Wild Turkey Hunting

by A. Sayward Lamb

It was back in the mid 1970’s when I first heard about turkey hunting while trading hunting stories with my late brother Stanton, and a friend, Emil Dix. They both lived in Pennsylvania and enjoyed turkey hunting in that state. At the time, turkeys had not been introduced to the state of Maine. At least, not in recent times, so we were not privileged to hunt wild turkeys in our state. Nevertheless, I still was very interested to hear them tell of the challenges presented when hunting turkeys. At that time, I never dreamed that the day would ever come when we would be hunting turkeys in Maine.

Turkeys became extinct in Maine during the early 1800’s, and it was not until 1942, that twenty four captive turkeys were released on to Swan Island, near Richmond. By 1946, none of those birds were left. In the early 1960’s, sportsman’s clubs from Bangor and Windham, tried to establish flocks from part wild and part game farm stocks. These attempts also failed. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) started to plan the introduction of turkeys in the early 1970’s. During 1977 and 1978, forty one turkeys were trapped in Vermont and released in the coastal towns of York and Elliot. This hardy strain of wild turkey survived extremely well and their numbers increased enough so they were transplanted to other coastal communities. In 1987 and 1988, with help from the Maine Chapter of The National Wild Turkey Federation, and the Connecticut DEP, seventy wild turkeys were trapped in Connecticut, and brought to Maine, where they were released, according to MDIFW plans.

Since 1990, trapping and transfer stocking have continued in Maine, and the results of these stockings have been outstanding. At the present time (2004), wild turkeys are found from the coast, to more than one hundred miles, or more, inland, from the Western Mountains, to the Down East areas of our state. I have even heard of sightings of wild turkeys as far north as Medway, which is located slightly southeast of Millinocket. I was talking with my son, Ronald, who lives in Sebec, located over forty miles northwest of Bangor, who told me he often sees wild turkeys on his farm.

It amazes me that wild turkeys are able to survive the severe Maine winters, especially when there is deep snow and frigid weather for extended periods. I talked with a biologist who is associated with the turkey program for the state, and he told me that during severe weather, turkeys will stay on their roosts for as long as a week at a time. It’s unbelievable how Mother Nature provides methods of survival of our wildlife. I was also told that snow is not nearly as disastrous as an ice storm, where the food supplies for wild turkeys can become covered with ice. I have a friend, Leon Baker, who is a professional woodsman. He told me that he has seen wild turkeys budding on hardwood buds, the same as partridges (ruffed grouse) do in winter. Of course, many people also provide feeding stations for wild turkeys, which provides a form of entertainment for those who enjoy watching them during the winter. Wild turkeys also are opportunistic, and take advantage of food supplies around farms where there are manure piles, hay, and grain, for them to forage through.

By 1986, wild turkeys became numerous enough so the State of Maine established a Spring hunt for bearded turkeys in coastal counties. Over the years hunting areas for these birds has expanded dramatically. At first we had only a Spring turkey hunt, but in the year 2002, a Fall bow hunting season was established during a week in October, although it is restricted to a smaller area than is allowed during the Spring hunt.

My own turkey hunting started a few years ago, in the state of Florida, when I was invited to go with a friend who lives in that state. Even with this limited experience, I found turkey hunting to be a lot of fun. I am sure that many of you know that wild turkeys are vary wary, and with more hunting pressure, such as experienced in Florida, they are even more educated, making them harder to hunt. . The state of Maine offers permits through a lottery drawing system. Aspiring turkey hunters must submit an application, and fee, in order to have their name entered for the drawing. Names are drawn by a computerized drawing, and the winners are notified by mail. The winners pay another fee to receive their turkey hunting permit. The results of the lottery drawing are also available online at: www.mefishwildlife.com

