There is much to be said for going it alone. You choose your spot, and if the birds head the opposite direction, the hunter gets moving while trying to get ahead of them without being seen.

It's not easy, but it's much easier for one man than for two or three. Me and two other people tend to get in each other's way. We wind up making too much noise, and all too often, the other hunter is a talkative type who tries to fill the long minutes of silence with his voice.

Turkey hunting, ideally, is a one-man game.

He wants to idle away slow time by talking. I don't want them to talk to me, and don't want to listen to stories of past hunts, good or bad, what he expects from this hunt or answer turkey-hunting questions. I demand silence so I can hear gobblers near or far away.

My idle time is spent trying my best to get people into a bird. Sometimes it just doesn't work, and other times, the gobbler comes to the call like I had a rope tied to his neck

Hunting alone pleases me. I go where I want, make decisions when they become necessary to make, and I don't have to worry about someone else and their feelings.

One might say it's a selfish attitude, but who cares? It's my hunt, it's my time, and if I choose to hunt alone, I can and will. It's not a case of my being antisocial; it's more a case of knowing that one turkey hunter is far more effective at his sport that two or three people.

The odds often are much improved for the solitary hunter. The only reason I take another person out for wild turkeys is to enjoy watching them shoot their first gobbler. I find that to be a real hoot.

I tell them right up front. To me, this turkey hunting is serious business. Don't try to talk to me when I'm calling, listening, and don't do anything but what I tell you to do.

I tell people that I have bad vision, and count on them to help me spot an incoming or circling bird. No words need to be spoken. A nudge with an elbow gets my attention, and the movement of one finger gives me the direction to the bird. Often I will spot birds first, but it doesn't always happen in a wooded situation.

Follow my instructions and don't talk to me. Whisper!

My instructions to them are simple. Sit still, don't move any part of your body except your eyes, sit with your back to a tree, pull your knees up, rest the shotgun against your shoulder and across your knees with your heels to your butt, and listen to what I whisper to you. If you can't whisper soft, don't whisper at all. I know people whose whisper can be heard by a turkey 200 yards away.

I tell them that as the birds approach us or my decoys that they cannot move, even if they have the mother of all charley horses. Sit still, don't move, don't make a sound, grit your teeth and wait for the gobbler to move directly in front of the shotgun at 20 to 35 yards.

A barely audible putt is often made when the gobbler is in position. The sound makes them stop, and their head goes up. Be ready, and shoot that gobbler at the junction of the head and neck. They are warned to keep their cheek down on the shotgun stock, and don't lift their head when they pull the trigger or the shot will go high and miss the bird.

There will be plenty of time to palaver and talk once we get out of the area. Often other turkey will be with the gobbler, including other gobblers. Shoot the bird, sit still and don't move, and let the birds wander off on their own.

Doing it this way doesn't alert them to humans in their midst. A shot could be confused with thunder, which turkeys hear all the time. It's the motion and noise of a moving hunter that jumps out from the front of a tree that can send the birds flying or running into the next township.

Head-to-head turkey wrestling.

Hunting alone removes all of those potential problems. It's one man, going one-up with a gobbler, and without undue consideration for anyone else. It's making decisions, and living with them whether they are right or wrong.

I've made any number of mistakes in my turkey hunting career, and if another hunter tells you they never make a mistake, forget about that conversation. Mistakes made should be lessons learned, and those who won't admit to making a turkey-hunting mistake sometime in the past, apparently are much better hunters than me.

The case has been made for hunting alone, and although I take hunters every year, I haven't figured out how to hunt error-free yet. Maybe I should hire me a guide and learn something new.

But I won't because I enjoy the quiet solitude. It's what keeps me focused and willing to put up with too little sleep.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors