The gobbler was 75 yards away and moving our way fast through the spring woods. He was fixated on Henrietta, my hen decoy, and seemed committed to a quick romantic dalliance with her.
The longbeard was almost within shooting range when the hunter in front of me asked, rather loudly: "Is it time to shoot?"
The gobbler heard the human voice, hit the skids, hung an immediate hop to the left, ducked behind a tree, and quickly disappeared from sight. He was as lost as last year's Easter egg from that time on. I was never able to locate that bird again.
Granted, turkey season is still over a month away, but savvy sportsmen are planning strategies now. Knowing the benefits of solitary hunting can be an important factor in hunting success.
Turkey hunting is considered a one-man game. On occasion I'll take one or two people hunting, but I dislike taking more than one. And frankly, I'd much rather hunt alone than with someone.
The sad fact is that turkey hunting, which begins in about five weeks, is not a community event. It's not meant to be a social affair, a gathering of friends with similar hopes and desires. It means absolute silence, no moving, and it also means a keen knowledge of how to set up on a bird and how to call it in.
Seldom will two hunters score during the same hunt. A guide and one hunter can work, but one guide and two hunters soon becomes a lesson in frustration.
There is much to be said for turkey hunting alone. You choose your hunting spot, and if the birds head the opposite direction, the hunter gets up, starts running while hoping to get ahead of them without being seen. It occasionally works.
It's not easy, but it's much easier for one person than for two or three. Me and two others tend to get in each other's way, and often someone will move when they should be sitting still. A fidgety hunter will spook every turkey long before they walk within shotgun range.
Often someone wants to talk, and even though an occasional whisper may not be detected, a hunter who is somewhat hard of hearing will attempt to whisper. He whispers loud enough so he can hear himself, and the result is a low conversational tone that is easily heard 100 yards away by a keen-eyed, keen-eared bird. A group of three hunters wind up making far too much noise, and all too often, both hunters are talkative gents intent on impressing each other.
Some hunters want to idle away slow time by talking. I don't want people talking to me because I must listen, and don't need to hear stories of past hunts, what he expects from this hunt, or to answer hunting questions when we should be motionless and silent.
My idle time is spent trying to get someone into a bird. Sometimes it just doesn't work, and other times, the gobbler comes to the call like I have a rope tied to his neck. Now may be the time to state that I am not a for-hire guide. I only take family and good friends hunting.
Perhaps the finest outdoor writer of all time put the problem this way: "One boy is all boy; two boys is half a boy, and three boys is no boy at all." The man who wrote these words of wisdom was the late Robert Ruark, and his homespun philosophy is worth noting.
Loosely translated, it means that one sportsmen can hunt well alone. Two hunters make twice as much noise and movement, and three hunters are as conspicuous as a black eye.
Hunting alone has much going for it, and frankly, it pleases me immensely. It allows me to go where I want, make decisions whenever they become necessary, and there's no need to worry about someone else and their feelings, whether real or imagined.
One might say it's selfish of me, but who cares? It's my hunt, it's my time, and if I choose solitary hunting, so be it. It's not a case of being antisocial; it's a matter of knowing that one turkey hunter is far more effective than two or more people hunting together.
The odds improve greatly for solitary hunters. The only reason I take another person out for wild turkeys is that I enjoy watching them shoot their first gobbler. Both hunting alone and calling a bird for another hunter are selfish actions. I do them reasonably well on calm birds and with people who pay attention and don't move or talk, and do trips my trigger.
I tell hunters what I expect from them. To me, this turkey hunting is serious business. Don't talk to me when I'm calling or listening, and don't do anything but what you are told to do.
People know I have bad vision, and they are counted on to help me spot incoming or circling birds. No words need to be spoken. An elbow nudge gets my attention, and the movement of a relaxed finger gives me the direction. The birds often are spotted first, but it doesn't always happen in a wooded area with heavy vegetation.
My instructions are simple, and should be easily understood. Sit still, don't move, sit with your back to a shoulder-wide tree, pull your knees up, rest the shotgun against your shoulder and across your knees, and listen to what is whispered to you.
I tell them that as the birds approach us or my decoys that they cannot move, even if they have the mother of all charley horses. Be still, don't make a sound and wait for the gobbler to move directly in front of the shotgun at 20 to 35 yards.
A sharp but barely audible putt is made when the gobbler is in the right position for a killing shot. The sound makes the bird stop, and its head goes up to look for danger. Be ready, and shoot the gobbler where the head and neck join. Hunters are warned to keep their cheek down on the shotgun stock, and don't lift their head when they pull the trigger or the shot will go high.
There will be plenty of time to palaver and talk once we leave the hunting area. Often other turkeys will have been with the dead gobbler, including other gobblers. Shoot the bird, sit still and don't move, and let the other birds wander off on their own.
Doing it this way doesn't alert them to humans in their midst. A shot could be confused with thunder, which turkeys hear all the time. It's the motion and noise of a moving hunter that jumps out from in front of a tree that sends birds heading for the next township.
Hunting alone removes all of these potential problems. It's one man, going one-up with a gobbler, and without any consideration for anyone else. It's making personal decisions, and living with them whether they are right or wrong.
The case has been made for hunting alone, and although I take hunters out every spring, I haven't figured out how to hunt error-free yet. Maybe I should hire me a guide and learn something new.
But I won't because I enjoy the quiet solitude. It's what keeps me focused and willing to put up with too little sleep during the season.
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