Each spring for more years than I would dare to admit, I have been chasing spring peabrain critters around Western New York wood lots. Hunting spring turkeys is exciting, exhausting, thrilling, frustrating, exhilarating and challenging, which you all understand.

There are many things that make spring gobbler hunting all the above, but probably the one thing that messes up more “prefect” hunts is the female of the species. If one would take an informal survey — which I have done — the one thing that has ruined more hunts is hens.

Hens have ruined more spring gobbler hunts than any other single situation in the woods. I wish I had a nickel for every time a kill shot was not taken because of a hen.

This past spring, for example, we were set up in a field edge listening to the woods come alive with sound of gobblers waking up in treetops. We had done our research, knew where birds were roosting, travel patterns, food sources and strutting zones. I tucked a pop-up blind just inside the woodline overlooking a freshly plowed field.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, birds started to hit the ground and we could hear two gobblers heading our way. Of course, years of experiencing the same thing led me to whispering to my new hunter to settle down because the hens will hit the field first. As he released his white-knuckle grip on the forearm of his 12-gauge, he settled back to watch the show.

When the first of five hens hit the field feeding, the show we had stood in line for since 4 a.m. was about to start. The first redhead hit the field with his stubby beard and followed two grayhead into the hard woods across from our set-up.

The next yelp we heard was more mature and popped out within a few yards of ambush. She fed her way across the field, only to be met with thunderous gobble, that set neck hairs to attention. He literally ran the 75 yards to his new girlfriend only to be met with another mature silent longbeard from the west strutting his way to the hen. As the two gobblers did their strut-off just feet apart, the hen paid little attention and worked her way down the field edge away from her would-be suitors.

With our attention focused on a good example of the spring mating ritual of the eastern wild turkey, a second hen let off a series of yelps to the east of our location. Cautiously, we entered the field not making another sound. It wasn’t long before the gobbler gave up on his first hen and took off after the quiet grayhead. This set the mature redhead off after the loudmouth hen down the field edge.

During this particular hunt, I had called a little, but, again, experience has taught me that no matter what I did, the real hens were going to be able to win the calling battle. As the last bird walked away to complete their annual mating right, I turn to my hunter and through his camo mask could see a new turkey hunter born.

We quietly discussed just what unfolded in front of us and I assured him that we were in the right spot and with little work and a lot of luck maybe we could get one of those longbeards into range.

Each spring many of us have at least one loudmouth hen that messes up your hunt. Over the seasons, I can’t remember the last time I won the calling battle with a live hen. Now I have been able to keep her interested enough to keep her in range and have a longbeard come into her, but actually calling a mature gobbler away from a live hen is all but impossible. There is only one sure way of stopping this from happening — by fall turkey hunting and giving that hen a face full of No. 5s before putting her on your Thanksgiving table.

For most of us, fall hunting means chasing whitetail deer and the thought of hunting other species is only a passing one that creeps into our mind during a long sit on a stand.

Why do turkey hunters make the trip to the western part of the New York state in the fall? I’ll give you three reasons: Chautauqua, Allegany and Cattaraugus counties.

Successful fall turkey hunters need two things: lots of ground to hunt — with tens of thousands of acres of public hunting ground in the three-county region — and plenty of turkeys — our part of the Empire State is prime for turkey hunters.

Wild turkeys are basically flock-oriented in the fall. Flocks of 20-plus birds are not uncommon in heavily populated areas. Family units start “flocking-up” in early fall. Turkeys will flock-up each fall in preparation of the upcoming winter months. Over the centuries, the wild turkey has discovered that several sets of eyes are better than one set.

While birds flocking-up makes them easier to find, it doesn’t make them easier to hunt. Flocks will work together to protect, feed, travel and roost together.

The larger flocks are primarily made up of hens, hennies and jakes. Smaller flocks of mature gobblers will stay away from the larger flock until winter sets in.

For this reason and conservation purposes, Empire State hunters are able to harvest either one male or female of the species during the fall. The fall season for Chautauqua County for the 2018 season runs from Oct. 20 until Nov. 2, with either a hen or gobbler allowed.

While the law allows for either or to be taken, it’s widely accepted that the fall season is used help to keep the hen population in check, which is also a good chance at payback to the loudmouth hens.

There are several things fall hunters need to have for turkey hunting, but the most important is a good habitat. Acorns, beech nuts and berries, such as wild grapes, are important fall and winter food sources for wild turkeys. When these foods are scarce, turkeys tend to concentrate near remaining food supplies and can be more vulnerable to hunters. When mast is plentiful, turkeys spread out more and are less visible, therefore can be harder to locate.

A good mast crop this year has kept turkeys deep in the woods and made them harder for hunters to find. While one way to find birds is cruising county roads and checking out freshly plowed and cut fields, this year it seems birds are finding food in the woods and late cutting of corn has kept the majority of larger flocks in wood lots.

Fall turkey harvests in New York have fluctuated widely in recent years. During the same time period, the spring harvest — generally considered a better indicator of population size — has been stable.

The size of the fall turkey population is greatly affected by the production of poults in the spring. Weather can have a tremendous effect on both nesting success and poult survival. Dry weather in May can increase predators’ ability to locate and prey on turkey nests because scent trails are easier to follow. Cold, rainy weather during spring and early summer can severely reduce survival of young poults when they are most susceptible to chilling.

There are a couple different schools of thought in harvesting fall birds, roosting and busting. For ease, roosting birds is best but I prefer busting to get this old man’s aging heart pumping.

Finding roosting birds the evening before you plan on hunting is much like spring gobbler hunting. I generally lay the leather down looking for roosting birds but, I take careful notice to watch any birds while archery hunting. Paying careful attention to which direction birds are traveling just before dusk will help you to put together a successful plan for the next morning.

Setting up as close to roosting birds as possible is the key to this style of fall hunting. This can be accomplished by going where the birds are at and using the cover of darkness to help with the approach. Keying your set-up between where the birds are roosting and their travel route will help in your success.

As birds begin to talk, be careful not to call. In fact, often it is better to leave the calls in your vest. Wait for the birds to hit the ground and pay careful attention to the lead bird. This will help formulate a busting plan. Soft yelps and a few kee-kee runs after the fly-down will give the birds the idea that all is well and will bring them toward your ambush.

The most popular technique is what I call “break-up and call.” The key to this style is again the locating of birds. Finding where birds are feeding and traveling will help in the break-up. The best part of this technique is sleeping in. There is no reason to get up early because hunters must wait to get the birds on the ground and flocked-up.

Once birds are located, getting a good break is crucial. Making sure birds go in different directions after the break is key. There are two ways to do this: one is just running into the flock or using a dog. Yes, using a dog during the fall for turkeys is legal in the Empire State.

Whichever method one chooses to use to break the flock, wait 15 minutes and begin calling. The call I use 90 percent of the time is the kee-kee run. The kee-kee run is a lost yennie call used by young and old birds alike. The main reason for using the kee-kee run is to bring the flock back together.

Fall is an exciting time for sportsmen in Western New York. Over the years we have worked in all types of hunting. Even if you’re truly a trophy hunter, there are plenty of other options to enjoy all that our part of the country offers.

Always remember to keep in mind safety first and always know what is beyond your target.