Bo Pitman's Fourth Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys

Editor's Note: Bo Pitman, the lodge manager at White Oak Plantation near Tuskegee, Alabama, has hunted for most of his life. Today Pitman lives with his family -- his wife and two children -- at White Oak and pursues a career he loves. Hunters almost everywhere have heard of his turkey-hunting expertise and the often unusual tactics he uses to bag gobblers.

Question: To tell someone what makes Bo Pitman one of the best turkey hunters in the nation, I probably will have to say position. Do you agree that where and how you set up on a turkey is one of the keys to your success?

Answer: Yes, because you've got to know where turkeys like to travel, and then you must be patient. You've got to be mobile too. You've got to stay with them and persevere.

Question: One of the things you do is stay with a bird all day, isn't it?

Answer: Right.

Question: Bo, when you fail to get a turkey when he comes off the roost, and you call to him and he doesn't come, how are you staying with that bird? What are you doing?

Answer: I try to get in front of the turkey and somehow outmaneuver him. You need to be patient, bide your time and let the tom move. If you stay long enough with that gobbler and hang with him, eventually you'll get where he wants to be or where he's traveling.

Question: Last year, you and I had a turkey. How big was the field where that turkey was?

Answer: It was about 12 acres in size.

Question: We went around that field, circling that bird at least three times. Why were we finally able to get that bird? He had hens with him, too, and you did very little calling.

Answer: First of all, when we moved around the field to get close to that turkey, we stayed far enough away that we didn't spook him.

Question: So, how did we get in position? What did we do to make that turkey move within range?

Answer: We kept calling and moving until we got to a spot where the turkey wanted to walk.

Question: When you can't hear a turkey, you try to see him, don't you? I've seen you climb a tree, move up next to a fence post and other things just to see where a turkey is, right?

Answer: Right, because I think being able to see a gobbler and keep track of him is lovely.

Question: When you move on a turkey, you try to figure out where he's going, right?

Answer: That's right.

Question: And you try to get in front of him at a point that he's going to walk to, so that even if you don't call, you'll get a shot at that turkey?

Answer: Right.

Question: Bo, don't you think that's the key to getting a lot of birds: being mobile, being willing to move, knowing when to move and when not to move and being able to move far enough away from the turkey that he can't see you before you set up a second time.

Answer: Oh, yes, and then once you get there, be patient. The day you and I hunted and finally got to the gobbler, we were almost late to meet him.

Question: We got in close. Then we had to stay all bunched-up and squatted-down in a tight knot because the bird wasn't 20 yards away when we saw him. But he wasn't in a shooting position. He had to come around a little island of land.

Answer: That's right. We did what we had to to get ourselves in position to bag that bird.

For more information about White Oak Plantation's deer and turkey hunting, call or write White Oak Plantation, 5215 County Road 10, Tuskegee, Al 36083, (334) 727-9258.

To learn more about turkey hunting, go to hunting books at www.nighthawkpublications.com, or write or call Night Hawk Publications, 4112 Camp Horner Road, Birmingham, AL 35243, (800) 627-4295 to order by check or credit card. John E. Phillips has three fine turkey books full of how-to tactics for the novice as well as the expert still in print, including "Outdoor Life's Complete Turkey Hunting," "Masters' Secrets of Turkey Hunting" and "Turkey Tactics."

Tomorrow: Bo Pitman's Fifth Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys

Check back each day this week for more about Bo Pitman's Secrets To Consistently Taking Turkeys ...

Day 1 -Bo Pitman's No. 1 Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys
Day 2 -Bo Pitman's Second Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys
Day 3 - : Bo Pitman's Third Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys
Day 4 - Bo Pitman's Fourth Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys
Day 5 -Bo Pitman's Fifth Secret to Consistently Taking Turkeys

John's Journal