By Allen Jenkins

Springtime is just beginning to come around again, and that means turkey hunting. As far as we are concerned here at Lynch, this is the best time of the year. We want you to have fun and be successful this turkey season. No matter where you are hunting check the local game laws before each season. If anything is not 100 percent clear contact your local game and fish organization and ask them to help you. Here are a few things we do each spring to help us get ready for America's toughest game bird.

Every season scouting is a must. You do not want to get to your turkey woods on opening morning and find out your birds have changed roosting places. Just because they were there in the fall, does not necessarily mean they will be there in the spring. If you know where they are roosting, then walk that area looking for scratching, feeding or dusting areas. Turkeys will travel back each spring to the area they were born. If you are hunting new or unfamiliar property, learn your boundaries and major features like logging roads, fences and creeks. What you learn now can make a big difference.

Check your gear a couple of months before your season opener. Make sure everything you had in your turkey vest is there and works. Get out your favorite calls and play with them. If you are planning on hunting with a new call now is the time to practice and get comfortable with it. We have a list of extras we always carry that seem to get lost when we are hunting - face masks, gloves, chalk (non-oil based), strikers and inflatable decoys (where legal). These are some of the small things that have messed up more than one hunt for us. Keep your hunting simple!

Box calls have brought in more turkeys than any other call on the market, and we have been making them for 60 years. Our box calls are simple to use, and they only need a little chalk every so often to keep them sounding great. Start your calling off with some soft yelps, and if a bird gobbles you know that he heard you. There is no reason to get any louder. Sometimes less is better. The more you call the easier it is for a bird to pinpoint your location.

When you have located a bird, you need to set up fast. Get your back up to a tree were you can see out in front of. If it is too thick trim some of the vegetation with your clippers. If you do not have enough cover, clip some branches and put them around you. Clean the leaves and pine straw out from underneath your feet. This will keep you from making any extra noise if you have to adjust your legs. Make sure you are comfortable; you may have to wait awhile.

The last couple of year's decoys have proven themselves effective in the field. Check your state's rules and regulations before you hunt with any decoy. The best way we have found to distract a bird at close range is our Fool-Proof Inflatable Decoys (Feeding Hen, Alert Hen, Super Jake). They are lightweight, compact and set up quickly. They are simply the most realistic looking decoys we have ever seen.

We hope some of these tips help make you a better turkey hunter. If you get the opportunity introduce a young boy or girl to the outdoors. The future of all hunting rests in the hands of our young people.