Editor’s Note: The game of turkey hunting is played in the gobbler’s backyard and on his terms. The strategies required to bag a tom turkey often may make war games look simple. The hunters who have amassed the most techniques, encountered the most turkeys and know what to do when the turkey doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do, will come home with bronze barons for dinner more often than other hunters. By taking this turkey-hunting quiz and learning what to do to bag turkeys, you can sharpen the skills you’ll need in the woods when you play the game with the wisest wizards in the woods. (See the correct answer to each question at the end of each day).

Question No. 12: In recent years, what did most turkey hunters believe was the No. 1 call to use to get a turkey to come in quickly to the hunter?

a) cackling.

b) purring.

c) cutting.

d) soft yelping.

Question No. 13: If you bag a turkey, and you want to have him mounted, field dress the bird immediately.

a) true.

b) false.

Question No. 14: What’s the easiest call for beginning turkey hunters to use to call a turkey to within gun range?

a) the slate call.

b) the diaphragm call.

c) the box call.

d) the pushbutton call.

Question No. 15: Two-man turkey hunting is the most-productive way to bag a gobbler.

a) true.

b) false.

Question No. 16: To have an efficient shotgun for turkey hunting, you must have a barrel at least 30-inches long.

a) true.

b) false.

ANSWERS:

Answer to Question No. 12: (c) cutting. Most hunters believe that the exciting clucks given in rapid succession known as cutting seem to arouse a gobbler quicker and cause him to come in to their blinds faster than any other type of calling. This is not to say that cutting is always the best call to use to draw a turkey in faster, but many experienced hunters have found that cutting is usually the most-deadly call they utilize. However, as you know, no call works every time.

Answer to Question No. 13: (b) false. If you plan to have the gobbler mounted, get the whole bird refrigerated or frozen and taken to your taxidermist as soon as possible.

Answer to Question No. 14: (d) the pushbutton call. All that’s required to call a turkey with a pushbutton call is for the hunter to push a small wooden button back and forth. These box-type calls will give off an effective yelp and cluck and will make almost any other sound that the wild turkey gives. It requires little or no skill in calling to work effectively.

Answer to Question No. 15: (b) false. Team hunting often will allow sportsmen to take turkeys that they may be unable to bag using any other method. Two hunters on a tom often will produce twice as much thinking, twice as much calling and twice as many tactics to take one, smart, ole bird.

Answer to Question No. 16: (b) false. Today’s turkey hunter is opting for a shorter barrel more than ever before. The shorter barrel, if patterned with the correct shells, can hold a tight pattern, especially with a turkey choke tube and requires less movement to aim than a longer barrel. The shorter-barreled shotgun also is easier to carry, especially when having to go through thick cover to get close to a turkey.

To learn more about hunting turkeys successfully, visit John E. Phillips’ Amazon book page at https://www.amazon.com/John-E.-Phillips/e/B001HP7K6O. For even more information from one of the top turkey hunters and callers, go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CFP9V2Q/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i2
to see the book, “How to Hunt Turkeys with World Champion Preston Pittman,” available in Kindle, print and Audible. You may have to copy and paste this link into your browser. (When you click on the book, notice on the left where Amazon says you can read and hear 10% of the book for free). On the right side of the page and below the offer for a free Audible trial, you can click on Buy the Audible book. You also can order “The 10 Sins of Turkey Hunting with Preston Pittman,” available in Kindle at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D7NQFS8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i10

Tomorrow: You Must Be Prepared When a Turkey Comes