A few of my fellow archery buddies were kind enough to take me out to some of their spots with birds and the birds were there, but just wouldn't come in. I think the weather had a lot to do with the way the season went this year. For the weekend warriors, like myself, each Saturday morning began with a steady rainfall and strong winds - not the ideal hunting conditions for turkey.

With the last weekend of turkey season upon us there is only one thing left to do - get out there and try it again. It's the only tactic I know that puts the odds in the hunter's favor consistently. If you put the time in you will be rewarded. Hunting takes lots of time and even more patience. Stick with your game plan and hunt hard and you just might fill that tag. Call it quits now and the birds win.

My main strategy this late in the game is to keep calling to a minimum and try to catch the birds as they come off the roost. Ideally you will want to know the lay of the land and the travel patterns of the birds so you can cut them off. If I fail to cross paths with the birds in the morning I try to set up along a field edge in known strut zones where the gobblers like to come out and fan their tails for the ladies.

On occasion you will get lucky and find that young or aggressive bird that will come into a call without caution, but more times than not the turkeys will have been hit hard by the hunting pressure and be extremely cautious at this stage of the game. If you don't hear any birds in the morning set up where you think they're headed and make some soft yelps and purrs. Be patient and wait them out. Constantly scan your surroundings because you never know when a silent Tom or two will sneak into your setup and give you a shot.