Myhre: It’s just about turkey season By Larry Myhre
Turkey season is just around the corner, plan now
Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal
It’s not too early to begin thinking about spring turkey season.
April, after all, is just around the corner and the first of Iowa’s four seasons will be here before you know it.
If you would have told me 25 years ago that I would become a “dyed in the wool” turkey hunter, I would have laughed. The following year, however, found me in the woods chasing the big birds and I haven’t missed a season yet.
Most years, in fact, I hunt turkeys in three states. That’s just how hard I have been hooked.
I’ll confess that climbing around those timbered hills that turkeys like so much is a lot harder than it used to be.
That’s why this time of year finds me putting some miles on my walking shoes. You should too. It’s just part of getting ready.
I don’t do a lot of turkey scouting this time of year. Turkeys are still in their winter patterns and you can’t tell a lot about how they will react or where they will be in April.
There are so many turkeys now that you can count on them being just about anywhere there is timber.
What I do this time of year is scout areas just to get the lay of the land. I’m looking for possible travel lanes, possible roosting sites, loafing and resting areas and open fields or areas that strutting gobblers might head towards.
It’s also a good time of year to practice your turkey calling. Perhaps you have not yet mastered that diaphragm call. Put one in your car and practice while driving to work.
You don’t have to be a real good caller to bring in a gobbler, but it helps.
There are many different types of turkey calls and right now would be a good time to learn a new one.
It is a fact that some days, turkeys will answer better to one type of call than another. That’s why I carry so many calls when I’m hunting and use them while trying to get a tom to gobble.
You should also go though your turkey vest and make sure everything that needs replacing is replaced. Check your flashlight batteries, chalk up your box calls, test all the diaphragms, sand your slates. These are all things best done before the night before opening day.
I’m betting that not many hunters pattern their turkey guns in spite of all the recommendations that you do so.
Find a nice day, pick up a few turkey targets and go out and see what your pattern is doing at 20, 30 and 40 yards. I bet it will be an eye opener for you.
Turkey loads kick a lot. But what you learn might be the difference between bagging a tom this spring and missing him.
So, plan for success. And start now.