Late-Season Gobbler Tactics
Still Hunting the Ghostbuster
 Editor’s
Note: When you hunt turkeys during the late season,
you’ll have to hunt the toughest gobblers on the
property. But hopefully, you’ll have a  history
of those turkeys. You should know what they’ve
done in the past, and what you can expect them to do
in the future. You have to decide on a method you haven’t
used in the past to take those turkeys. You’ll
have to abandon what’s considered turkey wisdom
and use off-the-wall tactics to hunt these tough toms.
Let’s look at some tough toms I’ve hunted,
the people I’ve hunted with, and how we’ve
finally taken our birds.
As we sat and watched the Ghostbuster, 20 hens came
to the base of his roost tree. The Ghostbuster dropped
straight down under that tree like a helicopter landing.
He bred two or three hens and then began to feed with
the hens under his roost tree at 9:30 am. At 10:00,
Pitman explained, "Those birds under the roost
tree have one of two choices. They’re either going
to walk up this strip of woods toward us or down the
strip of woods away from us. There’s nothing we
can do to help them make that decision, and I’m
not going to call to them. I now understand how the
Ghostbuster has been beating us in this late season.
In the morning, he waits to see the hens before he leaves
the tree. So, when he’s walking throug h
the woods, he has all his hens with him. Anytime he
hears another hen (a hunter), the hens he’s with
lead him away from the person who’s calling to
him.
 We’re
not going to make that mistake and call to him. We’re
just going to hope that the turkeys make a mistake."
Finally, at 11:00 am, the hens started feeding in our
direction. "When all the hens and the gobbler are
out of sight, get your gun up," Pitman coached
me. Once I got my gun up, the hens continued coming
with the gobbler behind them. When the birds reached
our shooting range, Pitman told me to take the shot.
But the hens always managed to walk or stand in front
of the Ghostbuster, and I couldn’t get off a clean
shot. Eventually, the hens passed us and the ole tom
walked about 20-yards away from us. "When I cluck,
he’ll stick his head up, and you can take him,"
Pitman whispered. Pitman clucked. The Ghostbuster got
a surprised look on his face and craned his neck. I
squeezed the trigger, finally giving some relief to
one sore behind that hadn’t moved since before
daylight. So, not calling helped us take this late-season
tom.
Tomorrow: The Squirrel-Tailed
Gobbler
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