We turkey hunters get desperate in our efforts to attract the cagiest of America’s wild creatures to within gun range. Many times when we go out into the woods we do not even see or hear a turkey, even though they are all around us. Our southern Toms are getting particularly shut-beaked because of an increasing coyote population who like to eat turkeys as well as we do and my turkeys only rarely respond to calls.

In Dan Brown’s books he evokes problem solving methods and the unraveling of symbols to solve desperate situations. In desperation we turkey hunters have been known to purchase a truckload of gear over the decades in our attempts to even the odds between us and the bird. I often carry, for example, a pair of turkey decoys, five or more calls of different types, a cushion, seat, stand and a muzzleloading shotgun and pistol along with all the things it takes to make them work. Since this is often a 5-6 hour event, I am further encumbered with a modest amount of food and water. All this is to say nothing of the camo clothing and accessories that we wear to keep from being seen by the birds 6-power vision.

Based on all of this it is not so outrageous to think that some of the problem-solving techniques expressed in Brown’s book might be of use. In The Lost Symbol, Brown introduces the reader to secret squares in which the numbers added together up, down, across or diagonally reach the same sum, something that was already well known in Medieval times. If our turkeys have  lost any symbols I have failed to find them, even though the book was a good read while I was waiting for them to show up.

I am continuing to experiment with the application of Wild Turkey as an attractant by taking a tablespoon of it in a mixed drink prior to turkey hunting. I have killed turkeys after such treatments, but many more times I have not. Its application as an attractant, like everything else in regards to turkey hunting only works sometime and more often does not achieve the desired result.

My own book, “Create Your Own Job Security: Plan to Start Your Own Business at Midlife, will be published in August and I am now taking pre-publication orders.

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Pre-publication orders received a signed copy of the book and free shipping.

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You can see a video of this hunting episode at: https://youtu.be/Dh-3DzjhfOA.