I applied for my first turkey permit in December of 2000, and first learned that my name had been among the lucky winners in the Spring of 2001, by going online and checking the list. I also found the name of my oldest son, James, (Jim) listed. Of course I was elated to learn of our good luck, and now was excited and anxious to make preparations for the hunt, which would take place in May. In anticipation of participating in the hunt, I made several cedar box calls for gobblers, and also made several slate hen calls. I gave both types of calls to my sons, and even sold a few to others who heard that I make turkey calls. I also discovered that powdered spruce rosin works very well on the strikers of box calls. I prefer it over chalk because the rosin is not affected by rain or early morning dampness. I spend my winters in Florida, and do not return home until after the middle of April. This gives me little time for advance scouting prior to the opening of the Maine turkey gunning season. I encouraged my son, Jim, to do some advance scouting of his own, as he lives a few miles from me, and I knew we would be doing some hunting together. Maine now has a split season. Those whose names are drawn for the “A” season get to hunt the first and fourth weeks of the season, while the “B” season runs for the second and third weeks of the season. The fifth week of the season is for all lottery winners who have not already harvested their turkey. It just happened that last year my son Ronald (Ron) transferred his permit to me. I was selected for the “A” season, while my son, Jim, was selected for the “B” season. This meant that we could hunt together all month, providing we did not shoot our respective turkeys. The “off season” person could do the calling for the one with the active permit. We anxiously awaited opening day, in anticipation of seeing plenty of turkeys, and having fun hunting together.

Soon after I arrived home from Florida I spent part of several mornings scouting in different areas, and communities, hoping to locate a concentration of turkeys. It seemed that most every place I scouted had flocks of turkeys. I enjoyed watching their interactions, trying to learn their habits. Most of all, I spent quite a lot of time practicing using my cedar box call for the gobblers, and my slate call for hens. One thing for sure, I had a lot to learn when it came to what I call “Turkey Talk”. I listened to the Toms gobbling, and tried as best I could to imitate them. Learning to talk with the hens was more difficult, because they did not call nearly as often as the gobblers. I have read books and magazine articles about turkey calling, so I had a faint idea of what was involved. Once I began to use the turkey calls that I had made, I was pleased to discover that they seemed to work. At least, I had gobblers answering my calls, and once in awhile I managed to call them in to my location. At first I believe I called too often and too loudly.

This was corroborated when, during one of the first days of the season, I had eight turkeys come flying down off their roosts, from just behind me, and landed in a field about 60 yards out in front of me. I spent over one and a half hours “Talking Turkey” with them, but to no avail. They just would not come in to my location, even though I was well hidden from their view. I feel they were not aware of my presence, because they never seemed alarmed, and eventually they all simply walked out of the field together. This was a good lesson for me, and I spent several hours reviewing in my own mind, just what I had done wrong, and what I might do to be more effective with regards to calling wild turkeys. I had read articles, some of which stated that if a gobbler answers your call, return that call with vigor in order to get the gobbler excited. Other articles mentioned that calling too often would be detrimental because the Toms would become aware of your presence, or at least be suspicious from the immediate responses. I guess the only way to really learn these lessons is to get out in the field, and through several experiences, find which works best for your own type of turkey calling.

I have only been hunting wild turkeys for a few years, but from what I have learned I believe it is best for me to use the gobbler (cedar box) call for a short time soon after daylight, when the Toms are doing their calling. Shortly after they quiet down I prefer to use the slate call, using my best “come hither” calls, trying to entice the Toms to come find their “lady friend”. Again, I prefer to limit my calling to several minutes apart. Waiting for an answer from a gobbler often doesn’t work, because sometimes the Toms will come in silently. It is best to remain as quiet as possible, and keep a keen eye on your surroundings, in case the turkey(s) come in to your location without doing any calling.

The location that you choose to do your calling can be very critical. First and foremost, we must always remember that turkey hunting is a dangerous sport. Mainly because we are fully camouflaged, and also trying to call in turkeys may also call in other hunters. So, keep your back well protected and locate yourself in a place where you can see out in front of you, so you can respond to someone who might be coming in to your calls. I believe most experts suggest hollering loudly, if you see someone approaching. Better to forfeit your location than to take a chance on being shot.

