For experienced hunters, one of the best things about the spring turkey season is calling in a gobbler for someone who has never shot one before. Talk to hunters who have done that, and they will all say that they get more satisfaction getting another hunter his or her first bird than shooting one themselves.
With about a week remaining in the season in South Florida and the season ending in the rest of the state on April 23, there is still time to get in on the fun.
Calling in a turkey looks easy on TV hunting shows and YouTube, but there are so many little things that can spook Florida’s wary Osceola gobblers that new turkey hunters rarely have success hunting by themselves.
It takes an experienced turkey hunter to know where to set up a blind, when and when not to move and, if a turkey comes in close enough, when to shoot.
One of my favorite stories was told to me by FWC commissioner Ron Bergeron, who was guiding someone who had never hunted turkeys. Bergeron had a gobbler heading toward their blind when the novice saw the bird, pointed at it and yelled, “There’s one!”
After the gobbler did an about-face and ran away, never to be seen again, Bergeron explained the importance of being quiet in the turkey woods, especially when a bird is approaching.
Bergeron had better results early this season when he guided his daughter-in-law Sally’s nephew, Blake, to his first bird. Imitating the yelps of a hen turkey on his mouth call, Bergeron got the gobbler’s attention, and it flew down into the pasture, still about 75 yards away. Calling softly, Bergeron slowly got the gobbler to come closer while his guest remained quiet and still.
After 15 minutes, the bird was 20 yards in front of them, Bergeron said to shoot, and the gobbler dropped where he stood.
A highlight of my season was being able to call in the first gobbler for Paul Schmitz. Paul has taken me duck hunting for many years, but when I took him turkey hunting on public land, either other hunters spooked the bird we were working or a real hen called away the gobbler who was coming to us.
Hunting near Immokalee on private land with fellow duck hunter Bob Henry, we sat in a tent blind in a spot where turkeys like to travel. The woods were quiet for a long time that morning, but after a few hours we saw a gobbler in a trail a few hundred yards away looking at my realistic Hunter’s Specialties hen turkey decoy.
Instead of heading straight for the decoy, the gobbler took another trail through the woods. Paul was the first to see him, 40 yards away and in full strut.
Even though it was in range and Paul had his shotgun ready to shoot, I whispered to Paul to wait for the bird to get closer and to come out of strut so the gobbler’s head and neck would be exposed.
It took a few minutes, but when the gobbler got within 28 yards he saw something he didn’t like, stopped strutting and turned like he was going to leave, and Paul didn’t hesitate.
After handshakes all around, we admired Paul’s bird, a 3-year-old with a 10-inch beard and sharp 1⅜-inch spurs. It was an impressive first gobbler, one that had all three of us equally thrilled.