Tracy Groves: Get into the Woods Early to Take a Turkey
John E. Phillips 03.26.13
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.
I like to find the turkeys to hunt on public lands before the season begins. I go into the woods at first light and get to the highest point I can find. Then I listen for turkeys to gobble and use my compass to determine the direction from which the gobbling is coming. When daylight appears and the turkeys shut up, I walk in the direction from which I’ve heard the turkeys gobble and look for the nearest water to that spot.
Early in the morning, the first thing a turkey is thinking about is getting a drink of water. Once I find the direction the turkey will be coming from, and I know where the water is, I next attempt to determine the direction I need to come from to get ahead of the turkeys before they reach the watering hole. Most turkey hunters overlook several steps when they’re scouting, primarily by not pinpointing the direction from which the turkey is gobbling. They also often don’t determine which direction the turkey will go in once he flies down from his roost tree, and consequently which direction the hunter needs to move in to get ahead of that tom. One of the biggest mistakes most turkey hunters make is they try to get too close to gobblers still on the roost.
One other caution–don’t use decoys on public lands. Most turkey hunters don’t have patience, so instead of waiting on a turkey to come to them, they want to try and sneak up on a gobbler and shoot him. Therefore, if you have a decoy sitting out in front of you on public land, you may be in harm’s way. For this reason, I don’t use a decoy on public ground.
If I’m going to make a mistake on pubic lands, I’m going to make the mistake of being too cautious. I’m in the woods trying to sound like a turkey. I’ve got Mossy Oak camouflage on, so I’m invisible. The very last thing I want to do is put a decoy out in front of me that looks like a turkey to give those hunters walking around something to shoot at. Although I get as far away from other hunters as I can, the reason public lands have their name is because hunters can hunt anywhere they want to on that land. Not all hunters are skilled at looking for a gobbler. Even if you have a hen decoy in front of you, and there’s a chest-high stick in front of that decoy, a hunter still may mistake that hen decoy for a gobbler. So, I just don’t use decoys on public land.
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."
