Can’t Hit Squat!
Jeremy from Florida posts: I’m so ticked at myself. Last season I missed two spring gobblers… big long beards. The vegetation is pretty thick here in Florida and I think the birds are ducking my aim. I’m using a turkey specialty 12-gauge shotgun in all camo with a short barrel. Do I need to go up to a 10 gauge?
“Show me a hunter who hasn’t missed a spring gobbler and I’ll show you a guy who doesn’t hunt much,” an old timer once told me. Spring turkeys are way easier to miss than most guys think. Shotguns with 20-inch barrels are very maneuverable, but they tend to make hunters snap shoot. Hunters put the front bead on the head of the turkey, but (In the excitement) forget to put their cheek on the stock. As a result, the load flies high and so does the turkey. Take these three steps. Check out TruGlo’s website for their bright beads that snap right over your front sight. It gives a bright dot for aiming. If you can’t remember to keep your cheek on the stock, use their attachable rear sight. It gives two bright green dots to put the front sight between. Be sure to practice with your new sights to be sure they pattern where you are sighting. If you are still a hopeless snap shooter, hook up with the Gobbler-Stopper Red-Dot-Scope. Scopes on deer rifles condition hunters to take one good shot and the scope on a shotgun will have the same effect. If this doesn’t work, better try the supermarket.
High Pressure Gobblers
Darrel from Pennsylvania posts: “We Pennsylvanians are blessed with tons of public land, yet things get crowded, especially on the weekends. Am I better off trying to find permission on private land or are there some other tactics I should try?”
PA has tons of public land and great populations of wild turkeys to boot. Opening day is an excellent time to score, but if it’s a Saturday and the woods are full of hunters, try these alternatives. Can you arrange your work schedule to have a morning off during the week? If you have some flexibility in your job, give the hours from 9:30 until noon a try. Often popular hunting spots have a full parking lot just before dawn, but many guys have to be at work and can only hunt an hour or two. Also, don’t neglect rainy days. With today’s breathable waterproof clothing, you can be cozy and warm despite the elements. A soft rain allows you to pussy-foot from calling spot to calling spot without causing alarm. Just remember to wear the appropriate orange that PA requires when moving and setting up.
If you find fresh scratching, dropping and other signs of turkeys but hear no gobbles, over aggressive calling and pressure may be the cause. Set up near fresh turkey activity, call softly, sparingly and be very patient. Take a comfortable cushion, ease back and relax. Sometimes, nothing lures in a gobbler like a nap.
