Fall hunting often comes to locating a big flock of turkeys, splitting it up and then calling the scattered birds back to the break-up site.

Evening is also an excellent time to locate fall birds. Turkeys don't like to roost by themselves, and birds that have been separated from their group are often desperate to find company right before fly-up time. Now, if you split up a flock right before dark, don't expect them to come charging right back. It can happen, but it's more likely that they'll try to reassemble in the morning. However, evenings are a great time to call turkeys that were split up earlier in the day.

I learned this firsthand one opening week in Virginia when I'd hunted all day in vain for a flock that I knew was on the mountain. It was nearing dark, and I was still a couple of miles from the truck. I began a forced march, calling loudly and incessantly as I worked back along the ridge. About halfway out, I got a loud, shrieking answer. I dashed to the nearest large tree while still calling and got into position. The bird originally sounded as if it was at least 150 yards away in a hollow below me; minutes later, though, the jake--calling nonstop--popped into view.

He was running full bore, yelping and kee-keeing desperately, straight toward me. When he got to within 25 yards, I fired--and missed. Oh, well. The point is, that bird had been separated from its brethren and, with night approaching, he wanted to get together with another turkey--and fast.

There are two approaches to the rest of the day. One--running and gunning--is a good method to use in unfamiliar territory that you haven't had a chance to scout; where mast crops are heavy and widespread; and in areas that get lots of hunting pressure. In this strategy, you cover a lot of ground until you find fresh scratchings, then follow them in hopes of catching up with a flock and effecting a scatter. Make sure you stop frequently to listen. While you won't always hear the sound of turkeys calling, scratching turkeys make a ton of noise when the forest is dry.

Heavy mast years are a boon to turkeys and other wildlife, but they can be tough for turkey hunters. With food readily available over large tracts of land, there's nothing to concentrate the birds or to hold them to a pattern. In such a case, your best bet is to log a lot of miles. Pay attention to where you're finding turkey sign and try to determine what type of food is drawing them at that point in time. For instance, wild grapes--a soft mast that doesn't persist for long--will often draw turkeys. If you note that birds have been working the grapevines, and you know the location of other grapevines, hit them in succession. Likewise, if the woods are full of a variety of mast sources but you continually discover scratchings in beech groves, concentrate on beeches to find birds.

GIMME A BREAK When splitting up a flock, it's imperative to get the birds flying and running in different directions if you want to have a prayer of calling them back. Here are some things to consider.   If you attempt to rush at a flock from to far away, the birds will merely move off together. In rough terrain, you won't be able to close the gap between you and the birds as quickly. Use terrain to circle ahead of a flock unseen and allow the flock to move toward you, rather than vice versa. Unload your gun before rushng at a flock of turkeys--and watch your step. A bad spill can break an arm or a leg or damage a gun. Call the flock. If you can pique the lead hen's interest, she may bring the whole bunch to you. During a scatter, a few young-of-the-birds will fly just a short distance and alight in a tree. Circle the break-up point and flush these birds from their vantage points. A mature hen will often try to reassemble the flock some distance from you. If you hear a turkey yelping constantly from a single location, that's likely her (or another hunter--be careful). Walk straight toward the hen until she leaves.

Don't neglect agricultural areas and old fields, either. You may find that even though turkey sign is scattered throughout the forest, the presence of insects--or waste grain in recently harvested fields--may attract turkeys on a more regular basis.

In places where turkeys are hunted regularly in the fall, the run-and-gun is a good way to find lone turkeys looking to reassemble. Hunters flood the woods on opening morning, and sooner or later someone is going to run into a flock and break it up. Other hunters subsequently encounter smaller subgroups and scatter them.

Each time this happens, the hunter or hunters who split a flock will sit down to call them--but not all the birds are going to be able to reassemble. Some will invariably be bumped by other hunters, pushing them farther from the reassembly point. These singles, doubles and trios will wander the woods and are often ripe for the hunter who's covering ground and calling a lot.

The run-and-gun is a great strategy, but I also like to still-hunt through an area that I know holds turkeys--moving 50 to 100 yards at a time and then setting up to call for five to 10 minutes. When still-hunting for turkeys, I don't sneak but rather walk in a series of quick steps, two or three or four at a time with a short pause between series. I've found that this pattern, or lack thereof, tends to spook wildlife less than creeping quietly or walking steadily. The pauses also allow me to listen for the sound of calling or scratching turkeys.

Depending on wind strength or the amount of turkey sign I'm seeing, I'll move in this manner for 50 or 100 yards and find a good tree to set up against. After sitting quietly for a bit, listening, I make a single, loud cluck on a box call. If the cluck doesn't bring results, I begin yelping--increasing the volume a little with each series. The response, if any, isn't always a call; sometimes, the only indication that the turkeys heard you will be the sound of them marching your way. If nothing happens after 10 to 15 minutes, get up and move another 50 to 100 yards.

Still-hunting for turkeys requires an intimate knowledge of the hunting area and a good idea of where the turkeys are--otherwise you can spend a lot of unproductive time calling in places where there are no turkeys. When the tactic works, though, it gives you a shot at big flocks, small groups and singles, and occasionally--when fortune smiles--a boss gobbler.

Fall gobblers are tough, largely because they aren't terribly social and don't have sex on their minds. You'll sometimes find them in small bachelor groups--pairs or trios--and these represent your best shot. If you can locate such a group and split it up, it's possible to call the toms back. Be aware, though, that old gobblers will take their sweet time reassembling. They may wait a day or more before returning to the break-up point.

Solo gobblers are even tougher. The closest I ever came to killing a lone tom was during a still-hunt in late fall. I'd stopped to call, and moments after my first cluck, a gobbler with a thick, 10-inch beard walked down off the ridge and stood 50 yards away. He scratched, fed and looked around for a few minutes, then drifted off--and I couldn't entice him back.

It was one of most exciting moments I've ever had in turkey hunting--an unexpected bonus so close and yet so far. And it's the kind of action that draws me back to the fall woods year after year.