SECRETS FOR LAST-MINUTE GOBBLERS WITH MARK DRURY
 What
the Hens Do to Gobblers
EDITOR'S NOTE: This week Mark Drury, award-winning
turkey caller, the creator of MAD Calls, avid hunter
and outdoorsman and co-owner and developer of Drury
Outdoor Videos, will teach you the secrets for hunting
last-minute gobblers. Hopefully this season you won't
lose your job, your wife or your sanity when you hunt
turkeys.
 Turkeys
are time-sensitive. By that I mean that the birds know
when you have to leave the woods. They'll do all they
can to keep you close to them to prevent you from catching
a plane, going to work, meeting up with your buddy on
time, getting home for supper or doing any one of the
4,000 tasks that you have planned to accomplish after
your hunt. I've learned how to push the envelope and
take those time-sensitive toms that cause us all to
get into trouble.
When a tom has a bunch of hens with him, he's not interested
in leaving his harem to come and check out one stray
hen.  Also
when a gobbler is with a group of hens, there's absolutely
no reason in the world for him to gobble. All the reasons
for which he will gobble are within eyesight. But I've
always felt that turkey hunting is a lot like winning
the lottery. You can't win if you don't play. The more
often you play, the better your odds are for winning.
Fishing's the same way. If you only cast your lure one
or two times, you're not going to catch many fish, but
the more times you cast your lure, the greater your
odds will be for catching the fish. Getting a turkey
to gobble when there's not a hen around is a very random
event. So, you have to cover a lot of ground and try
to talk to numbers of turkeys to discover that one gobbler
that will talk to you when you talk to him.
Besides covering a lot of ground, I concentrate on
using high-pitched calls. That's why I use box calls
and slate calls when I'm coming to the end of my hunt
and just have to make a turkey talk. From 8:30 a.m.
until the close of the season that day,  whether
the time is around noon in the Midwest or dark in southern
states, I'll use either a MAD Heavy Metal Call or a
MAD Cherry Bomb Box Call. I'll also use shock calls
like crow calls, coyote howlers or owl calls. Just because
a turkey isn't gobbling doesn't mean that he won't come
in to your calling, even in the middle of the day. So,
just because time is running out on your hunt and you
haven't been able to make a turkey talk or see a turkey
that may come to you, don't give up the hunt. Keep on
pushing until the last minute. Often just before you're
ready to give up, that big gobbler may scream close
by you, or perhaps he'll come in silent.
You can log on to www.druryvideos.com or call 1-800-990-9351
to order videos from Drury Outdoor Productions that
feature the latest in hunting adventures and information
and feature Mark and Terry Drury.
TOMORROW: TOUGH LAST-MINUTE GOBBLERS
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