By Gita Smith

Photo: Nick Basler displays his turkey's fan. At the time of this hunt he was 13.

If it's spring, the woods are abuzz with the sounds of turkeys.

"Gobble gobble gobblegobble GOBBLE!" go the older males. Or, you may hear a softer "cluck" or "putt," or "yowp-yowp-yowp" from the hens. They're telling the gobblers, "Here I am." The jakes, the young boys, try to gobble. But the sound comes out like a very strange cough.

If you want to bag a tom turkey this spring, it's time to make some sounds of your own. Here is a list of some basics you should know. But remember, in the end, turkey hunting is all about calling a gobbler into shotgun range.

Before the season opens, scout the land where you will hunt. Carry binoculars and turkey calls, but no shotgun.

Nick Basler from Desloge, Mo., has already bagged 6 gobblers, and he's only 15.

"It is important to know the land because you have to know the ridges and hollers where the birds go, if you want to chase them."

Nick and his father and brother, Lucas, 13, have hunted the same land for many years and know it well. He says that is a factor in his success.

You also will need to know where the birds roost at night to sleep. The reason is, they fly down from the roost just after sunrise, and you need to already be sitting hidden nearby. Walk around the property and notice where sources of food are. If you know where the turkeys go to eat, you can be there waiting when they arrive. Turkeys love acorns, old corn or soybean fields, new spring grass, red clover, bugs and chufa (choo-fa).

How do you locate a turkey's bedroom? One way is to watch a flock fly up to roost in the evening. Another way is to go early in the morning and make the tom gobble while he is still up in the trees. Walk softly into the woods before the sun comes up. You (or your dad or mom) should make the sound of an owl and listen for a gobble. Tom turkeys answer owls and crows, and even thunder, with a gobble. Some hunters call it "shock gobble," which means that the owl hoots have surprised the turkey into making noise and showing its location.

Nick's 2006 hunt was successful, as you can see from his photo. He was sitting at the edge of a greenfield. The Baslers plant food plots with wheat and clover. His father was about 5 feet away, and they were using hen calls to lure any gobbler in the area. For a while the birds gobbled back at their hen calls.

"We had a hen decoy set out," Nick said. "There were a few gobbling birds in the area. They stopped gobbling after a while, so we were patient and stayed put. Finally a longbeard came into the field without making a sound. He saw the hen decoy and started gobbling and strutting toward it."

Nick waited until the bird was 15 yards away and took his shot. But it was a tricky shot. The turkey's head was in view between two trees that were close together. "I had to shoot between the trees. The bird dropped on the spot. After, I went to look at the trees and a few pellets were embedded in the bark," Nick said.

A tip from Nick: "As soon as a bird is in sight, I get my gun ready. Don't wait until he gets close and can see you raise your gun and aim."

How long can you sit without moving? How well can you sit still? Can you sit without squirming for five minutes? Seven? Can you sit with out scratching or shifting or rubbing your nose for TEN minutes?

Nick says it is "very important to sit still when a turkey is walking nearby. They have amazing eyesight."

Turkeys see in color, and they see far away. So deck yourself in camo from head to toe, including a mesh facemask and gloves. Get as comfortable as possible so that your legs don't go to sleep. If the birds see you squirming they'll go on alert. If the movement looks like a predator to them, they are likely to run or fly away.

Before opening day
Before opening day, do practice shooting your shotgun in a safe location. Hang a turkey target about 30 yards away. You want your gun to send the shotgun pellets at the target in a tight pattern around the bird's neck and head. This is the zone where most of the pellets need to hit. Don't aim at the turkey's body because the thick feathers will protect him.

Of course, we know you will buy a hunting license (and a turkey stamp if your state requires it) in time for opening day.

Now for the fun
There are several kinds of calls that hunters use to imitate a hen, since that's what will get a gobbler running toward you. One of the best ones for a beginning hunter is a slate call. You drag the tip of a wooden stick, called a "striker," across a slate's dry, smooth surface. The noise that the striker makes sounds a lot like a hen.

Practice making short, quick scrapes across the call's surface. Play with different rhythms. Pretty soon, you'll have the thrill of hearing a turkey gobble back to you.
Nick says he uses three different kinds of calls: a slate call, a box call and a mouth call. The box call is a hollow box with a handle that rubs across the rim of the box to make a loud yelping sound. A mouth call is a half-moon shaped piece of rubber that you put against the roof of your mouth. It takes the most practice to learn.

Want more information about turkey hunting tactics for the whole family? Go online towww.nwtf.org.

Happy hunting!