Talkin’ about turkey tales

John Jefferson is a lifelong outdoorsman, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. hunting and fishing regulations coordinator and director, 20-year editor of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual, author of two hunting books, and recipient of numerous awards for writing and photography.

By now, most turkey hunters have taken a tom or two. Or more. The bag limit in the North Zone is four gobblers. It closes on May 11. Check the Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual for the county you are hunting in.

Regardless of how many they’ve shot, most also have a story to tell.

My turkey hunting buddy, Tom Granberry, had an interesting one. He even videoed the scene for proof.

Calling Granberry a turkey hunter is an understatement.

He never seems to get enough. A case in point is the year we both applied for the turkey hunt on the NRA’s Whittington Area near Raton, New Mexico. Luckily, I was drawn for the hunt; Tom was not. But he offered to accompany me as my one permitted nonhunting companion and call turkeys for me.

Tom even has a dresser drawer full of “slate-scratchers.”

In case you are unfamiliar with turkey hunting paraphernalia, there are three primary calls used by turkey hunters: box calls, latex mouth calls, and glass slate calls and a striker — that I called a “scratcher” above. A fourth call is a crow call, which can be used to locate a gobbler at a greater distance.

A turkey hunting guide for Wildlife Systems carried his slate-strikers in his boot for a “quick draw” when needed and since it’s a safe place for avoiding breakage of the strikers’ stems. Each one can have a different sound on the glass slate. COURTESY/John Jefferson

But that’s just one more item to tote. When Granberry called for me, he used all four. But he wasn’t carrying a shotgun and a pound or more of shotgun shells! To him, calling turkeys is a sport all unto itself. And he’s one of the best.

Box calls are easier to use, and mouth calls require the most training. I prefer a slate.

Tom called in a turkey hen, according to his video. That’s not the way it’s supposed to work. The calls are supposed to imitate a hen seeking a mate. Do you think … Naw, I don’t think that was it.

More likely, the hen was the dominant hen in the flock and resented another hen interfering with her turkey boyfriend. Whichever, the real hen attacked the decoy hen, pecking it all over its head and eventually knocking it over. She was certainly the “Mad Alice” of that part of the woods. But it made a good story!

On a hunt with Wildlife Systems near Water Valley, a married couple was hunting with us, and had another tale. The man and his wife were hunting from a blind together. As they called turkeys, her husband felt something and looked down. A large rattlesnake was just crossing over his boot. Sensing that a sudden movement might cause the snake to strike, he held his breath and watched the rattler amble past them. When it reached the wall, it turned around and headed back. Fearing he couldn’t hold still for a reprise of the first contact, he shot the snake with his 12-gauge just before it got back to his boot — at close range, in the enclosed blind!

He told us the story at supper, but seemed to have trouble hearing.

Is it any wonder?