April is a good month. The weather starts to warm up and a young man's fancy turns to turkey hunting. If you have never done it, but have a place to do it, I highly recommend you try it. A friend of mine told me he would spend hours in a deer blind, but he won't sit for hours for an ugly bird that will see him if he blinks.

I'll say one thing is that you do need is a lot of patience! If you are the fidgety type, this game definitely is not for you. There is a great deal of reward in it though. It's a game of calling just like duck hunting. In duck hunting the kill only takes a minute. It's the completion of the game. The real joy is in playing the game-the calling of the ducks to bring them close to you. So be it with turkey hunting.

When first light starts dawning you hear these toms gobbling in every direction from where they are roosting in the trees. Goose bumps immediately appear all over your body. Just the thrill of knowing your quarry is all around you , not like deer hunting where you have no idea where they may be. Now its all up to you to fool these wise old birds, to make them think you’re a hen who wants company. You might start with a wing that they sell at sports stores. I usually beat it against my leg and it sounds like birds coming down out of the roost to the ground. It's like saying to the tom "Ok I'm ready for a new day and I'm on the ground now". You have to vary your calls between purrs, putts and yelps. This is not hard to do with box calls and very easy to learn. Your best call is the diaphragm one if you can master it. I can't! I have tried and tried but to no avail. You never want to overcall. Too much calling may scare him off. Do enough to make him want to come to you. Some toms can be very stubborn and want the hen to come to them. I had it happen last year . He stayed 70 yds away and did not budge for 30 minutes. Just kept gobbling in my face .

If you hunt the later seasons, I would recommend one decoy as most hens may be on the nests and the tom is looking for that lonely female who isn't. A group of hens may look suspicious at that time of year.

The strategy really starts when the gobbler comes into view. Here is where a lot of the outfoxing comes in. Don't make any fast moves! Move your gun to your shoulder at a little faster pace than being in reverse. This bird has great eyes and will pick up movement in a flash. As long as you move real slow you should be ok. I have a little box call taped to my barrel. It's the kind you pull by a string with your finger. This keeps you from having to use your other calls. If he needs a little more coaxing, you just move your first finger while aiming down the barrel. You must hit this bird in the head and that is the only area you should aim for. They are little Sherman tanks and will take several hits in the body and still get away. They run faster than track stars.

All the tension and nervousness builds up in your body until you pull that trigger and the bird stars flopping on the ground. Then you finally stand up and yell "Yes!!!"

I know once you experience it you will be back. There are times when there will be no birds, because of weather or whatever. Don't give up just because they have stopped gobbling around you. I have killed birds as late as 11 A.M.

They have come in without any noise at all, just curious to the putting I was doing. They are always around-just quiet!

May you all have great luck in the fields this spring. To you newcomers, just tell your wives and girlfriends your going to do the same thing they did for years. Your going to dress up, paint your face, sit pretty and try to attract a good looking male near you!!