Tracy Groves on the “30-day Option” for Taking Turkeys

Author’s note: Tracy Groves of Sykesville, Maryland is an avid turkey hunter, a member of Mossy Oak’s Pro Staff (www.mossyoak.com) and particularly enjoys hunting public lands, something many turkey hunters find hard to do. The host of the Real Deal TV show on the Sportsman’s Channel for three years, he recently developed a camp called Heartwood Outdoors (http://heartwoodoutdoors.com) to take youngsters from single-parent families hunting to teach them outdoor skills and to work with special-needs children.

Most turkey hunters start scouting for turkeys a week or two before the season begins, but I start 30 days before the season. I’m looking for the turkeys that are the farthest from the parking lot or any road. Those turkeys are the ones I plan to hunt on opening morning.

Very few turkey hunters today are willing to walk as far as I think you need to walk to take a mature gobbler on the opening day of turkey season. On the opening week of turkey season, I’ll walk many miles before daylight. I don’t use a flashlight, and I don’t have to use a GPS, because I know the woods so well. I can leave my vehicle long before daylight and reach the spot I want to hunt without any lights or navigation system. I don’t use flashlights, since they’ll let other hunters know where I’m going, and where I’m hunting. Most of the time, I’ll walk in 45 minutes to an hour before first light to get to a turkey that I believe other hunters haven’t found yet.

If you’re hunting an area you don’t know well, then do carry a handheld GPS or compass. Any time I go into a new region or a new state where I’ve never hunted before, I’ll have a GPS and a compass with me to use for navigation.

All you have to do to take a mature gobbler on public lands is to do the things that other hunters don’t do. Most public-land hunters…

don’t start scouting 30 days before turkey season;
won’t call softly;
won’t sit patiently for two to three hours;
won’t learn which direction a gobbler flies from a tree as he leaves the roost;
don’t find the water that turkey’s going to;
won’t find a route they can take to the place they want to set up, so they won’t spook the turkey;
aren’t willing to walk a mile or two in the dark to get to a turkey before daylight;
won’t scout for other turkey hunters and where they’re hunting;
won’t stay in their stands after a gobbler has left their area with other turkeys;
aren’t willing to hunt a silent gobbler, although 70 percent of the turkeys I take on public lands come in silently; and
won’t leave their locator calls at home, especially their owl hooters, and won’t leave their decoys at home, even though leaving decoys at home is the safest way to hunt on public lands.

We live in the get-it-done-quickly society. We believe that if we can’t take a turkey within the first hour or two of daylight, we just need to head on to the house and come back another day. But, I’ve learned that soft calling, scouting, and patience pay off with more gobblers each season for me than any other tactics I can use.

John E. Phillips

John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.

Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.

The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.

Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.

While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.

Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.

EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.

EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.

WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."