ON CALLERS AND CALLING 195 



As soon as possible select a place to call from. 

 To a novice there is no special rule by which one 

 can at all times be governed in calling old gobblers . 

 Each bird is possessed of some pecularity differ- 

 ent from its neighbor, and all individual varia- 

 tions the hunter must meet with good judgment. 

 When out very early in the morning in the vicin- 

 ity of turkeys, get some elevated position, a ridge 

 if possible, and, as the dawn is breaking, listen for 

 the gobble. The first sounds one is apt to hear 

 are the hooting of the owls ; the next, as the light 

 grows apace, is the note of the cardinal, found in 

 all southern woodlands. As a roseate glow be- 

 gins to replace the gray dawn, one will hear the 

 " gil-obble-obble-obble." It may be within one 

 hundred yards of you or perhaps a mile away. 

 You should wait until the turkey gobbles again 

 to be certain of his direction, then make all haste 

 to him, and get as near as you wish before he 

 flies down from his roost. When within one 

 hundred and fifty yards of the gobbler, stop, 

 and be careful lest he sees you, as his ever watch- 

 ful eyes look everywhere, especially at things on 

 the ground. 



