BOB WOZNIAK - A GREAT NORTHERN TURKEY HUNTER
Hunt The Drums And Don't Depend Just On Your Calling
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Bob Wozniak of Boston, New York, one of the true
masters of the sport of turkey hunting in New York State
and a member of the Quaker Boy Calls' Hunt Team, has
hunted turkeys for more than 30 years. He's bagged a
gobbler or called in a gobbler for someone to take every
year that New York has had a turkey season. Let's look
this week at some of Wozniak's best northern tactics
for taking toms in the spring, since many northern states
still are having turkey seasons.
Wozniak
believes many turkey hunters walk off and leave close-by
toms because the hunters never hear them gobble. Although
we all like to hear turkeys gobble, Wozniak reminds
us that he's taken several toms that never even gobbled.
"Often in a high-pressure area, a tom only will
drum as he comes to a hen," Wozniak mentioned.
"I know many turkey hunters I've guided before
who never have heard that sound. They listen for a turkey
to gobble and don't understand what they hear when a
bird spits and drums. On a still morning, you may hear
a turkey drum
50 to 75 yards away."
Don't Depend On Calling:
When turkey hunters discuss bagging gobblers, they
talk about calling the turkeys. However, Wozniak suggests
you learn to hunt a turkey first and rely more on your
hunting skills than your calling skills to take a tom.
"One of the biggest mistakes most turkey hunters
make is they don't anticipate what the turkey will do
before the turkey does it," Wozniak explained.
"Instead, they react to what the turkey does after
the bird already has committed himself to go one way
or the other. If you're a good woodsman and hear a turkey
gobble
after you call to him, you'll anticipate where that
turkey will go, what he'll do and where you should be
to intercept him. You won't just sit down and call the
bird to you. Your chances for bagging a gobbler will
be much greater, too."
By knowing where a turkey naturally wants to walk and
the kinds of places a turkey won't move through, you
can take a stand in a section where the turkey most
likely will come, even if you don't call.
TOMORROW: ENDURE PAIN AND DON'T
BE A COPYCAT
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