By Robert Moore & Eddie Salter

A turkey hunter's tactics are the practices he has learned and used all his life to pursue the perfect bird. Tactics are our ways of locating turkeys, our ways of learning the flock, and our way of hunting the big toms. Some are inherited from a hunting mentor and usually mixed with many series of trial and error. Tactics are perfected into a pattern comfortable to each individual hunter. Sometimes, our tactics can become stale and unproductive, and we need to step back and look at what might need to be changed.

In the early season, turkeys will be more vocal. I like my tactics to be very aggressive such as moving and covering as much ground as possible. By the time turkey season comes around, spring is just beginning and all those young jakes and gobblers are feeling good and feeling like yelling. With the spring comes the desire to find a girlfriend and most birds will respond willingly to a locator call. One of the best locator calls is the new owl hooter from Hunter's Specialties. I prefer an owl hooter at first light - its just a more natural sound than a crow at that time of day. You need to realize that you are probably not hunting the boss gobbler because he is probably already with a flock of hens and has no reason to gobble much. Generally, in the South, early season prospects are satellite gobblers that are young, aggressive and determined to find their own flock of hens.

After locating your birds, your next tactic is calling them. The best bet calls for early season are tree yelp cackles, cutting, aggressive hen yelps, clucks and purrs and just about anything that sounds like a turkey hen. My favorite mouth calls are a "Split VIII" and a Black Magic aluminum friction call. I like to use them both at one time sounding like multiple hens. In the early season, avoid long setups and be aggressive - you may have to move several times to get the bird to come into range.

After the first couple weeks of the season, you should be pretty familiar with your hunting area. If you are still hunting the same bird, by now you should know his patterns and the tactics he uses to avoid you. Position yourself in the area he will be using. You might want to take along a super light portable ground blind. Sometimes they work great if your area doesn't have a lot of natural cover.

My favorite calls for the mid-season are the Black Widow friction call and the new aluminum diaphragm calls from Hunter's Specialties. These aluminum diaphragms are very easy to get a good clear tone and are very crisp when I yelp and do those seductive little clucks and purrs. But, if you've tried several calls and none seem to work and the bird is still henned up, you might want to revert back to a fall hunting tactic. In the late afternoon, go in the woods and flush them off the roost. Sooner or later before dark, those birds have to roost again. Be patent and listen to where they flew up to roost. The next morning, you have the perfect set-up because that tom is going to be very anxious to relocate his hens.

By the late season, your tactics have to change. The turkeys have experienced a lot of hunting pressure and they have heard a lot of calls. For sure, by this time, you have learned your bird and his habits and patterns. In the late season, patience is truly the key. Once your bird has been located with a soft owl hoot or rooster, get as close as you can without pushing him and set up your post. In the late season, your camouflage is more important than ever. That old Tom is wiley and cautious by now and you can't afford to be spotted. Once he shows interest, keep your calling soft and give him plenty of time to convince himself to come on in. On some occasions, he may still have a few hens with him. In the late season, I have had great success hunting in the midmorning and late afternoon. Overall, for late-season calling use basic hen yelps and clucks and purrs.
But remember, patience is your best virtue.

Good hunting.