Simply move through the woods on logging roads, ridgetops or whatever, covering as much ground as possible. Use sharp, abrupt calling -- yelps, cutts, gobbles, gobbler yelps, fighting purr calls -- to try to get a response from other turkeys. Then set up and attempt to call them in just as if it were April instead of October. Sometimes that's exactly how they'll act when they come in, strutting and gobbling and looking for a fight. It doesn't always work, of course -- but what in turkey hunting does work every time?

PLACES TO GO
If you've been thinking about limbering up your old turkey gun and finding out what this fall hunting stuff is all about, here are a few public areas that might be worth visiting next month.

White Rock WMA: Many public hunting areas in Arkansas are large, but nothing's as large as White Rock. At 280,000 acres, this huge chunk of rugged land stretches across parts of five counties (Franklin, Crawford, Madison, Washington and Johnson) and offers good fall turkey hunting.

Although the terrain is as rough as anything you'll find elsewhere in the state, most of the mountains in White Rock WMA have a series of benches running along their sides, and it's possible to walk these benches for several miles without changing elevation very much. Since (as noted earlier) a lot of walking is one of the ingredients for success in fall turkey hunting, this makes White Rock a good choice.

The major road through the area is Highway 23 north of Ozark, providing access to much of the area via Forest Service roads. U.S. Highway 71 between Mountainburg and Brentwood forms the western boundary, and state Highway 103 northwest of Clarksville furnishes access to the east side of the area.

There are several major campgrounds in White Rock WMA, and literally hundreds of good campsites outside these developed campgrounds.

Piney Creeks WMA: This big, rugged area east of White Rock WMA offers the hunter another 180,000 acres of space to bump around in, most of it excellent turkey habitat. Piney Creeks WMA lies north of Russellville on both sides of Highway 7. It is owned by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and, like White Rock WMA, is managed cooperatively by the Forest Service and the AGFC.

Other highways providing access to Piney Creek WMA are Highway 123 between Hagarville and Pelsor and Highway 16 east of Pelsor. Developed campgrounds at Haw Creek Falls (off Highway 123) and Mocassin Gap (off Highway 7) provide good sites, but there's no shortage of good campsites throughout the area.

Like many of Arkansas' cooperative WMAs, Piney Creek is no place for couch potatoes. There's a good road network on the area, but there's a lot of steep, rough, remote country between roads.

Muddy Creek WMA: In the 1970s, this 146,000-acre area in the Ouachita Mountains north of Mt. Ida was noted for its turkey hunting. But the growth of turkey populations in other parts of the state, coupled with a crippling drought in 1980 that devastated turkey populations in the Ouachitas, took Muddy Creek out of the limelight.

Today, the turkeys are back, but the heavy crowds of the 1970s aren't, and Muddy Creek WMA is once again a premier hunting spot.

An extensive road network provides good access to most of the management area, but there's enough space between the roads, and the country is rugged enough, to allow for some sizeable roadless expanses. However, there's also some fairly gentle terrain available, especially along the valleys and stream courses.

Primary access is provided off Highway 270 on the south and west, Highway 28 on the north and Highway 27 on the east. There are no developed campgrounds on the area, but abundant campsites exist on the ridgetops and in the valleys.

Winona WMA: Since it's close to Little Rock, this 160,000-acre area gets more hunting pressure than Muddy Creek. However, since fall turkey hunting is still a relatively neglected opportunity in Arkansas, fall hunting here is generally good -- and uncrowded.