A very popular TV show when I was growing up was Michigan Outdoors, which was hosted by the late Mort Neff and aired every Thursday night. I looked forward to watching it each week because Mort Neff was always covering and promoting Michigan’s fantastic outdoor opportunities. A topic he kept tabs on was the reintroduction of wild turkeys (from Pennsylvania) to the Northern Lower Peninsula during the mid-1950’s. Limited Spring turkey hunts began in 1965 and getting a “gobbler tag” was done by applying through the mail to a special drawing. This was very similar to applying for a very limited Michigan elk tag today.
I was fresh out of high school when Mort Neff announced that a special 1968 spring turkey hunt was going to take place involving some additional areas in northern Michigan which would allow for a few more hunters. How to apply was thoroughly described and I decided to jot down the information and apply, knowing I probably didn’t stand a chance when considering the odds of drawing a revered Michigan turkey tag (it “only” took me 36 years of regularly applying to eventually get a Michigan elk tag in 2020).
Author: “Nothing beats walking out of the woods with a spring gobbler over your shoulder!”
Well, folks, I must admit I was a bit surprised when a large manila envelope arrived in the mail during late February letting me know I was one of 30 hunters who had been successfully drawn to turkey hunt in the Baldwin area during the last week in April. Included was a map of the allowed hunting area, a bright red metal “leg tag” and a list of the rules which stated that the hunt time for bearded turkeys only, was from daybreak until 1:00pm each day, and that only shotguns using birdshot (no slugs or buckshot allowed) could be used. An additional “tip” sheet started out by saying turkeys have excellent eyesight and are NOT color blind, and gave a description of a wild turkey gobbler, recommended using turkey hen calls to lure gobblers into shotgun range and to focus on performing a headshot to effectively put a large and tenacious bird down for the count.
The first thing on my pre-hunt to-do list was to get a turkey call, and I didn’t know a lick about turkey calling. I headed for the Albee Hardware store in Cass City and discovered that, due a lack of demand, turkey calls weren’t stocked on the shelf and had to be special ordered. Never having ordered one before, Mr. Albee eagerly assisted me in searching through a couple catalogs where we discovered limited offerings as well. We opted for one called a “scratch-box”, which appeared easy to operate.
When the call arrived in the mail a week later, it came with a small sheet of paper describing how to prepare it (with proper chalk) and how to duplicate turkey-hen-calls to lure in an amorous gobbler. I did my practicing, but having nothing to go by, I wasn’t sure how authentic my “clucks, purrs and yelps” were. Applying it in the field would be the key evidence, and I was eager to try it with some wild turkeys around.
Pan calls can do a fantastic job and are easy to use, and a variety of tones can be achieved on the same pan call by simply switching the wooden striker.
My shotgun was my grandfather’s vintage 12 ga Browning Model 1900 “Auto-Five”, and I opted for “high brass” number twos (which were legal back then) to handle a large bird, headshot or otherwise, and I had camouflage coveralls with the old (World War II) “leopard frog” print that I used for fall bowhunting, which I was sure would work in the springtime woods. My “hunting vehicle” was my 1959 Rambler which offered a fold-down front seat which, when joined with the back seat, formed a comfortable bed. Since I was hunting all alone, and with my solo-hunt being kept on the economic side, all that was required was a sleeping bag, and I’d spend the nights right where I planned to hunt in the morning. Meals entailed simple-to-use canned goods, and I had a single-burner Sterno Stove (not to mention a campfire) to heat anything up. While my setup was on the spartan side, it was very simple to use, comfortable and mobile as you can get if changing locations was required. Yep, folks, I was more than ready to experience my first ever spring turkey hunt!
Since I had a new job, I would only be able to hunt the first two days of my seven-day (Saturday – Friday) hunt, I scouted my hunt area the weekend before, and figured out right where I would camp and hunt. The isolated site was surrounded by wooded hills and featured a nearby small kettle lake I could fish for bluegills during my afternoon downtime. There were also distinct turkey tracks in the sandy access trail, and a few turkey feathers were evident in a spot used for “dusting”. It looked like an ideal hunting location, and what I lacked in any turkey hunting skills, I sure made up for it with excited optimism!
I thoroughly enjoyed my selected camping and hunting location and had quite the nighttime serenade provided by frogs in the kettle lake and an amazing number of coyotes communicating with each other across the hilltops, with everything in the woods being lit up by a very bright full moon. Yep, folks, with everything which also included all the multiple scents of the woods performing a springtime awakening, I slept like a log.
Daybreak found me on a hilltop using my new scratch-box call to send out some long-reaching yelps, and I received some gobbler responses, but nothing ever happened after that. I was left in a quandary as to whether I was calling too much, or not enough, and whether I was using the right call at the right time. I did spot what I was sure were out-of-range gobblers on occasion due to brighter head colors, but they either held fast or simply moved off and disappeared. I was back in camp by quitting time, and I went to the kettle lake with my flyrod and caught the largest bluegill I’ve ever seen before or since. I thought at first, I had a decent bass at the end of the line but soon realized I had landed a possible record. Well, folks, all I can say is that it was delicious fried over the campfire with freshly picked morels for supper!
This mature gobbler was brought in from a half mile away using a far reaching box call (right) and then a finishing touch by using one hand with a Quaker Boy Easy Yelper (left) while shouldering the shotgun.
The same hunting results would happen on my second, final morning, but I did manage to call in one of the other turkey hunters who came carefully stalking up the hill toward the sound of my yelping. When he was close enough, I let out a whistle to let him know I was a fellow hunter and not a turkey. He was a very pleasant older gent with gray hair, and it was easy to see he didn’t know much more about turkey hunting than me.
I returned home without even firing a shot but wasn’t disappointed a bit. In fact, I had become thoroughly addicted to hunting a unique game bird in an amazing springtime atmosphere and planned to strive to do it right.
Time does fly, and eventually I would.
than 40 years and has had his weekly radio show, “Tom Lounsbury
Outdoors” for more than 20 years. Tom grew up on a farm in
Michigan’s Thumb, and it is where his first outdoor adventures began
as a kid accompanying visiting pheasant hunters into the field during
the “pheasant hunting heyday” of the 1950’s and 1960’s. It is a passion
he still has to this day and being the 4 th generation to own the family
farm, he has put most of it into conservation programs with a focus on
wild pheasants, which in turn helps all wildlife.
Being an outdoor communicator, Tom appreciates all the outdoor
adventures he experiences in different places, and especially the
people he meets in which to share them.
- 1968 – The year my annual spring turkey hunting adventures began - March 23, 2025
- Trophy Wild Turkey Hunting - March 21, 2025
- Becoming High on the Hog - March 6, 2025