Confession time: I've never been turkey hunting or killed a wild turkey

The ever-elusive wild turkey.

Spring turkey hunting season in Conecuh County will be in full swing starting this Saturday through May 3. I know that a lot of outdoorsmen enjoy hunting turkeys, and Conecuh County has a lot of hardcore turkey hunters, especially those who are members of the National Wild Turkey Federation. My 11-year-old son and I are also both members of the NWTF.

With that said, I have a confession to make: I’ve never been turkey hunting or killed a wild turkey.

Now, just because I say that, don’t think that I’m some kind of city slicker that has stayed shut up inside all my life playing video games. I grew up “in the woods” of South Monroe County, but when I was a youngster, turkey hunting wasn’t that big of a deal in the area where I lived. Most of our hunting was for deer and squirrels with a rare coon hunt or rabbit hunt thrown in for good measure.

I have some friends who are devoted turkey hunters, and they seem to enjoy the challenge of luring in a big gobbler. These elusive birds are said to have great eyesight and some of these gobblers seem to have a sixth sense that keeps them out of gun range. Hunters have told me that turkey hunting is somewhat like golf in that once you take it up, you’ll want to do it all the time.

The other day I read an article about the fact that spring turkey hunting was about to begin in Alabama, and I got to wondering why we hunt turkeys in the spring. This may sound like a no-brainer for many in the reading audience, but I had to do a little research to find out why we even have the turkey hunting season when we do in Alabama. Why not in the heat of the summer or in the dead of winter?

Just about every source that I checked said that the No. 1 reason we have a spring turkey season is because this coincides with the turkey’s mating season. This is prime time to use a turkey call to trick an amorous gobbler into thinking that you are a beautiful hen in search of companionship. Instead, he’ll find you sitting there with a fully-loaded shotgun.

Just over the line in Monroe and Covington counties, they have a fall turkey season. Most of the sources I checked said that fall seasons are held at a time when turkeys are flocked together. During this time, hunters use calls to trick turkeys in returning to their flock with an eye toward popping some lead into them instead.

I do hope to go turkey hunting and kill a wild turkey someday, if for no other reason than to write about the experience. Like many of you, I also enjoy eating turkey, so this will be a good excuse to kill two birds with one stone. With that said, if any of you experienced turkey hunters in the reading audience want to let your friendly neighborhood newspaperman tag along with you on a turkey hunt, let me know because I think it would make for a good story. Plus, you will no doubt get a big kick out of watching a total amateur try his hand at something new.