I was dove hunting in central VA this am. While I am setting decoys before sunrise I had my ESP hearing protectors in but had not turned them on and I thought I could hear turkeys yelping. Turned them on and turkeys were yelping everywhere. They continued to yelp while I killed a limit of doves, probably shot 35 times, more than one box. During this time I heard at least six different gobblers gobbling. Temp was 30. I quit shooting at 8:15 and they were still yelping.

Driving home about 9 I passed a property that I hunt about 3 miles away and there was a lone gobbler out in the field. Made the turn at the end of the field onto a state road and saw 7 turkeys with one in strut in a different portion of the same field. When I pulled over to glass them instead of being 6 hens and one strutting gobbler it was seven mature longbeards! All the turkeys except for the strutter were calmly feeding and the strutter was marching up to each of them in turn and challenging them.

How am I supposed to wait until mid-April now???

Saw a tree full of hens this am against the predawn sky. Then I saw a couple gobblers in another tree. Both strutting. 28 degrees.