I don’t care if turkeys are tough. That’s part of the game. But tough with an attitude? That’s different.

After my exciting yet fruitless hunt in South Carolina, I joined some friends from the Whitetail Institute of North America for a quick Alabama hunt. The first day, temperatures never got out of the 40s. The second morning, we got on a henned-up bird but never closed the gap.

The final morning dawned clear and calm, and my optimism returned. However, after hearing nothing for two-plus hours, it was time to catch a plane. I gave one final call, hoofed up a hill, met my ride and bid Alabama farewell.

So I thought.

When I returned to camp, host Wade Atchley was pointing toward the area I’d just hunted.

“Would you believe a bird just gobbled in the neighbor’s patch twice?” he asked. “Didn’t you just go right past there?”

Why yes, I had. In fact, I’d yelped there several times. Apparently, calls with a Wisconsin accent don’t do much for sassy southern Alabama gobblers.