| | | Turkey Hunting | Turkey hunting is a type of hunting that is not for
impatient hunters. To those who want their hunting to
be easy requiring little effort and gear will find
turkey hunting a too difficult a game.
Turkeys are most active in the early morning. This is
when the male turkey will make his call without
provocation, in an attempt to attract any eligible
females who may be in the area. From it's perch in a
tall tree, the male turkey (called a tom) gobbles at
daylight. Gobbles from the roost can often be provoked
by making a call like an owl. The gobble serves to
attract hens, which is the term for female turkeys.
The hen will answer with purrs. When the tom hears
these purrs he will move to the ground and display his
plumage in an attempt to attract the female. In most
cases the female comes to the male. Unfortunately for
the turkey hunter, the male doesn't come to the
female, who in our case, is a hunter making a turkey
call resembling the female purring. Most of the time
the puzzled tom continues to strut, showing his
plumage to the nonexistent hen.
The turkey hunter has to be very patient and very well
equipped, as the turkey is a notoriously wary quarry.
A hunter who chooses to hunt turkeys must employ the
best camouflage he can. Some hunters have gone so far
as to use ghillie suits of the same type used by
marine snipers. Also hunters may want to use scent
masking agents to cover the human smell. As turkey's
don't really leave the spot they are in, and expect
the females to come to them, a hunter who expects to
bag a turkey must be mobile.
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