Before you head out to hunt wild turkeys, take a minute to review some of these suggestions for a successful and safe season.

In Spring and Fall Seasons:

• Do your homework before the season--scouting, practicing calling, patterning your gun, etc. The American wild turkey is the most difficult game in North America to hunt one on one. Give yourself all the advantages you can.
   
• Don't attempt an approach closer than 100 yards. A turkey's eyes, ears, and awareness are many times better than yours, enabling him to spot danger and escape before you have a chance to call to him. Also, you never know when there may be another hunter close by, who might mistake you for the turkey.
   
• Select a tree that is wider than your shoulders and body to sit against. This protects you from any hunter who may come in from behind you, mistaking you for a real turkey. This also conceals you from a bird that decides to circle you and come in from the rear.
   
• Don't hide so well that you can't see what is happening. Blinds are a good and productive tool for the turkey hunter, but when constructed so well that vision is obstructed, it is no longer a blind, it is a hiding place, as beneficial to the turkey as it is to you.
   
• Select a calling site that gives at least 40 yards vision in all directions. At 40 yards the bird is in shooting range. Anything over that is too far. At 40 yards you can identify your turkey and anyone who may approach you.
   
• Refrain from using a gobbler call. This call can sometimes be productive, but also very dangerous. In areas of high hunter concentrations, you will call many more hunters in to you than turkeys.
   
• Remember that being camouflaged doesn't make you completely invisible. Movement is the greatest enemy of the turkey hunter. A turkey can detect and react to movement 10 times faster than you. Even though camouflaged, you still are an unnatural form in the woods.
   
• Do not attempt to stalk a turkey. First, that gobbler or hen you are stalking may turn out to be another hunter. Second, your chances of success are poor. At best, you might get a glimpse of tail feathers.
   
• Do not jump and turn at a turkey approaching from behind. The chance of getting a good shot is very slim. Be patient, remain still, and let the bird pass.
   
• Assume another person is making every sound you hear. Many turkey hunters are very convincing callers. Always keep a safe distance. If a bird turns out to be another hunter, it could be very dangerous.
   
• Never wear any red, white, or blue clothes. These are the colors of the gobbler's head - the primary target of the turkey hunter.
   
• Never presume that what you hear is a turkey. Many turkey hunters are very good and convincing callers. Never try to get too close. If this bird turns out to be another hunter, it could be very dangerous.
   
• If another hunter is working a flock, do not interfere by calling or spooking the birds. Always give hunters the same respect that you would expect.
   
• It is illegal and unsportsmanlike to hunt turkeys over bait.
   
• In spring, turkeys with visible beards are legal targets. Some hens sport beards, however, the majority of hens do not. Well-informed turkey hunters know the difference - do your homework so you can tell the difference.
   
• Make sure the bird is within range of the shotgun and shoot at only the neck and head area. If the bird is close enough to kill with a body shot, you will have ruined some of the finest eating you will ever have.
   
• Don't allow the meat to spoil. Know how to take care of that bird and make plans ahead of time.
   
• Know the capabilities of your gun or bow and use it safely.
   
• Be positive of your target. After you pull the trigger, it is too late!
   

Fall Season:

• An important component to successful fall turkey hunting is locating birds. Scout for tracks, fresh droppings and feathers. Good areas for sighting flocks are in idle fields and woodlands and near logging trails.
   
• In Fall, turkeys spend most of their time feeding on insects and mast crops like acorns. Locate a good food source where birds are congregating and learn the habits of the birds.
   
• Listen for the sounds of birds scratching in the leaves or listen for their "flock talk" as they come and go to roost. Roosting flocks may produce a wide variety of "yelps", "clucks", "kee-kees" and "gobbles."
   

• Once a flock has been located, one hunting tactic is to scatter the flock. Approach the flock within 50 yards and flush the birds so they will scatter. A dispersed flock normally will begin to regroup within 15 to 30 minutes near the original point of separation.
   

• Quickly set up at this spot. Begin calling the turkeys by imitating the same sounds made by the birds as the flock begins to reassemble. Poults will give the kee-kee lost call mixed with yelps and clucks. Answer every turkey call heard with similar tone, pitch and rhythm. Using a decoy also may help fool birds into approaching your location.
   

• Successful hunters sit still and allow the birds to come to them. Being camouflaged does not make you invisible. Movement is the greatest enemy of the turkey hunter. A turkey can detect and react to movement 10 times faster than humans. Even though camouflaged, you still are an unnatural form in the woods.
   

• In fall, both hens and gobblers are legal targets. Make sure the bird is within range of the shotgun and shoot at the neck and head only.

Report all turkey poachers. Don't allow thieves to steal your wildlife resources. A toll-free Hotline number, 1-800-292-7800, is maintained by the Department of Natural Resources, Law Enforcement Division to handle these reports. To help protect local flocks, several conservation-oriented groups throughout the state provide a reward for evidence leading to the conviction of anyone illegally killing a wild turkey.