TURKEY HUNTING. 



TURKEY HUNTER. 



In several articles that have appeared in 

 Recreation from those who report find- 

 ing good sport in different sections of our 

 country, I have noticed that while occa- 

 sional success has been met in killing wild 

 turkeys, no mention is made of how it 

 was done. The inference may, therefore, 

 be drawn that these sportsmen simply had 

 the good fortune to stumble on some tur- 

 keys, get a few shots and a bird or 2 

 rather than that ttry went out with a spe- 

 cial purpose of huntiig turkeys or followed 

 any of the methods that are usually prac- 

 ticed by the skillful turkey hunter. 



The wild turkey is the largest as well 

 as one of the best of the game birds to 

 be found in the woods of America. He is 

 a wild, wary, timid fellow, with no curi- 

 osity to lead him into danger or trouble. 

 When he sees or hears anything unnatural 

 or that he does not like, he just says, 

 "Put!" and at once puts several hundred 

 yards between himself and whatever dis- 

 turbs or alarms him, usually alighting in 

 the top of some tree where he can keep a 

 good eye on the back track. If followed 

 he is off again before his pursuer can get 

 within range. 



The wild turkey has a keen sense of 

 both sight and hearing, if not also of smell. 

 He does not go to cover like other game 

 birds, to be marked down, trailed and 

 stood by dogs. Take him all around he is 

 about the hardest of game birds to find 

 and kill, but it pays so well to get him, 

 both on account of the skill required and 

 the sport he affords, not to mention the 

 satisfaction with which his merits are dis- 

 cussed when he is brought on the table, 

 that I have for many years been an en- 

 thusiastic turkey hunter. 



A flock of turkeys will range in their 

 feeding over quite an extent of country. 

 A well marked gang was once reported to 

 me as being within a few days at points 15 

 miles distant from each other. When their 

 range is more limited they can be regular- 

 ly fed and trained to come within shooting 

 distance of a blind, from which they may 

 he killed, sometimes quite a number at one 

 shot, when their heads are all down and 

 they are busy picking up the corn that has 

 been left in a row for them; but the man 

 who slaughters turkeys in that style, or 

 shoots them off a roost, must have a well 

 defined strain of the game hog in his com- 

 position. A far better way to hunt them is 

 with the assistance of a dog that has been 

 trained to take your course, to range in 

 front within hearing of you, to trail, flush 

 and scatter a flock, and to give notice, by 

 his bark, of his locality and what he has 

 done, which can generally be verified by 

 the surrounding sign. 



Without a dog is almost necessary to 

 know something of the lay of the country 

 and how the birds range, in order to find 

 your game, for they will frequently an- 

 swer to a call and let you know where they 

 are. Having located them it is far more 

 important to get them well scattered and 

 flying vay in different directions, by rush- 

 ing among them and firing wild, than it is 

 to get only one bird and allow the others 

 to go off together. When a flock is scat- 

 tered most of them run or fly % to l / 2 mile 

 away. The ordinary sportsman, after hav- 

 ing trie' 1 in vain to trail them up with his 

 dog, or stalk them, would probably then 

 giye up in despair and think his chance was 

 lost; whereas the skilled turkey hunter's 

 fun has just begun. He knows the birds 

 will soon try to get together again near 

 where they were flushed, and it is his 

 business to assist the reunion in order that 

 he may take some of its members home 

 with him. 



He selects a good location for a blind 

 in a bunch of bushes, or a fallen tree top 

 that is not too thick and that commands" 

 approach with clear shooting. He makes a 

 blind about 4 feet high and sufficiently 

 large for him and his dog to turn around 

 in. With small, bushy limbs he fills any 

 open places and makes a good screen, 

 througu which he can see and shoot. His 

 dog must be trained to lie dead and shiver 

 with excitement rather than rush out to 

 retrieve a turkey that has been knocked 

 over and is tumbling and fluttering within 

 a few feet. 



Having completed his blind as quietly 

 as possible, in about an hour from the time 

 the turkeys were flushed, he takes out his 

 yelper and at intervals of 3 or 4 minutes 

 begins to call, listening carefully after each 

 call for a reply. He does not call or reply 

 to calls too often. If possible he varies the 

 pitch and character of his calls, as turkeys 

 would do if there were several already an- 

 swering in his neighborhood. When his 

 bird has come well into range, he knocks 

 him over, hitting him preferably in the 

 head, which generally stops him right 

 there and causes the least amount of noise 

 and fluttering. The hunter should remain 

 quiet in his blind, and keep his dog 

 down. In about 20 minutes other turkeys 

 that are probably near, not seeing anything 

 to alarm them, will again answer a call and 

 continue to come; for they are more easily 

 frightened by the sight of either a man or 

 a dog than by the report of a gun. By wait- 

 ing patiently the hunter may kill as many 

 turkeys as he likes. 



Some years ago I was hunting in good 

 turkey country, without a dog, but with 

 a companion who knew the land well. We 



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