52 >BOWHUNTER APRIL/MAY 2015
T
HE FIRST FAINT SLIVER OF LIGHT cut the
eastern horizon. Minutes passed, and the
slight pink tinge of a brilliant spring sky be-
gan to show. With every second I strained,
listening for that frst gobble. When a tom fnally did
sound of, it set in motion a series of gobbling where one
turkey seemed as if he was trying to outdo the other.
Tis crescendo of challenges carried on for nearly 45
minutes before the frst bird launched to the ground.
By now it was light enough to clearly see my decoys,
strategically placed six yards in front of the blind
I’d positioned on an open grassy fat between two
roosting areas. Since I’d let out a few sof yelps on
my pot call moments before the gobbler lef the
tree, I got ready and waited.
A short while later, a bright-red head ap-
peared behind and to the right of my decoys.
It was soon followed by the brilliantly lit
plumage of a tom in full strut. He steadily
drummed his way to within eight yards of
the blind. Satisfed this was close enough,
I settled the pin and dumped the string.
All the commotion from the first bird
fopping brought the immediate atten-
tion of a second longbeard. While he
quickly closed in on the decoys and the
lifeless form of the frst bird, I readied for
my second pointblank encounter. When
it was all said and done, I’d doubled in the
frst half-hour of opening day.
I certainly wish I could write that this
was the way it had happened the last two
seasons for me on this ranch, but the truth
is, I had spent the two prior springs climb-
ing a steep learning curve. Turkeys have a
defnitive home range in which they spend
the majority of their time, and within their
home range there will be habitat that will ft
into one of three categories — optimal, mar-
ginal, and unftting. And while their meanderings
may appear random in nature, they have favoredKIRK CLARK
Success
PAT TERN YOUR TURKEY FOR
Knowing why turkeys do what they do on a daily
basis will give you the edge this spring.