The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Struttin’ Time

Wild turkeys ‘diff erent’ in the fall


Fifty-seven days and counting until wild turkey season opens again. Just keep in mind that the same turkey we will be hunting on Sept. 4 is a bird of a diff erent feather than we hunted this spring.

When we went afield in the spring, all that was on the “big boy’s” mind was girls; in the fall they are not even on his radar screen. We got behind trees, in blinds, and on our bellies to get him to come in with girlie calls. If you do that now, you will be talking to yourself.

The experts tell you to find a flock, bust them up, and then call them back to you. There are several problems with that way of hunting.

In our mountains if you bust up a flock, they will fly from Dry Fork to Hot Spot before they land. The biggest problem is the flocks will be hens and babies with some jakes thrown in. Who wants to walk these Godforsaken hills to kill a hen or jake?

Let’s stop right there. I have killed two hens and three jakes in my years of hunting the wild turkey. The hens both had beards which, until I talked to some other hunters, I thought was rare — I’ve since been told they are common — and the three jakes, that is another story.

I admit to killing them, but it is not what it seems. Keep in mind the big gobblers are with their buddies, just hanging out, talking about the hens they had, eating, and cooling their heels, sounds a lot like us guys. Keep in mind I am no expert! I have, on the other hand, killed a boatload of fall turkeys.

Next week we will look at some of the things that will help you get your fall gobbler. In the meantime, if you see me, you will notice I have lost a lot of weight. The outfitter who stole my money took about 10 pounds from my billfold.


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