WIND, FRIEND AND FOE!
Sitting on a hillside in Palo Pinto County last week on the Dale River Ranch, I overlooked a little valley that led down to a creek that joined the Brazos a half mile or so to the north. My goal was to use my trusty old box call to entice a gobbler out of the heavy cover. On my way driving into the ranch, I stopped at a low water crossing to change into my camo and when I shut the truck door, I heard several gobblers sounding off closeby. The birds were sticking in extremely tight cover and I wondered why. Normally during the early portion of the breeding season, they are strutting around and gobbling in relatively open country, hoping to attract a receptive hen. Had they just come off the roost? Probably not, there were no big roost trees nearby, just a lot of thick junipers and low growing brush common to the area.