Another pre-season topic for discussion (mostly for the newer hunters among us):
We tend to discuss turkey calls and calling a great deal. My impression is that some folks might begin to think that calling ability is THE key to turkey hunting success. Now, I tend to agree that the more realistic somebody's calling is, the better. I have concluded over the decades, however, that calling ability is secondary to what we generally classify as "woodsmanship".
To me, that term can best be summed up as knowing what to "say" to a turkey, when to say it, why you are saying it, and where to say it from. Unfortunately for most of us, learning how to pull that off on a somewhat regular basis often requires a learning curve that is only accomplished with significant time spent in the turkey woods...and generally with quite a few failures front-loaded onto that learning curve.
Quite honestly, learning to make all of the sounds a turkey makes with adequate realism with the tools available today is the easy part. That other element of experience and woodsmanship? ...Not so much.
