Alright, I’ll admit that the ideal picture of a hunting day involves crisp temperatures, leafless trees, maybe a bit of snow on the ground, Canada geese calling on their southward migration and a rutting whitetail bird-dogging a doe.   But for many of us, a spring day can be just as picture-perfect, because there is one can’t-miss hunting experience that every hunter should have every spring. That, of course, is a turkey hunt.   Chasing gobblers is a rite of spring. Hearing a big tom thunder out his “GOOD MORNING” after departing his roost tree is an awe-inspiring sound. It really gets the blood pumping, especially if he continues gobbling when you start yelping on your turkey call.   To help you put more turkeys in your lap and into the roasting pan, I thought I’d provide a few tips that have helped me over the years. Some I’ve learned on my own by observing live birds and enduring countless trials and errors. Other tactics I’ve learned from far better turkey hunters than I. That’s one of the best things about fellow hunters: aside from maybe giving up their favorite spots, hunters are quick to share their successful strategies with others to help them be more successful too.   A key tip when tackling toms is to talk turkey. The best way to learn how is to get out into the wild woods and listen to the sounds live birds make, and observe every nuance of their language and behavior. You can do this in the pre-season, with your shotgun or bow at home in the case. Inside of metro areas, within parks and other no-hunting areas, there are often healthy populations of wild birds that you can go observe. After all, a city turkey and a country turkey are the same critter with the same vocal chords.   While you’re out, listen to the specifics of every turkey sound. How loud is it? What are they doing when they make certain sounds? A lonesome hen standing in one spot to attract other birds can sound a lot different than one who’s walking and talking at the same time; or scratching and feeding; or dusting and preening.   When a live hen does yelp, purr, cluck or cut, what effect does it have on other birds in the area? What seems to rile up the toms more than anything? And what other variables are in the mix when these reactions happen (weather pattern, wind, visibility, etc.)? Keeping a diary of your observations can help you commit your field knowledge to memory.   As you listen to the turkeys, try to exactly emulate the sounds of other hens. Really get to know the subtleties of every diaphragm, friction and box call in your turkey vest – so you know which one to reach for when you want to duplicate a particular sound quality.   Which leads me to another great tip to use when you’re actually hunting. If there’s a vocal hen and a nearby gobbler (or several males) are responding to her, don’t try to compete with her. She sounds better than you. Plus, she’s got that feathery body attached to her voice and, well, you don’t.   Instead, become pals with her. Talk to her. Every sound she makes, duplicate it. If she goes “yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp” starting loud and crisp and tapering off to low and raspy, do exactly what she’s doing. In many cases, you can call in the hen by mimicking her. And if she comes in vocally, chances are she’ll lead in a tom right behind her.   If a turkey approaches but hangs up outside of range, try a simple tactic that a great turkey hunter once taught me. Slowly turn away (without getting busted by movement) and make your next call sequence AWAY from the bird and on the opposite side of your body. This will create the audible effect that you (the turkey) has begun walking away. In some cases, this can trigger a sense of panic in an approaching bird that his girlfriend is leaving the party. Often it will be just the kick in the feathery butt that it needs to close the distance.   Now, let’s say lady luck does not smile on you. Your hunt is not over for the day. Nope, stay out there until roost time and locate (with your eyes and ears) where the birds are going to bed that night. Watch them go up to the roost trees and keep your eyes on them until sunset. If they’re satisfied with the roost and haven’t been spooked by sundown, then it’s a good bet that they’ll go undisturbed all night and will wake up on the same tree limb.   Set up the next day, before sunrise, in a likely fly-down area near the roost. Be sneaky and quiet going in. Get settled and well-concealed long before the sun starts peeking up, and resist the urge to start calling before the real hens have flown down and have started talking. It can be a crap shoot about where the birds will opt to fly down, but if you’re lucky a big tom will descend into your area and respond well to your calling as soon as his spurred legs hit the ground. And if you sound like a real hen? Well, then heat up the oven!   Good Hunting. Babe Winkelman