364 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



and the startled deer. Again the interesting sound is 

 borne to my ears; but I wait. He gobbles again and 

 again. He has not moved since he first gobbled; certainly 

 not far. "I'll try him, right here." If he were mov- 

 ing, I would try to work in ahead of him; but he isn't. 

 There is a big tree- top, several years fallen, that offers a 

 very good hiding-place, and, after placing a few chunks 

 and a green bush or two in necessary places, I step into 

 this hastily constructed blind, plucking a young haw- 

 leaf from a convenient bush. This is adjusted to my lip, 

 and I wait for him to gobble. The instant he does, I 

 give two or three yelps, short and smothered, just loud 

 enough to be heard by him. He vigorously gobbles 

 twice in quick succession, so I know he has heard me. 

 His strutting is more frequent and louder than before. 

 Again and again he gobbles, but gets no nearer. I wish 

 he gobbled less. His frequent gobbling is not a good 

 indication, for it tells me that he is not going to be in a 

 hurry about drawing nearer, and that he is going to do 

 his best to woo the yelper to him. He hasn't drawn an 

 inch nearer. In about ten minutes, I yelp again, about 

 as at first. Again he gobbles and struts, but does not 

 move. I know exactly how far he is, and that he can't 

 see me if I move, and so I get out of my blind, after 

 about ten minutes, and walk quickly, but noiselessly, 

 about 100 yards to the left, getting no farther from the 

 turkey, and get into a hiding-place of bushes. As soon 

 as he gobbles, I yelp again, and he answers quickly. The 

 yelping has been faultless, and I know he is not alarmed 

 at any bad note. My object in moving was to make him 

 think that the hen was feeding along, and not going to 

 him. To stay in one place all the time is not hen-like, 

 and any sharp gobbler knows it. Ordinarily, it is best to 

 stay in one place, but when dealing with an "educated" 

 gobbler, it is often best to move occasionally, especially 



