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The spring mornings will soon be punctuated by the gobbles of turkeys across our region. The normally wary bird throws caution to the wind and gobbles in his roosting tree and on the ground to prove to his harem he is the toughest turkey on the block. Following these gobbles are a host of hunters chasing on foot or sitting in blinds to take a turkey. This weekend, we set out blinds in preparation for turkey season. 

 

The first step in setting up a blind is choosing the right spot. Throughout the year, intelligence gained from time in a deer stand and game cameras guide our location. Unfortunately, it seems that the best way to predict where a turkey will not be is to set a blind in that area. No matter how many times they pass the blind eleven months of the year, in April they will change their paths. 

 

After you choose the best spot for your blind, the next step involves prepping the area for the structure. Make sure that you are not setting up next to a dead tree or it will probably fall on the blind, injure you, and ruin your blind. I’ve never been injured, but I now own one less blind this season. 

 

Next, you remove all sticks and leaves with a rake. Making sure the blind has a dirt floor has two purposes. Feet and dry leaves will make enough noise to scare a turkey over the Eastern Continental divide. The second reason is that it is easier to ensure your blind doesn’t have snakes in the pre-dawn darkness. If you see a 4-foot-long stick when you open one of my blinds, it’s best to switch spots that morning. 

 

Preparing a turkey blind is a relatively easy process these days. Most portable blinds pop open. It’s wise to keep children and small adults out of the way when these are erected as they may have enough power to knock someone into the nearest mud puddle. 

 

The trick to setting the blind up quickly is to do an uncommon thing: read the instructions that come in the package. I, I mean a friend of mine, may have had to drive back into cell phone range to watch a video on assembly one afternoon. 

 

Once a turkey spot is ready, all you have to do is wait for opening day. On the walk into the blind, hopefully, you will find it as you left it without a tree falling on it or a snake inside. As you get settled in, your feet won’t make noise as the sun peaks over the horizon and the gobbles start. When the gobbles get farther away, you will have a well-assembled blind that you can use to contemplate why you set it up in the wrong place.