The month of May is our transition from spring to summer, usually. Second to October, May is this sportsman’s favorite month. My passion for spring turkey hunting is a big reason for that and the spring woods coming alive as dawn approaches is something that never gets old.
Since that first turkey fell to the Winchester Model 1300 National Wild Turkey Edition shotgun in 1987, the many facets of the spring gobbler hunt consume me as soon as winter begins to give way to the spring. In conversations with other turkey hunting addicts, it has become obvious that the pursuit of gobbling tom turkeys is special; but it is so much more than putting a turkey on the ground. Each time out this year, there has been that moment of awe when you just take everything in as daylight sneaks in.
Sometimes the stars or a full moon provides great visual impact in contrast to the darkness. Little by little, sounds come out of the darkness. Owls hoot and the single note of the great horned owl or the “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all!” melody performed by the barred owl is often the sound that gets things going as roosted gobblers often sound off in response. There are a number of owl hooters you can buy, and I have owned a few. After listening to some really talented voice callers, like the late, great Randy Julius or my Kansas companion, Kin Hickman, my voice version is not as good, but it does get the owls and sometimes turkeys sounding off.
As the dawn approaches, male songbirds also pipe in and always make me wish that my knowledge of which birds make what sounds was better. There are so many serious bird watchers in the area that it really would be worthwhile to get more involved with the Athol Bird and Nature Club. Back in the day, when Bob Coyle was mentoring so many students in Athol, it was time listening and a good field guide that taught you what bird was making the calls. Today, there are apps you can download onto your smartphone that will listen and tell you what bird is making the sound. Either way, it is another May highlight.
Other sounds also get turkeys gobbling off the roost both at pre-dawn and also after sunset. Coyotes howling or dogs barking, police or ambulance sirens, or crows loudly “cawing” can set the toms off. My gear bag even contains a peacock call, and it will sometimes produce a response. Regardless of what causes it, a gobble in the darkness is a rush, no matter how many times I hear it.
Rob Keck, long-time head of the National Wild Turkey Federation, made famous the phrase “It is the gobble not the gobbler” and he had it right. That resounding tone carries well in the woods and is what makes getting up at 4 AM worth it. Since my first days of turkey hunting, it has been obvious to me that the one call that consistently can get a tom turkey to “shock gobble” throughout the morning is the yelp produced by a Lynch box call. For my money, nothing is a better locator all morning long than a Lynch World Champion 102 box call. Since introduced to the call, I have bought (and lost!) what seems like a dozen of them. So many times, in the excitement after shooting a gobbler, this hunter gets caught up in the moment and leaves the woods with the Lynch box call still on the ground. At least two are MIA in Kansas and they are scattered across central and western Mass as well. The brown color blends in perfectly with the dead leaves that cover the ground and make it invisible, at least to me. This past week, a new wrinkle was added to my call-losing procedure as the call was placed on the pickup truck bed rail as the gun, vest, seat, and decoy were all put in the back seat. By the time the error was discovered, a lot of miles had been covered and there was no sign of it the next day when I returned to the scene of the crime.
Of course, there is a bright side. When the loss of the call was verified, the chain of events that included returning home to get the replacement (of course I had a spare!) led to going to a different spot. Only a hundred yards along the trail, a hen was heard yelping and immediately my butt was planted, and we had a conversation. Ten minutes later, a gobble resounded and the game was on! The real hen was still yelping. My combination of the Lynch box and a mouth diaphragm call attempted to sweet talk the tom in competition. Lo and behold, the big boy silently came in to find me! After a few minutes of sitting motionless as he circled my position, he stepped out and a load of Federal #7’s made him my second mature tom in two days, filling my Massachusetts limit. With two toms that weighted 20.2 and 21.8 pounds, we will have plenty of turkey jerky!
One negative associated with May is the onset of the black fly season. Those blood-thirsty little savages are the bane of my existence. Fortunately, Massachusetts-based Thermacell has a full line of products that effectively repel black flies. Over the years, my Thermacell portable repeller is the most important thing in my vest. It works and this spring it was a “must have” as it repeatedly kept the area around me free of biting black flies.
Now, it is time to decide what to do with the rest of the month. With New Hampshire and New York licenses and turkey permits in my wallet those states beckon. Fly fishing is prime in May and so is coastal striped bass fishing. Or, the “to do” list could be addressed. Tough choices!