By the end of May, the woods will have greened-up. I believe that the turkeys are easier to hunt in May, because there's more foliage, leaves and bushes to hide behind. By the end of the season, most of the gobblers have bred most of the hens, but the gobblers are still searching for the last of the hens to breed, something that makes them easy to call. This is my favorite time to hunt, because the older gobblers that have been with hens all season long are looking for other hens that aren’t on their nests.
This time of year is also good for bowhunting turkeys since the foliage is so plentiful. Also, in the early season, you really need to have one of the Mossy Oak patterns that fits the surroundings where you're hunting. At this time, I'm usually wearing Mossy Oak Country. But at the end of the season, I wear Mossy Oak Country or Mossy Oak Break-Up. I'm especially looking forward to using the new NWTF/Mossy Oak Break-Up pattern that was just introduced this year at the 2016 SHOT Show. It has many mid-range tones as well as some splashes of green and will be very-effective for late-season hunting in Minnesota.
I'm often asked, “Did you teach your wife Nicole to turkey hunt?” My standard answer is, “Heck no. She grew up in southern Illinois, right on the Missouri border.Her dad taught her how to hunt as soon as she was old enough to walk.When she was just a little girl, she turkey hunted with her dad. Over the years, she’s harvested quite a few turkeys - not only with her gun but also with her bow. She really enjoys turkey hunting and enjoys taking our children turkey hunting.” We both enjoy taking our children turkey hunting, and we also like to introduce the sport of turkey hunting to a lot of newcomers to the sport.
Because I've seen the work that has been done by the NWTF in helping to provide more turkeys for all of us to hunt, I strongly recommend that you join NWTF to learn more about turkey hunting from the information the organization has available.
Day 3: Pat Reeve on Why I Love Minnesota Gobblers
Tomorrow: Passing on a Lifetime of Hunting Turkeys with Pat Reeve
