By Mike Roche

The 2025 Massachusetts spring turkey season opened Monday, one-half hour before sunrise, which was 5:47 a.m.

This turkey hunter had had a “warmup” when he traveled to Kansas for that state’s turkey opener on April 15. Eastern Kansas is not flat farmland, but agricultural land, not unlike the land along the Connecticut River. It was an enjoyable trip and the hunting was fun, but there was never a chance to really work a gobbling tom turkey. These not-young bones have been bouncing and sometimes dragging themselves out of bed at 4 a.m. for a lot of years now during spring turkey hunting and the fire really does not always burn as hot as it once did.

Turkey hunting is not for the fainthearted and requires specialized gear and lots of commitment. After returning from Kansas, there were a lot of things to be dealt with, and so, no early morning trips to owl hoot and crow call to locate roosting gobblers were undertaken. A few rides over dirt roads and a couple visits with landowners was the extent of my scouting.

All I really wanted was to be able to hunt where there would be no other hunters. Not that I am antisocial, but turkey hunting is safest and most productive when there are no other hunters close by. If there is a vehicle there or if another hunter is encountered, that is my cue to go somewhere else.

The opening morning pre-dawn sky was clear and the temperature mild. My chosen spot has been good for me in the past and a pasture was my station while listening for a gobbler to respond to my owl hoots. Time passed and two other owls hooted, but it was not until after shooting time, a half hour before sunrise, that a faint distant gobble was heard.

After walking a few hundred yards in that direction it became clear that this bird was not only a long way away but also well off the property that I had permission to hunt on. After investing over an hour with no gobbles, it was time for Plan B.

That meant returning to the truck and driving a couple miles. That new destination was a tract of public land where a nice tom had been observed last week. It was also adjacent to a property which has been hunted during turkey season regularly for several years and generally has turkeys. My plan was to go to the location where the tom had been observed mid-morning and hope that it was part of his routine.

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After leaving the Silverado, a few yelps from my Lynch World Champion box call were not answered. Lynch calls have served me well for decades and they are, in my opinion, the most reliable call made. The hand calls are easy to operate and produce every sound that a turkey makes, including a gobble. The box call sound carries very well, is a great locator and, for my money, is the best call to provoke a gobble.

When nothing happened, my plan was to work my way up towards an oak ridge that abuts a small open field about a half mile away. My slow walk, with frequent stops to call, brought me to some fresh and clear “scratchings.” These are places where turkeys have turned over leaves looking for seeds, insects or anything to eat. My read was that more than one hen had passed this way earlier in the morning after flying down from the roost.

At that point, my cell phone and the onX Hunt app came into play. The app is one of the most useful tool any hunter can use and it really can aid a turkey hunter. onX Hunt contains detailed maps. The maps are aerial land maps and show the terrain, but also identify the property owner so you can be sure of where you are. You also can mark your route and save it, but my best utilization to plan my hunts. In this case, it showed me that the spot with oaks near the field was just over the ridge and my guess was that was where the turkeys were headed.

Upon arriving at my destination, an Avian-X hen decoy was set out and a comfortable oak was my backrest. The slate call, box call and Vortex laser rangefinder were placed beside me. Thirty minutes would be invested in soft yelps to see what might be around. After only a gray squirrel appeared in that time, the decoy was picked up and put in the game vest in preparation for relocating.

Just then, a gobble boomed from the spruces 100 yards away and the decoy was reset. This is the part that makes turkey hunting fun for me. Some soft calls on a raspy diaphragm mouth call elicited another gobble and the game was on! Patience is the key and waiting is not easy for me. Long, silent stretches with the gobbles and sometimes double gobbles not getting any closer. Then, after a five-minute silent spell, the gobble was closer!

Finally, there was a glimpse of something and there was not one, but two gobblers coming slowly towards the stone wall which was the changeover from the spruce habitat to the oak side hill. The lead bird was displaying and gobbling to attract what he thought was a hen and it was time to settle down and focus. It was perfect, as the gobbler’s head was above the stone wall and well in range.

The TruGlo 4X turkey scope had served me well. The reticle serves as a range-finder. The Winchester SuperX4 was ready and a $15 Federal TSS #7 turkey load did its job. The second tom clucked and flew up into an oak and then sailed away. The fun was over and the work began as the gobbler, which later weighed 21 pounds on the scale and sported a 10-inch beard and over inch-long spurs, was placed in the game bag to be lugged back to the Silverado. My watch read 7:57. It was a beautiful morning!

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.