Tom Kelly Books and Other Pre-Season Rituals

What turkey hunting pre-season rituals do you practice to get fired-up for opening day?

Some watch videos, like Realtree's Beards or Bust. Some scout hard, chasing those early-morning gobbles. Some talk to buddies who may have started turkey hunting season early down south. Most of us do all these things and more — including re-reading Tom Kelly books.

Talk to some turkey hunters and the Colonel's Tenth Legion is the go-to read, as mentioned in Realtree.com editor Will Brantley's great interview with Mr. Kelly. It's considered a classic and that's surely true. One of my favorite Kelly books is one you don't hear about much: The Season.

His fourth book in a long string of many — Tom Kelly turns 85 in May — it covers an entire spring turkey season. There's not much gobbler killing but lots of hunting and thinking, and it sets me up to start my season off right. I caught up with Mr. Kelly at the NWTF Convention back in February, and told him how highly I regard The Season.

"You know a lot of people say that," he told me, smiling just a little. Haven't read it? You should. It'll remind you to appreciate all the little things along the way that make turkey hunting great.

What are some of your turkey hunting pre-season rituals to get your mind right for opening day? Videos of strutting gobblers, scouting the real thing, buddy talk about early-season turkey hunts or reading a Tom Kelly book?

Let us know in the comments section below and thanks.