Pennsylvania Game News - June 2021 - 6

from seeing a lot of the action, but they
were soon all around me. I picked one out
and pulled the trigger. When I walked up
to it, I found it was an old gobbler, one I
believe was the group's lead bird. I can't
say for certain, but I believe it was the gobbler with the hen I'd seen from my house
the previous evening. He had a distinct
white patch on his right wing.
And if so, the gobbler had left the hen
to join up with other gobblers.

FOOD & WATER

Just like a rut-worn, rundown buck,
gobblers lose weight during breeding
season and take time immediately afterward to build it back up. Although you
may not hear gobblers in the late season,
looking for them around food and water
sources can turn up a boss bird. Water
often is overlooked, but it's critical to a
dark-colored turkey on a hot day. Look
for tracks in the mud at such locations
and you may find a place to intercept one.
Food sources can change during green
up, so pay attention to where you see turkeys at any time. The older gobblers will
go to the best food sources and, even if a
big gobbler has been taken from one spot,
others are likely to travel there as well.
Fog also can help you when targeting big gobblers in late season. It allows
you to slide in closer to a roosted bird.
Gobblers often will sit a long time on the
limb to allow the fog to dissipate. If you
know a particular turkey's normal travel
pattern, you can use that knowledge to get
into position for a shot after he flies down.

WEATHER

Thunderstorms also can help you find
turkeys. A gobbler cannot resist answering
a clap of thunder, especially in the spring.
So, when a storm passes through, listen
for those gobblers to sound off. Then set
6

up after the storm passes and call to one.
Again, you'll need great patience to wait
him out.
Look for turkeys in fields and other
open areas immediately after a storm
passes. Turkeys notoriously head for these
areas after a rain, presumably to dry off.
Given the all-day portion of the season is
prone to thunderstorms, such conditions
could help you find and target a betterthan-average gobbler.
While not weather-related, I did
manage to ambush a big bird under something like a thunderstorm in the season's
third week some years back.
After a friend shot at and missed a gobbler on a Saturday, I returned to the area
Monday morning to continue his quest. I
heard the gobbler once on the roost, then
all went quiet, until a helicopter spraying
for gypsy moths flew over. The chopper
blades sounded much like thunder, or at
least like something the gobbler couldn't
stand. And the one I'd heard earlier started
sounding off every couple of minutes,
advertising his travel route in the process.
By simply getting ahead of the bird
and sitting against a tree, I tagged him
at a little after 10 a.m. He, too, had long
and heavy hooks, signifying that he was
an older bird that had roamed the ridges
for three or more years.

BAGGING A BOSS

Although boss birds are taken in every
portion of the season, I feel that targeting
them late gives the hunter the best chance
at some long spurs and heavyweight birds.
While many hunters give up after a
couple of weeks of the season, or a couple
of hours in the morning, those who hunt
every minute they can will start to see the
rewards pile up.
And many, no doubt, will come late
in the season.
Pennsylvania Game News - June 2021

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