Many western hunters live for the month of September. It’s a magical time of year when bull elk shed the velvet from their antlers, come out of the cool, dark timber, and start rutting. Bugling bulls battle for seniority and the right to pass on their genetics to the next generation. Cows collect around these dominant bulls, who become hostile when competing bulls try to woo a member of their harem.
This special month creates incredible opportunities for an elk hunter to have close encounters with big, stinky, bugling bulls in an effort to fill their tag, freezer, and trophy room. Then, for the other eleven months out of the year, these elk nuts walk around half dazed, pining for that special September experience.
Well, elk hunters, pine no more. Or at least not during your state’s spring turkey season. Turkey populations are growing throughout the United States thanks to conservation efforts by the National Wild Turkey Federation and other great organizations. Where there’s a turkey population, there are gobbling toms in the spring, looking to build their flock of hens, just like a bull elk tries to build his herd of cows.
The similarities are striking actually. For example, what’s the easiest bull elk to kill? It’s definitely not the herd bull. He has his herd of cows, each of whom double as sentries to spot approaching hunters. He’s also more protective of his herd, abiding by the “a bird in hand is worth two in the bush” axiom. No, the easier bull to kill is the satellite. He’s looking for cows, and when you as an elk hunter paint the picture that you are a hot cow elk, or that you’re a bull elk working a hot cow, the satellite bull is going to want in on the action. And guess what? The same can be said of a gobbler. Every turkey hunter’s dream is to find a gobbler roosting first thing in the morning by himself (rather than with a flock of hens). That way, when you start soft yelping, then work in a fly down cackle, that lonely tom is going to head your way in a hurry.
Here’s another. Ask any elk hunter what his or her favorite situation is—nine times out of ten it will be when there’s a bull elk who’s fired up, raking his antlers, and just about ready to come in looking for a fight. Gobblers get the same way. The gobble is their bugle, and when you want to challenge a big tom, you rip off a gobble. That same rush of working up a bull elk can be had by challenging a gobbler to come on over and fight.
Indeed, turkeys, just like elk, have a pecking order and that herd animal curiosity. They know the other turkeys in the area. And when you introduce a new hen or tom, their curiosity gets piqued. Elk are the same. They’re herd animals, and the seasoned elk hunter knows that at some point, that curiosity is going to bring an elk in if he or she is patient enough.
These mating and herd animal instincts make for an incredibly exciting hunting experience! If you’re an elk nut, addicted to September hunting, try your hand at turkey hunting. Into gobblers but never given elk hunting a go? Well, you should! And when you do, check out the mobile apps developed by Got Game Technologies for hunting elk and turkeys, called ElkNut and Turkey Tech respectively. Both apps feature world renowned experts who break down the language of these animals, teach you how to call, what each call means, and when to use them.
Long story short, we love hunting. And the more we hunt, the happier we’ll be, the better will be our conservation efforts for these animals, and the more hunters we’ll introduce to the industry. For all of these reasons, expand your hunting horizon by giving turkey hunting a go this spring!
This blog post was written by Tayler Tibbitts, owner of Got Game Technologies, a mobile app development company. You can learn more about Tayler, Got Game Tech, and his company’s mobile apps at gotgametech.com, on Instagram @gotgametech, or Facebook at facebook.com/gotgametech.
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