April 30th 2021, the Gobbler Wars begin in 20 hours as I write this! Each spring and fall season we sign up voluntarily and without reservation despite the well documented side effects of sleep deprivation, increased irritability, and a pronounced increase in the use of foul language. It is expected when matching wits with a gobbler with a pea sized brain… For us old grumpy turkey hunters, irritability and foul language might not be that unusual…
The pic used for this musing is of a gobbler I have on my target list. It is a long-distance shot even for a mirror lens as the glass I would need to make this a much better pic would run the cost of a 10-12 year old used car. This gobbler shows up as he does captured here on a well traveled road on a property I do not have permission to hunt on. A solid three quarters of mile from a property I can approach him from. I’ll bide my time as with that many hunters that have laid eyes on him, he’ll been finished early, or pushed off on to property I can access. This is similar to a dandy gobbler I tagged several years ago, same scenario, same property.
As many of you, I’ll be glassing a lot of territory today, especially this evening. High winds and more rain in Cortland County is expected. With the circumstances as they are, unless you can approach your spots close enough to hear, your binoculars are your best tool to gain critical clues for tomorrow morning. Hopefully you have a month’s worth of scouting and Intel to piece together your battle plans for the opening weekend, It is likely given the conditions that birds may hunker down and not be visible at all as you might otherwise expect. If you have been out the past month working up several dossier’s you have a one up on gaining contact with a gobbler this weekend. I know several hard core turkey hunters that will start their scouting for 2022, on June 1st and they have a collection of long spurs that affirms their year long scouting habits of many years of due diligence. Contrary to popular opinion, they primarily hunt New York State Forests, affirming they are as good if not better than private holdings. I can attest to this also, as it has been my experience over the past decade.
To each of you, I wish a fruitful month long battle full of memories, and close encounters with our favored game bird. Be safe, and may you enjoy your time in the great Turkey woods of New York!!
MJ
© 2021
Mike Joyner- Joyner Outdoor Media
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