the flap of wings indicating that the gobbler had flown down from his roost. I then decided, instead of doing a fly down cackle as he had heard numerous times before, to just beat my gloved hands off my chest simulating a turkey flying from its roost. I had yet to make a turkey call. The gobbler had only gobbled twice and it was well after daylight. I gave a soft short hen yelp (3-4 notes) and waited. 30 minutes had passed since he flew off his roost and he had only gobbled once more. Yet, I could hear rustling in the leaves so I was encouraged that my idea was working. I let out a soft cluck in another 15 minutes. I could hear hunters on the other side of the hollow calling excitedly. I held back my urge to call. I waited and then after a while gave a cluck or 2 from my mouth call. I could then hear walking in the leaves coming up the logging road near where I was sitting. I thought to myself, Oh no, after all this, another hunter is going to move in on my position. I turned to be sure to see the hunter in order that I could determine if the hunter had seen me yet. Much to my surprise what I saw was, that old turkey walking up the road! I was so surprised that I was unable to get off a shot. Turkey 1.... Dave 0.......Another lesson learned. Although, I would probably do the same thing in a similar situation given that I was sure it was a MAN walking up the road. We all must be certain to be absolutely sure of our target before we Pull That Trigger. I must tell you this story has a happy ending. 2 weeks later on the next to last day of the season I decided to give the old bird one more try. I decided to move over to the other side of the hollow because most of the hunting pressure had abated by then and I wanted to set up by the field over there anyway. I sat down in a fence row near the field. Daylight came and all I had heard by then was hens. I decided to make the most of my day by calling to the hens to see if they would come in to my calls. I called infrequently and coyly, that is seeming more interested in feeding than the mating ritual. My plan had worked! The 2 hens I had heard flew down 50 yards below me and started to feed. I didn't need to call much after that, only to keep them nearby. Much to my surprise, unannounced, the old gobbler appeared through the misty morning approaching the hens. I watched as he proudly displayed for his harem. After a short wait the hens started to move up the hill. I had to make a few calls to make sure they walked by my position, thinking I was going to join in on their party. I let the hens walk by at 25 yards and the old gobbler was following close behind. I purred and clucked once to get him to stop walking. That was his final mistake and, seemingly, his only mistake. He weighed around 20 pounds and sported a 10 inch beard with inch and 3/8 spurs. One of my best gobblers yet and one of my most memorable. I learned alot from him.

In order to get the most of our hunting experiences we must allow ourselves to be taught lessons from our quarry. There is something to be learned from every day afield. Good Luck and be Safe be Sure of your Target!

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