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Turkey Tough

 

Pressured public-land birds, bad weather and sleep deprivation can make turkey hunts not quite made-for-TV. The author offers four vital ingredients to help you stay in the game and get that gobbler.

Text and photos by Chris Berens, Senior Editor, Turkey & Turkey Hunting

A siren jolts me awake out of a dead sleep. Where am I? What day is it? What’s happening? No, it’s just the alarm clock.

Photo credit: Chris Berens

It’s the fifth day in a row of 3 a.m. wake-ups after finally hitting the hay later than 10 p.m. the night before. That’s after a full day in the woods, roosting birds at sunset, driving home, eating dinner, making lunch and a plan for the next day.

I’m pretty much a zombie. But, the chance of hearing a few more gobbles and one good close encounter makes it worth it. Up and at ’em — turkey season’s clock is ticking and it doesn’t care if you’re tired.

Public Land Sign

Photo credit: Chris Berens

It’s been a long season after working through all of my best public-land spots in the county. Saw a few birds, heard a few gobbles, but it’s been pretty quiet. Saw a bunch of other hunters, though. That’s just the way it goes. There’s only couple days left so might as well keep at it. As tough as it can be to keep it in the back of the mind, that old adage that a hunt can turn around in a second, is still true.

When things aren’t going made-for-TV perfect, I have learned a few key ingredients that will keep me in the game until the bitter end.

Coffee, Snacks & Naps

Access to primo private land and champion calling skills are simply not a reality for me. But, what I have learned is that I can drag my tired butt out of bed at 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning day after day, chug coffee and choke down a breakfast sandwich, then drive like hell to beat everyone else to the public-land parking spot like nobody’s business. (It’s funny when the night shift cashier at the gas station starts to recognize me and my progressively muddier boots. And comments on how tired I look.)

You can bet your backpack that I’ll have some coffee in a can or thermos for later in the day, or morning, when I need some extra pick-me-up.

Photo credit: Chris Berens

Fast-forward a few hours later and I haven’t heard a bird since before sunup and I’m bored, frustrated, maybe a little hangry. There will be a few snacks buried down in my backpack somewhere. Probably some smushed old candy bars from last deer season or a fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or apple or granola bar. Something with just enough energy to get my spirits up and my focus back on the hunt. Along with another coffee, of course.

OK, so I might’ve drifted asleep at the base of my tree for a few minutes or in my parked truck at lunchtime. Just resting my strained eyes so I can focus better on the shotgun sights when that afternoon longbeard tries to sneak up on me. With long hours of daylight, especially as the season goes into May, roosting birds, getting some dinner and getting things ready for the next day means hitting the hay late. Three hours of sleep a night for a few days straight wears a turkey hunter out.

So a quick siesta at midmorning or lunchtime is purely a survival mechanism, and nothing to be ashamed of.

Coffee, snacks and naps all boil down to little tools to help me get in the woods and stay in the woods. A bit of extra energy does wonders to get over the lack of sleep and the frustrating conditions. Turkey season is only so long, and that extra comfort can provide just enough mental edge when you need it the most to make the season a successful one.

Grit

The final ingredient to finish off a tough spring hunt is grit. Simple as that. Turkey hunting ain’t always sunshine and rainbows, and toms gobbling and strutting in lush green fields for a perfect 20-yard shot. Often it’s really cold or really hot, quiet, muddy, buggy and frustrating.

Bad weather, hunting pressure, low turkey numbers, suspicious hens, silent and stubborn gobblers all can have other plans for your hopes of easy success.

That’s where the grit comes in. Doing whatever it takes to get out there and stay out there, day after day until opportunity occurs — or until the closing bell rings on the end of the season.

Photo credit: Chris Berens

That might take an extra coffee or two in the morning, extra sandwiches, or checking out another piece of public land. Or it might mean knocking on one more landowner’s door to ask permission after being turned down at 10 other houses — just go for it.

Maybe it’ll take trying out a new call or two with some different sound, or gutting out an all-day sit on a logging-road turkey travel route. Or take a quick snooze at lunch — whatever you need to do to stay in the game — go for it.

Photo credit: Chris Berens

Turkey season is just a blip in the calendar and is over before we know it. Then we have to wait and wonder an entire agonizing year before the next chance to hear a gobbler sound off at dawn.

Photo credit: Chris Berens

Sooner or later grit turns into success and a gobbler on the ground. So grab another coffee and wait for summer to sleep in. It’ll be worth it.

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