Turkey call maker Bruce Wurth fooled this fine gobbler with one of his American Friction box calls. Photo by John Higley.

If ever a spring day in the turkey woods held promise, this one did! My buddy Tom Stone and I were hunting a familiar piece of ground where we knew for certain there were plenty of gobblers. In fact, three of them had just opened from a nearby stand of pines, and we figured we were in the perfect position to waylay them after they flew down. All we had to do was call to the toms once their feet were on the ground, and we felt sure they would come right to us.

Everything went according to plan -- up to a point. After the toms were down, they gobbled repeatedly and started coming our way. They were approaching so rapidly that Stone raised his shotgun and rested it on his knee. He just knew that the feathered Romeos would stroll into range at any minute.

The trouble was, nobody told the turkeys what they were expected to do. They had other plans.

We were overlooking a two-track dirt road that seemed like a natural route for the birds to follow. But they veered off on a parallel path that we couldn't see. Finally, they hung up nearby, but out of sight, and simply refused to come any closer.

Oh, they gobbled a lot, which is always exciting. But it's much more fun when a turkey commits and comes sauntering in to meet what he thinks is the hen of his dreams.

Mulling over the situation, I came to the conclusion that we had to try something different or risk losing the opportunity altogether.

Because calling is what spring turkey hunting is all about, Tom and I shared the calling duties as the toms approached. I had a triple-reed diaphragm call in my mouth, while Stone stroked the lid of his well-used box call. The gobblers seemed to like both types of calls -- at first. But once they stopped coming, there was no urging them on with either one.

I fumbled in the pockets of my hunting vest, feeling for another type of call to use. Luckily, I had several, and one of them might be exactly what I needed to bring the turkeys into sure shotgun range.

It was worth a try.

What happened then?

We'll get to that in a minute. Meanwhile, let's briefly explore the world of turkey-calling devices.