At the peak of the turkey breeding season, a dominant gobbler is frequently "henned up" with all the hens he wants. The henned-up gobbler acts much like a call-shy bird, but you need to use different tactics. Dealing with a harem boss can be difficult. If he and the hens do not roost together, a tip off is when he goes in the same direction every morning to meet them. Give up on the roost and set up in the area he goes to instead. Another strategy is trying to call the hens. Usually the hens, not wanting competition, will lead the gobbler away from the calls. However, if the hen flock contains a super-dominant hen, aggressive calling may cause her to come looking for the challenger. The gobbler will be behind this sharp-eyed old hen, so you must be still and well camouflaged. Finally, you can just give up to the real hens early on and hunt this gobbler later in the morning after the hens have left him.

Many Pros do much of my deer season scouting in the late winter and early spring at the same time they are scouting for turkey season. However, turkey season is up first and pre-season scouting and early success go hand in hand. First, find the turkeys in general. Most hens and many adult gobblers are still in flocks until just before the season. Their group scratchings in the leaves are hard to miss. However, scratchings two to three feet in diameter away from the main flock's feeding area are signs that the gobblers are starting to break up. Turkeys like to walk in the clear. Look for tracks on logging roads and sand bars. Gobbler tracks are usually about four inches long and gobbler droppings are tight and well-formed, often with a J-hook. Thus, by keeping an eye on the logging roads, you will know how much travel they get and what's doing the traveling. Early bird scouting is the best bet for an early bird.

Turkey hunters usually need no encouragement to head to the woods early in the season, and for good reason. Usually the gobblers are still ganged up or only recently separated. They are ready for breeding season, but the hens usually aren't responsive. Best of all they are not yet terribly call shy and often come willingly to the call. If you favor lots of looking and loud and aggressive calling, the early season is your prime time. If you don't find or can't entice a gobbler from his roost, cover lots of ground and do lots of calling. I use cutting, cackling and the fighting purr system to stimulate both the sexual and territorial impulses of early season gobblers. Matching the early season woods calls for camouflage in gray and brown tones to match tree trunks and leaf litter. Few plants have more than barely started bud break and green leaves are scarce. Save the green camo for later in the season, after green-up.

Given the choice of good woodsmanship or good calling for turkey hunting, a lot of Pros would have to grit their teeth and say woodsmanship is more important. In fact, really knowing the terrain and knowing the behavior of the local turkeys can make you look like a great caller. The simple truth is that it is hard to call a turkey to where he doesn't want to go no matter how good you are. However, it often seems easy to get a gobbler to come to an area he knows and is comfortable with. Survey your turkey hunting tract carefully. Learn the ridges and the hollows, creeks and fence lines and how best to get around on that piece of land. In the course of this, you should learn the movements of the local birds, where they roost, feed and loaf This makes you less dependent on finding that hot, gobbling bird. Even if he doesn't gobble, if you know where he hangs out, you can go hunt him there.

One of the most important and least talked about aspects of gobbler hunting is where and how to set up. An old-timer once said, "The easiest way to call a turkey is to get between him and where he wants to go." Lacking a crystal ball, we just have to make our best guess. Turkeys can be called downhill, but they seem to prefer to stay on their same level or walk uphill in mountainous terrain. Hunter concealment is critical. Some hunters carry pruning snips to set up a natural blind while others use commercial blinds. Either one is a good idea, and decoys can be a great help, too (check regulations). Being ready to shoot also is critical. Some Pros like to have my gun up and ready. The "90-degree rule" is for right handers to point their left shoulder toward the area where the bird is expected. Some shooters learn to shoot off both shoulders in case the gobbler throws them a curve on his approach.