Once those hens leave during the late morning to go to their nests, however, that gobbler is now on his own. He is going to go looking for new companions, and the period from late morning to late afternoon is when he is looking the hardest and traveling the farthest.

"During the late season," Sullivan continued, "I'm going to call in the morning like everybody else does. But I regard my primary hunting time -- and it's often the most productive hunting time -- to be from mid-morning to the latest time I can hunt. That is often when you are going to find a gobbler that is looking hard for a hen and will be most receptive to your calls."

Those hunting public wildlife management areas seldom get to hunt beyond 1:00 p.m. Those on private lands can legally hunt all the way to the end of legal shooting hours at dusk. Staying in the woods to the last legal moment can be one of the biggest keys to late season success.

"The last couple of hours of the day can be the most important for late season birds," Sullivan confirmed. "Gobblers will often be in the feeding fields looking for hens right up until just before it is time to head to the roost. If you are on private land and can find one of those late afternoon birds, you may have found one that will respond.

"Even on public lands," he continued, "staying in the woods from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. can pay off. A lot of birds are taken from WMAs between those hours by hunters who are moving around, checking feeding fields and travel routes, and being patient. That is especially true if you have gotten a response from a gobbler in that general area during the early morning but couldn't get him to come in. He might have been with hens then, but he may not be at midday and might be much more receptive to your calls. If you're not in the woods you're not going to find that bird. A lot of late season hunters just give up too early in the day."

Staying in the woods during midday hours gives you a better shot at finding that gobbler desperately seeking a hen. So, too, will showing him a hen. Decoys can be important anytime during the season, but for midday birds roaming open fields during the late season they can be critical. The gobbler expects to see a hen when he hears a hen call -- and wants to see a hen -- and if you can show him one you have a much better chance of bringing him within range. The only exception to that, according to Sullivan, is if he is hunting a bird that he knows for a fact has been spooked over a decoy by another hunter in the past.

While extending your hunting hours during the late season can boost your odds, that will only happen if you are in an area that has birds. That can sometimes change between the early season and its later stages, which means hunters need to understand how to handle hunting pressure.

PRESSURED GOBBLERS
During the breeding season, a gobbler is driven to find hens to mate. But if he is a late season bird that has already run into a few hunters, he's not going to be the same bird he was on opening day. Stupid he is not. How much he will change depends largely on how many unsuccessful hunters he has encountered during the last two weeks. That may be relatively few on most private lands, and more than a few on popular WMAs, but some change in his behavior will occur -- and one of the most common changes is that he learns to keep his mouth shut.