Tip O’ the Day: Stand and Shoot

Sometimes while hunting you can’t see an approaching turkey because low growing brush or a slight rise in the terrain obscures your visibility. This can be a particular problem along field edges where increased sunlight allows weeds and grass to grow tall just inside the woodline.

While hunting with guide Bo Pittman at White Oak Plantation in Alabama a few years back, we set up along a field edge to intercept a pair of gobblers working their way our direction. But when I sat down, a tangle of vines and grass blocked my view. Noting my problem, Pittman told me to stand tight next to the tree I had been using as a backrest and steady my gun against it. When one of the gobblers stepped in front of me, I aimed and fired.

Fall hunting with Alex Rutledge of Hunter’s Specialties awhile back, a flock of birds began yelping from just behind a slight hill. Instinctively I began to sit down against a tree. My butt hadn’t even hit the ground when Alex grabbed me and suggested I remain standing.

“Lean against the tree and keep your gun up,” Alex whispered. The move made total sense. Had the birds continued toward us, I would have been able to see them much earlier than I would have had I been sitting. Unfortunately, Alex’s watch alarm went off and the birds headed the other direction!!