HUNTING HIGH-PRESSURED PUBLIC-LAND GOBBLERS
Late-Season Hunting
 EDITOR'S
NOTE: Have you ever scouted for turkeys before the season
on public lands and heard plenty of toms talking to
the timber, but then when you've returned to those same
woods two weeks after turkey season opens, you don't
hear a sound? This week we'll look at the best  ways
to hunt high-pressured, public-land gobblers, especially
the ones that become silent.
Mitchell Marks, an avid turkey hunter and wildlife biologist
from Alabama, doesn't enter the woods until 9:00 or
10:00 a.m. during the late season. By that time 99%
of the hunters already have left the woods, and only
a portion of those 1% of hunters left will hunt in thick
cover.
"The secret to hunting thick cover in the late
season is to call a little and wait a lot," Marks
states. "Once I determine that a turkey's holding
in thick cover, I'll try to find a clear area inside
that cover where I can spot a gobbler before he sees
me. When I find a spot like this, I'll sit down and
begin to use soft clucks, purrs and a few soft yelps.
I'll wait 30 to 45 minutes before I'll call a second
time.
 "I'll
have my gun on my knee and be prepared to shoot at
any time, because if turkey steps into that opening,
he won't
stay there long. If you're not ready for the shot, the
bird
will see you before you see him. I'll rarely have an
opportunity for a shot at more than 10 to 12 yards,
and many
times the shot is even closer."
TOMORROW: A WARNING TO THE SILENT GOBBLER TURKEY HUNTER
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