Spring Turkey Hunting in NY 

It's 5:30 am on opening day. You’re sitting in a blind in a field that you have scouted in advance, where several Toms have courted hens within shotgun range of your position for the past few weeks. A barred owl hoots and you hear a faint gobble. So you try an owl call and two or three Toms respond. They are in the trees just 80 yards from your position. You can hear some hen yelps, but fortunately they are roosted on the other side of the field. The toms gobble back to some crows several more times. Its 5:55 am now and the three toms sound more muffled and further away. They are on the ground. You make a few low yelps followed by a fly-down cackle. The toms double gobble. 

You make a few more mating yelps and the toms respond loudly; they are coming towards the field! The Toms are all puffed up as they slowly make their way towards your decoy set up. It seems like an eternity but the biggest tom is now just 25 yards from the blind. You raise your gun slowly, then take aim. Boom! It is 6:30 am and you have taken your first Tom turkey; 22 lbs, 10” beard, and 1¼” spurs. You look across the field and can see the Catskill Mts. in the distance. It is indeed a great morning to be hunting in New York State's Hudson Valley.

 In the Hudson Valley, you will find a wide diversity of terrain including wooded areas, large fields, and mild to steep sloping ground.