Wild Heritage Horizons

Now that we’ve hung up our various calls and put our decoys away, we can take time to reflect on the Spring Turkey Season. I hope everyone had a safe and successful season. Unfortunately, I will not be enjoying any wild turkey this year. However, I would not put this season down as a failure. Time spent hunting alone is never a loss of time. The lessons learned in the time spent chasing a target animal make it worth every early alarm. This year, I got as close to harvesting a turkey as I could without pulling the trigger. I learned lessons about the turkey I was chasing and about myself.

The big lesson about myself I learned this year was to trust my own senses and instincts as much as trusting the physical tools I use while hunting. I heeded the warnings to stay put and not adjust my position when actively calling a Tom.

One specific hunt this year, I had a Tom glued to a hen in the same field I was on the edge of but not within range of my trusty Mossberg. I watched the pair for around 45 minutes when it became clear they were going to pass behind a small hill in front of me that if they kept up the same pace and heading, they would take long enough to get to the other side of the hill where they could see me that I could get much closer, and most likely within range for a shot. I fought the urge to get up and move by writing it off as a poor tactical temptation that would just result in a spoiled hunt. Now, I am not bold enough to claim that getting up and moving would have guaranteed a harvest, but in hindsight, I see that it would have provided a better chance than the 0% I had at the current range.

I also learned more of the habits and preferences of the turkeys I was watching. I know now that they tend to cling to the slightest bit of elevation, granting them a further advantage over me. I learned more about where they roost and the daytime habits after leaving the roost. I also learned that the Tom’s are incredibly difficult to pull off of a hen that they are coupled up with.

All in all, I hope everyone had a great spring 2024 season and is either enjoying their harvest or enjoying the memories and lessons learned that this season brought them. What is your favorite turkey hunting story?