Pennsylvania Game News - April 2023 - 6

noise. That's always promising, as
Gulvas believes they have some kind of
loose link or relationship with turkeys.
" I can't tell you how many times
crows have told me where turkeys
were, " Gulvas said. " There might be
a group of crows calling 300 or 400
yards over to my left or on the other hill.
Well, there's a good chance that there
are turkeys around there. It's amazing
how many times you'll see that. "
Of course, turkeys - hens and gobblers
- also sometimes respond to his
locator calls.
Some worry those encounters " educate "
birds and make them hard to
harvest.
Gulvas agrees there's truth to the
patience amid excitement
To say that Denny Gulvas is obsessed with
turkeys is to say that grass is green, the sun
rises in the east and snails are slow.
Enthusiastic? Asking him to talk about the
birds unleashes a whirlwind. He dispenses
stories, knowledge and history like a machine
gun throws bullets.
" I know how exciting turkey hunting is, "
Gulvas said. " I think it's one of the most exciting
outdoor sports by far. Not only because
you get to talk to another animal but because
it's so cool to hear a gobbler on another mountainside
500 yards away, and to say the right
things to him, and within a half-hour have him
within 20 yards, right in front of you, gobbling
in your face.
" Gosh, how can anything be more exciting?
It's just amazing. "
But for all his zeal, he's a pillar of patience
in the turkey woods, a camo-clad Job.
When it comes to calling, for example, he's
executing a plan.
" When a turkey talks, there's a reason
they're making noises, " Gulvas said. " Because
making noises will get them killed. So they're
expressing themselves specifically to say different
things.
" What I do is create scenarios when I call,
natural scenarios from all these turkeys I've
been around, to get a conversation started.
Instead of just throwing out calls, I think, what
would a real hen do? Then that's what I do. I
try to make it sound like what they're used
to hearing. "
He believes that minimizes any stress
they're feeling.
Some respond by coming right to his
calls. But others don't. It's with those where
6
patience comes into play. Too many hunters
give up too soon on those quieter gobblers,
Gulvas said.
" I've had a conversation going with a gobbler
and all of the sudden he shuts up, " Gulvas
noted. " Most people just get up and say, 'OK,
well, let's go to the next one' or whatever. But
I'll stay because I've learned that those gobblers
believe there's a hen there somewhere.
" It might take hours, but that gobbler will
often wait, thinking those hens will come back
or others will come through. Or there might be
a satellite gobbler who comes in looking for
hens when he thinks the other gobbler left.
So I sit tight. "
When those gobblers finally come into
view, he pays close attention to their body language.
Those clues dictate what he does next.
" Is he reluctant? " Gulvas said. " Is he excited
to see me? That's how I'll talk to him. "
That turkey's behavior also tells him when
he can - or can't - afford to move to get into
position for a shot.
" When a gobbler is coming in, he knows
he should be able to see exactly where that
hen is, " Gulvas said. " He knows, to within feet,
of where a sound is coming from, even when
traveling hundreds of yards to get to the spot. "
That bird is expecting movement, looking
for a hen. But, he said, suspicious, out-of-place
movement can change everything. So he sits
with his back to a tree wider than his shoulders,
to hide movement down to the rise and
fall of his chest as he breathes.
Then, he waits. It's not always easy, but
it's vital.
" Patience is everything in turkey hunting, "
Gulvas said. " Patience is everything. "
Pennsylvania Game News - April 2023

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