While turkey hunting last year, (2003), I was hunting in some fairly open woods, where the undergrowth had been trimmed out. I chose to sit with my back to a large tree, while doing my calling. My only problem was that I had a gobbler come in to me—from one side, where he spotted me. I did not see his approach, although he called intermittently. The first thing I knew I heard him clucking loudly, evidently alarmed at my presence. You guessed it! He did not come anywhere near enough to be within shooting range, although he showed up very nicely in the open woods. After circling around me, he walked up on a knoll and presented himself to my decoys by strutting continuously for nearly a half hour, never coming closer than seventy-five yards from my location. A couple of days later I harvested a large Tom, from that same area, only this time I was hidden in the top of a huge brush pile.

At times unexpected things happen that make turkey hunting very interesting. One morning last year my son, Jim, and I, were turkey hunting together. I had already shot my turkey, and was doing the calling for him. We were in place and had our decoys set up well before daylight. The first light of day had hardly arrived when we heard gobblers calling from four nearby locations. They were too far away to be seen, but hopefully our calls might bring at least some of them in to our location. After a few minutes, we determined that one of the gobblers was coming toward us, so we kept a vigilant surveillance out in front of us. All the while we could visualize the approaching gobbler, and as the excitement grew, suddenly we heard the loud, screeching type call, of a male pheasant. From the loud noise we knew he was fairly close to us, but just could not get our eyes on him. Eventually, he nearly made a complete circle around us, continually making that loud screeching, that apparently upset the turkeys, because they ceased gobbling. Finally, after things quieted down, we waited for a few more minutes and tried to entice the gobblers once more. No luck at all, so we eventually moved along an old wood road. After about a quarter mile we stopped and I called again. Immediately a gobbler responded, and we determined that he was probably calling from a field some distance away. Rather than walk directly towards him, we took a circuitous route. Once we approached the huge field we saw a turkey go running at a fast gate, towards the woods. We moved to a more secluded location and walked closer to where we had seen the turkey. Jim peeked around a corner and saw two turkeys still in the field. We took our positions in the edge of the woods several hundred yards away from the turkeys. Jim got in position to shoot while I prepared to do the calling. After I called with my slate call, one of the birds puffed up his feathers in a fine display, and started coming our way. He was in no hurry, and kept picking insects along the way up the edge of the field. As long as he continued coming I kept quiet, but if he hesitated, then I would call softly. Once in awhile Jim also called with his call. Whatever we did, it seemed to be working, because a few minutes later that huge gobbler came into shooting range, and with Jim’s shot, he had his turkey. It might be interesting to note that on the way back to our pickup truck, we came into another field and standing adjacent to the woods were a dozen turkeys that included a few hens and several Jakes. They were not the least afraid of us, and simply stood looking at us, with Jim carrying his Tom over his back, and shotgun in hand, while I tagged along behind. The amazing thing about all this is the fact that we passed by within thirty yards of them, without any of them running off! How in the world did they know that we had already harvested our turkeys?

This year, (2004), my sons, Jim and Ron, as well as myself, were lucky enough to have our names drawn for the spring turkey hunt. As I write this the gunning season is only a little over a month away. Already, I can foresee possible problems, as far as calling turkeys is concerned. More than two weeks ago my son, Jim, saw a flock of twenty eight hens, and two Tom turkeys, in a field adjacent to a main highway. He said both Toms were strutting for the benefit of the hens. Another friend told of another instance where one Tom was strutting before six hens. Mind you this happened in March, and the breeding season in Maine usually happens during late April, and into May. My question about the fact of whether the Toms would be breeding early in Maine was answered only today when my neighbor, Milt Inman, told me that his son told him his next door neighbor was embarrassed yesterday because a Tom turkey was breeding a hen turkey on her front lawn, in Woodstock, Maine.

We may find hunting wild turkeys will be much more of a challenge, because of this early mating season. Still I look forward with fond anticipation of hunting wild turkeys in Maine. Strange as it may seem, I get just as much enjoyment when I am out pre-scouting as I do during the actual hunting season; all because I am interacting with the wild turkeys who are teaching me this new language that I call “Turkey Talk”. Good luck to all of you lucky turkey lottery winners.