TURKEY SHOOTING. 



There are many methods of shooting the wild turkey, 

 yet, after all, it is probable that it is more often killed 

 by accident than by any one of the more approved 

 methods. In other words, men traveling through the 

 woods or fields stumble on the turkeys, flush them, 

 and so get a shot. 



In the South, "calling" is the approved and most 

 used means of killing these birds. The hunter con- 

 ceals himself in a blind, imitates the call of the hen, and 

 so draws to him the other members of the flock. This 

 is practiced with especial success either in the autumn, 

 when the young turkeys are still innocent, or in the 

 spring, at gobbling time, when the gobblers are likely 

 to respond readily to the supposed call of the female. 

 In regions where turkeys are plentiful, it is common 

 for hunters to go out in the afternoon, and, finding 

 a brood, to flush and scatter it. If night is near, the 

 turkeys are likely to try to get together before roost- 

 ing time, and to begin calling almost at once. If, how- 

 ever, it is too late in the day for them to do this, the 

 birds roost in the trees, and in the morning are still 

 more anxious to get together. The hunter, therefore, 

 starts out long before daylight, repairs to the locality 

 where he started the turkeys the night before, and con- 

 cealing himself there, either by means of a blind con- 



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