"EXPLOITING A TURKEY'S WEAKNESSES AND HABITS"
 

With an average success rate of little over 25%. many Michigan hunters are left wondering if the wild turkey really has any weaknesses to exploit. Although the wild turkey is a survivor, and uses his survival senses extremely well', he does have a few chinks in his armor. But before we can explore his weaknesses, we must first know his strengths.

For starters, the wild turkey has 10X better eye sight than a human, 4X better hearing. he can run 30 miles an hour and fly 50 miles an hour. If he had a sense of smell, we'd probably never get one. When deer hunting, a major factor on the hunt is getting around the deer's super sensitive nose. When turkey hunting, the major obstacle to overcome first is the turkeys hearing, then secondly and most importantly. his keen eyesight. The eyes are to the turkey what the nose is to the deer. Fool his eyesight, and your chances of getting a crack at him greatly increase. He does not POSES binocular vision, but he can see color and he will pick up any untimely movement on your part. This bird is not very curious, he is very paranoid. He assumes that every movement in the woods is a predator out to eat him, and he's usually right. He does not usually stick around long enough to find out what the movement was. The only times you can get away with movement without being seen is when his head goes behind a tree. or when he is fanning and his tail feathers obscure his rear vision. As long as you hold still. and have faith in your camouflage, you are likely to blend in and go unnoticed.

His hearing as I mentioned is also great. He has the ability to hear your calling once and accurately pinpoint it almost to the exact tree. This is why most veterans of the turkey woods will tell you to ignore your instincts in this case and call very sparingly. Many hunters also tend to call too loud. We tend to use and compare our own inferior hearing as a basis to determine how loud to call, this is a big mistake. I feel that 90% of the time when a gobbler is coming into a call and suddenly hangs up out of gun range, the hunter has called out too loud which creates an unnatural situation that confuses the turkey and ultimately causes him to hang up, then leave. To avoid this problem, simply lower the volume on the call. and call less. As he closes the distance, and you can see him coming. avoid calling at all unless he wanders off course. The turkey is not smart as far as learning circus tricks, but he does use his eyes, cars and that 30 mile an hour ground speed very well when he has to.

The turkeys weaknesses include his basic survival needs such as food, water, and shelter along with his inability to keep his big mouth shut at times, and more than anything else. his need to breed. Finding where the turkeys frequent isn't too difficult as long as you find areas that hold their basic survival needs. Locating rivers on topo maps is a good starting point. Rivers not only provide the turkey with a good drinking source. but also grows the larger oak trees along their banks which in turn provides the turkey with a staple food source in acorns, and a good roosting spot. Once the rivers are located on the map, it's time to explore the area on foot. I look for tracks'. droppings, scratchings, feathers, and my ultimate goal, the roosting area.

Turkeys are birds of habit. They spend most of their day in search of food. If undisturbed, they will follow the same routine day after day. This allows you to pattern their travel routes, From the moment they fly down from the roost, they are scratching the ground for acorns, insects, new vegetation growth, 'and gravel. What they leave behind in their quest for food (besides droppings) are V-shaped scratchings. If followed backwards (follow the open end of the "V"), the scratchings will usually lead you to the roosting area. The roosting area will have a good concentration droppings and the barred wing feathers which the turkey loses when flying up to the roost. Once a rooting area is found, or if I feel I am close to one, I'll go into the area before daylight in full camo and wait for the gobblers to gobble from the roost on their own at first light thus revealing their location. Next I wait for them to fly down and wait for the gobbling activity to tell me and/or confirm which way they travel when they first leave the roost. When it conics time to hunt this group, I'll set up about 100 yards away from the roosting area in the direction they most often travel. Not only are the gobblers much easier to call in (since this is where they want to be). but on windy/rainy days when they're not talking, I at least know their travel route and will still have a very good chance of having them come my way.

Although it is nice to know that you still have a chance to harvest a gobbler on the days that he does not talk, it is arguably his gobble that makes this sport so exciting and addictive. In the Spring, the gobbler has a difficult time resisting the urge to gobble and let everyone know where he is, He actually gobbles to attract liens, but liens aren't the only things he attracts. This is music to every turkey hunters ear, this is the sound we listen for. When hunting and I hear a gobble, I try to get to an effective calling distance without being seen (usually around 100 yards). I call out very soft and subtle, usually a few soft yelps and clucks. If he goes in the opposite direction yet continues to sound off (this usually means that he is with hens and wants you to come to him), I try to figure out where he is going to and then I use the lay of the land to mask my movements while I try and get out in front of his travels to intercept him. In areas where there arc hills and river cuts, I am sometimes able to use them to mask my movements and pop up even with the gobbler for a shot. Some days it's your calling that gets you a chance at a gobbler. other days it's your skills as a woodsman. That's what makes this sport so great! Each hunt is a different challenge and learning experience.

Although the gobbler's big mouth gets him in trouble a lot, it's his strong (presidential like) sexual appetite that results in him hanging by his feet over the shoulder of a hunter more than anything else. This is perhaps his biggest weakness, and the one we can exploit the most. We can first exploit this weakness by using calls to fool his ears into thinking that there is a lonely hen nearby, and secondly by using hen decoys to give him visual conformation when lie comes in to investigate. Spring is the turkey's mating season. The gobbler is extremely vulnerable to, and eagerly willing to come into your seductive lien calls if done properly. This bird actually talks back to you, not many other birds or animals do that. Being that it's his mating season, gobblers not only mate hens, but also fight off other would be hen thieves. So the natural question arises, what about using a gobble call to challenge his dominance? There are two reasons why I choose not to use a gobble call. First, it is a dangerous call to use unless done on extremely private property. Remember, you arc well hidden in full camo making a sound that every hunter in the woods is listening for. Unfortunately, some over eager careless people have been known to shoot at sounds. My second reason for not using one is that not every gobbler in the woods wants to fight, but I guarantee you. every gobbler out there wants a girlfriend.

Hen decoys used in conjunction with turkey calls are a lethal combination that the gobbler finds hard to resist. This is where the gobblers sexual appetite clouds his keen vision. I like to set up 1-2 hen decoys 15 yards from my position facing me (facing away from where I think the tom will come from). I want the gobbler to think that the liens are walking away from him so lie doesn't waste too much time strutting in one spot. If the decoys are pointed at the gobbler, many times he will stay in one spot and strut (usually out of gun range) thinking that the hens are coming to him. The gobbler finds hen decoys very attractive this time of the year. Once your calls bring him within sight, let the decoys do the rest.

The Spring gobbler is no doubt a worthy adversary that will challenge your hunting skills, but he is not without a few weaknesses himself recognizing and exploiting these weaknesses when the situations present themselves is the difference between enjoying a beautiful day in the woods (which is not bad in itself), and enjoying a beautiful day in the woods coupled with a tasty turkey dinner. Good luck and enjoy!