Photo by D. Toby Thompson

If the following tale doesn't seem painfully familiar, you probably have not been turkey hunting very long.

One May morning I overslept and arrived at one of my favorite calling locations an hour past sunup. The big willow roosting tree that shades the corner of a hidden meadow was empty and the local flock was already on the ground. I decided to set out a hen decoy and do some aggressive calling in the hope that a footloose gobbler might decide to check out the new hen in the neighborhood.

Happily, my come-hither clucks and yelps drew a quick reply and in minutes, a huge tom was strutting across the pasture. When he gobbled, I yelped back, and he started coming my way at a brisk walk. The romantic conversation was getting hotter and hotter when the tom suddenly stepped into a little basin, stopped talking . . . and disappeared.

A LESSON LEARNED
At that time, I had tangled with very few hung-up gobblers and wasn't sure what to do, so I just kept calling every minute or two thinking that this shy fellow would finally find my hen persona irresistible and make a mad dash into shooting range.

The seconds ticked slowly by, and then the minutes piled up, until I'd gone nearly half an hour without hearing a gobble. Deciding the bird must have spooked, I slowly stood up to give the pasture one last look.

Staring back, from behind a hillock just 20 yards away, was Ol' Tom himself. At the sight of him, I raised my gun. At the sight of me, he dashed into a thicket of berry bushes -- and made it with seconds to spare.

My impatient sneak peek had cost me an easy shot, and the worst part of it was that I knew better. Several turkey-hunting mentors had coached me to sit absolutely still upon losing sight of an incoming tom. The rule of thumb for dealing with a gobbler that goes silent is simple but effective -- sit still for as long as you can after the bird vanishes, and then stay put for a few minutes after that. And, whatever you do, no peeking!

Stretching or standing up to verify the whereabouts of a bird that may be sneaking silently in your direction is just one of many mistakes we turkey hunters are bound to make if we spend enough time in the woods. Here are some more common errors, along with ways to correct or prevent them.

SLEEPING LATE
Having shot turkeys at all legal hours, I can't honestly say the crack of dawn is the only time to score on a big gobbler, but hunters who don't hit the woods until most sportsmen are on their coffee breaks miss out on some of the most exciting (and educational) shows in Mother Nature's repertoire.