BOB WOZNIAK - A GREAT NORTHERN TURKEY HUNTER
My Hunt With Wozniak
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.
Gobblers
screamed in the distance as I moved in beside a big
oak tree on the edge of a hay field. Chris Kirby of
Orchard Park, New York, the president of Quaker Boy
Calls, and Bob Wozniak sat behind me. Once I got into
position, Kirby gave three soft yelps. A troop of jakes
came trotting over the hill. I had my Remington 1187
SP perched on my knee, ready to take the shot if a longbeard
ever appeared. The turkeys came straight to me in single
file as I counted six, 1-year-old gobblers. As these
jakes walked and fed less than 20 steps from where I
leaned against
the tree, I whispered to Kirby and Wozniak, "They're
all jakes. But the birds we heard gobble were mature
toms. One's got to show up." I kept waiting but
never saw a longbeard. Finally, I heard Wozniak quietly
say, "John, your gobbler is less than 35 yards
from you, following five hens. You're on the wrong side
of the tree to take a shot or to even see the bird."
Once the jakes left, I slid back behind the tree where
Kirby and Wozniak sat. "John, if you only had sat
on the side of the tree facing the turkeys instead of
beside the tree, we'd be taking a longbeard home with
us right now," Wozniak explained. "I know
determining
where a turkey will go is hard. I also realize your
moving to the front side of the tree with those jakes
close by would have been difficult. But when you've
blocked off 50 percent of your field of view by sitting
beside the tree instead of in front of it, you've lost
your chance to take the longbeard. However, don't worry,
we'll try to find another turkey to bag."
TOMORROW: HUNT NEAR THE TRAFFIC
AND WALK INSTEAD OF RIDE
|