A coworker once said, “The best part of a vacation is just before you leave work for it. After that, your time is running out.”
The same almost could be said about the opening morning of turkey season. Almost. Actually, the best time is just before you send that load of No. 5s toward a gobbler’s head. Here are ten tips to help make opening morning the best it can be.
1. Do your homework. Look at aerial photographs of your hunting land, even if you’ve hunted there for years. Seeing it from above may answer some nagging questions.
2. Put together a plan A, plan B and plan C, then stick to them. Too many hunters put together a plan and then loose it after the gobblers start sounding off.
3. Arrive early. It’s far better to be too early than too late. Sneak in quietly and set up, then remain silent. If you’re hunting from a blind, set it up the evening before.
4. Know thy gun. Pattern your gun with various loads prior to opening morning so you know exactly where it shoots.
5. Bring several styles of calls, and use each if you need to. Regardless of your diaphragm-calling prowess, sometimes it takes a friction call or a box to tickle the ear of a hot gobbler.
6. Roost your bird. This is a big part of your plan A. Know where he is and where you’ll set up prior to arriving at your hunting land.
7. Don’t give up on a bird too soon. So the bird you roosted heads the opposite direction. Give it at least 20 minutes longer than you think you need to – there may be other birds in the area that have heard you and are heading your way.
8. Don’t stay too long. This is not contradictory of No. 7. If the woods stay silent after repeated calling, go to plan B.
9. Try something different. Hunt with a muzzleloading shotgun or take your bow to add challenge to your hunt.
10. Take along a youth or nonhunter. Regardless of whether you kill a gobbler, you’ll be a winner for introducing someone to the wonderful world of turkey hunting.