As more private property becomes unhuntable because of development or posting, more hunters are likely to find themselves turning to public land to chase spring gobblers. But that's not a bad thing because turkey populations are thriving on public lands across the country.

You've seen Hunter's Specialties pros Matt Morrett, Rick White and Alex Rutledge chasing turkeys on television for years. And you might think they only hunt the most exclusive, private hunting tracts around. But you'd be wrong. All three of these accomplished gobbler killers routinely hunt public ground each season.

As Rutledge puts it, "There are lots of turkeys on government land, so you'd better believe I'm going to be out there hunting them."

Following are 10 tips from these pros on how you can fill your turkey tag this spring on public land:

MATT MORRETT
The Late Bird Gets The Worm
Turkey hunters are predictable creatures. They head out to the woods before sunrise, listen for gobbles, and then set up and call in hopes of enticing a talkative tom to fly down when he leaves the roost.

On public land, however, it can be downright crowded in the spring woods in the hour before the sun comes up.

Check the public parking lots about two hours after sunrise, however, and you're likely to find fewer trucks. According to Morrett, the hunters who stay later are the ones most likely to tag a tom.

"Too many hunters give up and go home after the morning fly down, but I think it's much easier to get a gobbler going and call him in later in the morning -- especially on public land," Morrett said.

First thing in the morning, Morrett said, public-land hunters are battling one another and live hens to get the attention of a gobbler. Instead of joining in, let that gobbler sneak through the crowds with his single girlfriend or his harem and go about his business, Morrett recommends.

"At 10 or 11 a.m., the hens are probably going to be sitting on their nests, which means there are going to be some lonely gobblers out there -- and not a lot of hunters," he said.

There's Nothing Like The Real Thing
"I've heard turkey hunters say they think calling is 10 percent of turkey hunting," Morrett said. "I think it's 100 percent, but you have to sound like a real hen."

With the variety and sophistication of calls on the market today, Morrett said it's easier than ever for hunters to emulate turkey sounds.

"Get yourself a video or audio recording and listen to what a real hen sounds like," he said. "Practice with your calls to get the tone and the rhythm down. If you can sound like a live hen -- not like a hunter using a turkey call -- you'll be amazed at how the birds respond."

Realism is especially important on public land, according to Morrett, because the resident turkeys are likely to hear a lot of calling.

"You don't want to sound like everybody else," he said. "You want to sound like a lonely hen. It's public land, but hens still call and gobblers still respond to those calls."

Professional videos teach hunters how to talk to turkeys, Morrett said. So many hunters call to gobblers, eliciting vocal responses, but they are not talking to the gobblers.

"Learn what you need to say to get that bird to come to you -- not just a bunch of loud clucks designed to make him gobble," he said.