By Monte Burch

The birds continued their dance just about 80 yards away. I could see the frustration in my young nephew Morgan's eyes. I had to agree: the morning had been tough. We had called to a couple of birds on the roost, only to have them waltz away following a bunch of hens. Then we bumped a bird doing some walking and calling. Then the waiting began.

From many years' hunting the property, I knew the gobblers with hens would eventually end up in a precise spot, a strut zone on the edge of a big field. I had seen and taken a number of gobblers from the same spot, almost within the same midmorning time frame, and figured our birds would react the same. We walked over a couple of Ozarks ridges to the field. We sat up on the edge and settled down to wait. I was asleep when Morgan nudged me. I looked up. Just as I figured, a couple of toms were strutting back and forth, and a group of hens were pecking around the field.

There was, however, a big problem. It was a good thing I wasn't calling in bombers. The birds had come into the field about 100 yards from where I had watched them enter several days earlier. They were almost smack dab in the center of a 40-acre field. I made a few yelps, they gobbled and double gobbled, but continued to strut out in the open. I figured it was time for my nephew to learn a bit of patience. An hour went by. I called occasionally and they answered, but they stayed put in their strut zone. Morgan and I both wanted this bird, but he finally seemed to be relaxing a bit and enjoying the show.

I finally got smart, realizing that nobody ever said old turkeys are always smart. I began talking to the hens instead of the gobblers. After about 30 minutes, a hen turned and headed our way. Then another hen, then another, and they were dragging the gobblers with them. I knew things were going to get tricky, but it was the only trick I had left. I told Morgan to get his gun up and ready. The hens eventually passed right in front of us. Morgan was getting a little keyed up by that time; in fact, he was about to explode. One gobbler had drifted almost within range, and then I heard what sounded like a rattlesnake. Morgan's leg was shaking in the leaves, causing the last hen to look back and begin the periscope trick.

Morgan quieted his leg, and the hen moved on. The gobblers had moved to the outer range of a good killing zone and then stopped. Morgan's leg began to shake again, and I figured we were done. I gave a really soft purr on my old slate, and one of the gobblers took two more steps. That was all it took: Morgan's gun went off, he jumped up, and his 6 1/2-foot frame cleared a big brush pile with enough space to make an Olympic jumper jealous. Moments later, we were admiring his first gobbler.

What Are Strut Zones?

Hunting turkey strut zones offers opportunities that many hunters don't realize even exist. Bill Harper, a longtime hunting friend, coined the phrase "strut zone" when he was president of Lohman Game Call Co. and barnstorming the country, giving seminars and promoting his products. Harper had observed birds going to the same spots each day to display and decided these spots were "strut zones."

Not too many years later, we purchased some farmland, on which we built an office and a pond. Most of the property was timbered when we purchased it, but I cleared a small piece on the side opposite the pond. It didn't take long for the gobblers to make this a strut zone. More than a decade of gobbler generations have used this as a strut zone.

Biologically speaking, turkey hunting is all wrong. Wild turkey gobblers have beautiful fans and brilliant colors for a reason. As with most birds, the male is brightly colored in order to attract the females. Unfortunately, hunters think giving female calls should automatically attract gobblers, but the gobblers are working just as hard to attract hens. So, sometimes our calls work; and sometimes they don't.

Harper's initial theory on strut zones has expanded over the years, as hunters, guides and biologists have learned more on their own. Strut zones are basically places gobblers can display, or "strut", to attract females and, more important, where the gobblers feel safe. For the most part, these areas are clearings, field edges, and other open areas. Typically, these areas are also on higher ground, not only so the hens can see the gobbler but also for the gobbler to see the hens and any possible predators. In the big-woods mountains such as the Arkansas Ozarks, open benches are a favored strut zone. In bottomlands and swamps, river and creek banks and secluded hammocks are good spots.

Strut Zones Success

There are two types of strut zones. during the early spring and premating rituals, strut zones are basically small areas located close to food sources that the hens are using. Later in the season, when the pressure begins, hens often fly to open fields, and the gobblers follow and strut.

One of the strangest strut zones I've seen was in the badlands of South Dakota. Every morning, we saw this huge gobbler strutting on a badlands tabletop of about three acres. "It's the perfect spot," said my guide, Chris Yeoman. "Coyotes can't get to him, and hens can see him for miles. He's like Elvis: When he flies off that display stage, they follow him."

The trick on that trip was to scout and watch where the gobbler flew from his strut zone. We then sat up, and the big old white-tailed Merriam was mine.

Several years ago, Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland and I got bumfoozled by a gobbler on a strut zone in Florida. The water was high. We split up that morning; Stickland went with the Mossy Oak camera crew, and I with a guide from the hunting camp. As often happens, at midmorning we ended up competing for the same bird, an old gobbler that had discovered a hammock rising out of the flooded swamp. I heard Strickland giving his best on the other side. My guide was also working the bird as hard as any bird could be worked. The old gobbler strutted back and forth the entire morning, 100 yards from both of us and never left the strut zone. We all finally gave up, went back to camp and saluted a smart old devil.

However, the great thing about strut zones - if you know where they're located - is they can save the day. More than once, after chasing birds for three hours, I've gone to a strut zone and had success. Birds are almost religious in their timing on strut zones. Hunting strut zones is also a great way of getting success to less experienced turkey hunters. You can get them in place, well camouflaged, and usually figure where the birds will arrive and how they will react.

But first you have to find these strut zones. Key ingredients include dropped wing feathers with broken tips. If there is soft sand, dirt or lots of leaves, the trail left by the dragging feathers will be evident. This pattern is usually in loops or figure eights. The best method of locating strut zones is with a good pair of binoculars. Slip through the woods or observe open fields from a distance during midday.