Mount Pleasant Magazine Nov/Dec 2018

45 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com | www.BestofMP.com the old boy appeared directly in front of me. His red, white and blue head was a beautiful sight to behold. He boldly entered the food plot and took about two steps forward. I pushed the safety off, buried my cheek against the stock, took aim down the barrel and pulled the trigger. That old 12-gauge broke the silence in grand style. I hit him square in the neck at the waddles, and he dropped. Hours of planning, preparation and strategic hunting ended in seconds. My first wild turkey lay on the ground at 25 paces. Wild turkey hunting is a sport like no other. According to East Cooper native and avid turkey hunter Clark Coker, it’s second to none. “I don’t know that there is another sport like it. It is truly a chess match between you and your quarry,” said Coker, who has spent countless hours in the field honing his skills. There are five subspecies of wild turkey: Eastern, Osceola (Florida), Rio Grande, Merriam’s and Gould’s. Each has its own geographical range and unique characteristics. According to the National Wild Turkey Federation: “Wild turkeys are among the most popular game animals in the world. The wild turkey subspecies are inherently challenging, incredibly alluring and unique in their own way. Each of the five subspecies display different physical and behavioral characteristics that define them.” The subspecies hunted in the Lowcountry is the Eastern. Hunters use many tools to call to a bird or group of birds. The premise of the “calling” is for the hunter to imitate the sounds of a female, in most cases, hoping to lure the targeted male into striking distance, which is generally less than 35 yards. Calls vary in form and function. Friction calls, such as box calls or slate calls, use various surfaces such as slate, glass, metal or wood, while mouth calls use thin, specialized reeds that fit along the roof of the mouth and require a great amount of practice to master. It is not uncommon for the average hunter to carry multiple calls of varying styles. According to Coker, “I’m a guy that has all of the tools Clark Coker III and Jake Leland with Jake’s first bird. Photo courtesy of Clark Coker.