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| Steve Cobb and his spring turkey harvests. |
by Steve Cobb
I love to turkey hunt. Since March 15, I was in the woods just about every day. I may have missed a few mornings but not many. I was able to enjoy the woods with family, friends, first-time hunters and several disabled hunters. The season was long, and this year, the turkeys I hunted were pretty tough. Here’s a couple tips I used this past season that helped me fill my tags in Georgia and South Carolina.
Patience Matters
How many times have you heard this? I found that sitting at the truck or on top of a ridge just listening for 30 minutes (make sure you look at your watch and note the time) before giving a call really paid off. It’s tough to do, but when that gobbler gives up his location on his own, it made getting in the right position much easier. I sat and listened before making a move this year more than the past. Patience worked for me this year.
Call Turkeys Less & Call Them Softer
As you will be able to see on “Cutt’n and Strutt’n 19,” I softly clucked four times to a gobbler and let Jake Snood do the rest. This was not the only time softer calling worked for me. Numerous hunts, I toned the calling down and was able to get the gobblers into range.
Turkeys can hear your calls from great distances, so keep this in mind next year when you enter the woods. I suggest always starting out soft, trying to get a response from a gobbler close by, and then get louder as you keep calling, trying to reach out to that gobbler at 300 yards. You will be surprised when that gobbler gobbles at your soft calling, and he is 300 yards away. Next year, try calling less, and softer.
Use Turkey Decoys in the Woods
All my hunts this year on “Cutt’n and Strutt’n 19” were filmed using decoys in wooded areas. I love to hunt turkeys in swamps, river bottoms and piney woods. What I have found out is that decoys in these areas work just as well as they do in the fields, but you rely on your calling much more. The calling gets the turkey moving in your direction, and the decoys just help close the deal. Again, the Jake Snood and Suzie Snood from Hunter’s Specialties worked well for me.
Try some of these turkey hunting tactics next year, and maybe you can tag out.
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