346 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



be found associating together, while the hens and young 

 gobblers will be together, except at this season. 



When spring fairly opens, the flocks break up, and 

 the breeding season begins. The old hens are the first to 

 go off and make their nests, always followed by the 

 gobblers to the vicinity where they are going to hatch 

 their young. Gobblers always open the love-making 

 season, the hens seeming to be very coy at first. At this 

 time, the gobblers fight each other vigorously, break, up 

 the flocks, scatter out over the country, and give them- 

 selves up to gobbling, strutting, and rambling. At this 

 early period, as they have no hens with them, they come 

 to call very promptly. In a week or ten days the flocks 

 of hens break up, and they scatter out into the hills to 

 make their nests, and soon become "located," as the old 

 hunters say, by which is meant that they settle down to 

 a certain range in the vicinity of their nests. At this 

 time an old gobbler is very apt to have from one to four 

 sometimes more hens with him, and he manages to 

 have them pretty well bound to him, so that they are not 

 likely to go off to other gobblers. They know his gob- 

 ble, and go to him when they hear him. Any gobbler in 

 this fortunate situation is likely to be very hard to call 

 up by the hunter, either morning or evening. The best 

 way to call such is to get near him while he is gobbling 

 on his roost, and select an open space into which he can 

 and will be likely to go when he flies down. A few 

 low yelps, given before he flies down, will generally bring 

 him, and if he gobbles to call promptly, let the hunter 

 yelp no more, but be ready for business. Nine chances 

 to one, he will go in shooting distance of the well-hid 

 yelper as soon as he is off his roost, especially if there be 

 an open spot for him to get into; for he likes such a place 

 early in the morning, before there is much light, and at 

 this season he is apt to fly down very early, sometimes 



