That’s right, turkey season is right around the corner and it’s a beautiful time to be in the woods. The excitement of the wild turkeys as they begin their breeding rituals can stir the blood of even the most jaded outdoorsman. And the kids are lucky enough to be a part of it; they just plain eat it up!
The local flocks are busy right now with the toms sorting out the hen flocks, riding herd on them and gobbling and strutting to earn their admiration. They’re trying to establish their dominance amongst the other gobblers and gather the hens into loosely guarded harems.
But, down south, they’ve already been at it for a few weeks and the hen turkeys are only just beginning to be receptive to Mister Tom’s advance and feeling the need to breed. That ramps up the gobbling activity to an early morning frenzy. And the youth weekend will be opening up for February 22nd & 23rd down there, below State Road 70.
I envy the man who gets to mentor a young hunter on that weekend. Kids are such a joy to carry afield most any time, but when the gobblers are hot and practically running into your calls, it lights the little guys up like nothing else. But, it looks like this year I won’t be making the trip down. I have to wait until the 15th of March before I get to hunt this year due to professional obligations with poor timing.
But, anybody that can make it; I hope you do! Even if you haven’t a piece of land already staked out for your purpose, there are still an awful lot of public land opportunities available. Such as the Big Cypress WMA in Collier County. The westernmost area around Birdon Road holds a fine population of Osceola, as does the Bear Lake Unit in the same WMA.
It’s still a bit wet down that way, so be dressed accordingly and make sure you have both a Thermocell and a high DEET content spray. The idea is for the little guys to have fun and it’s not likely they will if they spend the entire hunt getting chewed on by skeeters.
And while you’re seeing to their comfort, take the extra couple of dollars it takes to ensure they have comfortably fitting camouflage. Yes, it may be cheaper to donate your old hand-me-downs, but if they’re being swallowed up in yards of cotton, it can be less than ideal.
And don’t forget to let them participate in more than the shot. Teach them to use simple callers, like a push button type yelper or a box call. Let them run a few series of calls with you and I promise you, the first time an old He-devil of a tom roars out a gobble in response, that grin they give you will warm your heart for a mighty long time!
As always, if you have any questions or comments for me about this week’s column, please drop me a note at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
Toby Benoit is a best selling novelist and professional outdoors-man with thirty-five years of experience guiding and outfitting for big game all across America. Toby is a renowned archer and turkey hunting expert who manufactures custom game calls and is a regular judge at NWTF sanctioned turkey calling events across the Southeast.
