17 expert turkey tips from 17 years of gunning for gobblers

This article was first published in Outdoor Canada‘s March/April 2020 edition.

As any turkey hunter will tell you, pursuing spring long beards is an all-consuming passion, occupying your mind for months leading up to opening day right through until you finally notch your tag (or second tag, as is the case in my home province of Ontario). As an inveterate gobbler getter myself, just thinking about a tank tom coming in hot raises the hairs on the back of my neck, fuelling the anticipation. With the spring hunt just weeks away at the time of this writing, I’ve also been thinking about everything I’ve learned over the years since I first started pursuing wild turkeys in 2003. Herewith, in no particular order, are 17 of my top first-hand observations from the field.