SECRETS FOR LAST-MINUTE GOBBLERS WITH MARK DRURY
Don't Miss Work
 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.
One of the toughest turkeys to take is that bird that's
so deep in the woods that by the time you get to him,
you've only got 30 or 45  minutes
to bag the gobbler before you have to leave to get to
work on time. When I have to hunt those short-deadline
turkeys, I try to go to them while the outdoors is still
very dark. I want to get as close to the birds as I
can. Then as soon as they pitch out of the trees from
their roost, they'll be within shooting distance.
If you know where turkeys like to roost and where they
like to fly to, you can set up in the direction where
the turkeys want to go and often get a gobbler in a
hurry. If I don't have enough time to get in close to
the turkey, or the terrain isn't such that I can get
in close to him, then I'll back off from the turkey
a little ways and begin to call. I'll try to be at least
100- or 200-yards away from the turkey  and
not call to him until he's on the ground. I like to
try to sound like the first hen that's off the roost
when I start calling to a gobbler that's already on
the ground. I also want to sound like the boss hen -
more dominant and more ready to be bred than any of
the other hens that he may have calling to him that
morning.
If hens start coming in behind me, trying to get to
the gobbler I'm calling to, I'll try to spook those
hens before they get to the gobbler. If I spook the
hens, and they start cutting and cackling, I'll begin
cutting and cackling, just like they are, to sound like
an excited hen. I may want to fire-up the gobbler to
keep him coming to me. If I've got that gobbler coming,
and I can get a clean shot within 40 yards, as soon
as I have the shot, I'll take it. I like to wait for
a 20-yard shot, but I'll take the first good shot 40
yards or less that the turkey offers.
 In
the meantime, one of the best ways to learn to hunt
turkeys is with video, which is why we produce the Drury
Outdoor Production Videos. Then you can go on turkey
hunts with us and learn how we hunt turkeys. If you
want to go turkey hunting with us, log on to www.druryvideos.com
and pick out a couple of our videos. Then you'll be
right there on the hunt with us. Or, you can call us
at 1-800-990-9351 to order videos. My brother, Terry,
and I really enjoy having people see, as well as read
about, how we take those last-minute gobblers.
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