By Mike Roche

On many occasions, my good friend and mentor Gig Darey would proclaim that he was “huntin’ history.” The statement would usually be uttered after an unsuccessful deer hunt. He would explain to anyone who was not familiar with the term that it meant that he hunted based on what had happened in previous years, rather than spending time in the woods looking for the sign of deer activity. He was a master at decoding tracks, rubs, scrapes and activity along deer runs—the travel routes that an experienced woodsman like Gig could read and determine where deer were spending time.

On this writer’s recent turkey hunting excursion to Kansas—and the first three days of the Massachusetts spring turkey season—he has been guilty of relying on history and it resulted in very unproductive hunting time. In Kansas, over a decade of hunting the same properties was usually predictable. The land hunted, consisting of large tracts of agricultural land or hardwood ridges with scoured creek beds, would provide a pre-dawn serenade of gobbles from roosted toms. As many as 13 different gobbles have been heard and most mornings at least a half dozen different birds would sound off. Granted, you can really hear the gobbles from a distance as the flat land and lack of foliage in early spring amplify the sounds, but there were obviously a lot of turkeys per square mile.

One would surmise that the result would be a high success rate, but that was not the case. In addition to a high density of gobblers, there were always even more hens roosted with the boys and the gobbling would stop once the boys and girls hit the ground. It was possible most of the time to get a response to hen calls or locator calls like owl hoots, crow calls or even a peacock call (really!) but it was generally a struggle to pry the toms away from the real thing. Many times, however, moving around and calling would result in a mid to late morning response as hens would slip away once they were nesting. Gobbles, which to this turkey hunter are the real thing sought in the turkey woods, were heard often even if the game did result not result in a bird coming in close enough for a shot.

Fast forward to April 2023 and things in the Sunflower State, like most states in the south and Midwest, are different. Universally, those states have realized a sharp decline in turkey numbers and mature gobblers. Like many states, Kansas has answered with regulatory changes designed to reduce the harvest. Only one of the Kansas wildlife management zones still allows the taking of a second bearded bird in the spring. Other states have reduced season length or moved back starting dates.

As earlier chronicled in this space, significant declines in nesting success and poultry survival have been noted and biologists have suggested a number of reasons for the decline. A prime one is the lack of quality habitat during besting season, hens and broods need low vegetation that allows them to use their sharp vision as survival tool. Predators use their noses and have the advantage when habitat limits the bird’s field of view. This writer believes that another factor is improved hunter effectiveness. Hunters have more experience, better guns and turkey loads (heavier-than-lead shot is a huge improvement), and a myriad of improved calls and equipment. Some biologists have noted that better hunters are increasing the take of mature, dominant toms and since they are the primary breeders, there is likely a factor of reduced mating until a new dominance structure is created when the “boss” is removed. My week resulted in my only working two birds off the roost which resulted in one real opportunity and the shot was longer than I was willing to take in the brief time allowed to make a decision.

Meanwhile, the fact that it is Wednesday and not a gobble has been heard in Massachusetts is my own fault. Truly, my laziness and failure to get out and scout or spend time early and late attempting to roost a gobbler has created a predictable outcome. In over 30 years of hunting turkeys locally, the big change is that the places where historically my hunts have been productive almost all now sport a pickup truck every morning. This hunter will not hunt anywhere there may be another hunter as that is unethical by my standards and, more importantly, potentially unsafe. No excuses, my slow start is not because there are fewer turkeys, but my failure to scout.

The result has been two mornings enjoying the sights and sounds of the woods as it wakes up without hearing a gobble. The scratchings of hens in the leaves and other sights and sign indicate that there are turkeys inhabiting these spots. My turkey hunting style is not to sit for hours and wait for birds to possibly move to my location but to move to other locations and seek an active tom. There is still a lot of the season left. We will see if getting up at 4 a.m. gets old. Hearing a gobble and seeing those brilliant colors of a strutting tom makes it all worthwhile. Maybe a new location will be found to try my luck.

There is great news from the Mahar Fish’N Game Club that the popular game supper is back! The popular event, which began as the club’s Father & Son Banquet in 1958, is taking place on Saturday, April 29, in the Mahar Cafeteria. Doors will open at 5:30 for a great evening of wild game appetizers and entrées will all the fixins’. Tickets are out for $20 and club members have them to sell. They will also be available locally at Trail Head and Flagg’s Tackle in Orange. You can contact club advisor Evelyn Cunha by email at ecunha@rcmahar.org or phone or text at 413-221-5297 or William Devine at wdevine@rcmahar.org or 508-667-0955. As always, any donations of game or fish are more than welcome and you can contact Evelyn to make arrangements to donate any venison, pheasant, bear, moose, or fresh or saltwater fish you might want to give to a great evening.

And on the topic of young people and fishing, the Orange Gun is looking for support for the club’s annual Kids Fishing Derby. The derby will be held on May 7 at the club and it is a great event for boys and girls age 14 and under. The derby runs from 9-11 a.m. and the club provides free hot dogs, soup, soda and cookies for all who come, with great prizes for the biggest fish, and every child will receive a prize for taking part. If you would like to support the derby with a prize or financial donation, you can contact the club at P. O. Box 263, Orange, MA 01364 or call Chuck Neveu at 413-522-8808.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the MaharFish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.

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