Another question

[kybowhunter64]

Im still somewhat of a rookie so I have this one question for you. I read a lot about over calling so how often should I call with a certain turkey call?

Thanks kybowhunter64

[UKturkeyhunter]

It really depends on the turkey and situation. If he is on fire and running in, I don't think you can over call. If he is fairly cold and only slowly coming toward you I would only call softly every 10 or so minutes. Sometimes you can move away from the gobbler and he will think the "hen" is leaving and come in.

Sorry that I do not have an absolute right answer.

[Multidigits]

Less is always better. Most people over call. Don't call unless you know what the turkey is doing in most cases.

BTW-- you would be smart to tag along with an experienced hunter for a few times and watch what happens. It'll pay off big time later on.

[kybowhunter64]

Less is always better. Most people over call. Don't call unless you know what the turkey is doing in most cases.

BTW-- you would be smart to tag along with an experienced hunter for a few times and watch what happens. It'll pay off big time later on.


I have. I went with my dad last year. He taught me the ropes. But im scared that im gonna over call them thats why I was jw. Im scared thats what im gonna do this weekend

[BlueGrassVW]

If he is coming in hot 3-5 min intervals if he is being slow or hanging up etc then call every 15-20 min.

Both tactics have worked for me. My grandfather has always said call every 20-30 minutes and he has killed more than I so It really goes either way.

[mcdenney]

Less is always better. Most people over call. Don't call unless you know what the turkey is doing in most cases.

BTW-- you would be smart to tag along with an experienced hunter for a few times and watch what happens. It'll pay off big time later on.

Most people call too much and too loud IMO. Pretty sure I am seen guys sending up smoke signals using their box calls. Also, they setup incorrectly in an area the turkey does not like or does not want to go or does not feel safe in. IMO turkeys are somewhat patternable to an extent. Typically in most sitations if a turkey answers you one time, he knows exactly where you are and can walk over and look at you in a hole if that is where you were at, lol. If I know he is coming after one call then that is all the calling I do unless he hangs up. I try not to call before he flys down unless I am competing with hens which are all around him. Being patient is very important and that includes calling. Sometimes you may have to convince him to come in and call a little more because remember, the hens go to the gobbler not the other way around. If he answers and I have not heard him gobble or don't know where he is, chances are he is either coming to me or leaving with hens. If he answers but does not move then I will make a few more calls to see if I can get him moving in my direction. If he still does not move, then I move without him seeing me. Less calling and more patience will do you good in the turkey woods, IMO.

[Multidigits]

Try this first, you can always over call later if it doesn't work.

Get as close as you withoutbeing seen by the Tom. If he's still in the tree, give a couple of tree yelps and shut up. If he gobbles at your calls, he knows where your at. Don't call again until he's on the ground.

When you know he's on the ground, and your not looking at him in front of your gun, give him your best call on what ever you use the best. If he answers, don't call again. Get ready to shoot in the direction he last gobbled. If he gobbles again in a different direction readjust your position. If he's getting closer, he's probably coming to you unless something makes him hang up. That's where know the land is good. If you know he's hung on something, there's no sense calling anymore. Go to plan B and set up on him again.

All totalled, you might have made three or four series of calls before you kill him, that is if it works. Just remember, you don't here hens calling non stop in the woods, so why would you do it?

[turk2di]

Most people call too much and too loud IMO. Pretty sure I am seen guys sending up smoke signals using their box calls. Also, they setup incorrectly in an area the turkey does not like or does not want to go or does not feel safe in. IMO turkeys are somewhat patternable to an extent. Typically in most sitations if a turkey answers you one time, he knows exactly where you are and can walk over and look at you in a hole if that is where you were at, lol. If I know he is coming after one call then that is all the calling I do unless he hangs up. I try not to call before he flys down unless I am competing with hens which are all around him. Being patient is very important and that includes calling. Sometimes you may have to convince him to come in and call a little more because remember, the hens go to the gobbler not the other way around. If he answers and I have not heard him gobble or don't know where he is, chances are he is either coming to me or leaving with hens. If he answers but does not move then I will make a few more calls to see if I can get him moving in my direction. If he still does not move, then I move without him seeing me. Less calling and more patience will do you good in the turkey woods, IMO.

Couldn't agree more on the over calling. When i started out in 90, i called to much im sure. Nowadays, i call so little that im probally to quiet.

[jsc3150]

Let the turkey dictate how much you call. One other tactic that I have success with that I have not seen mentioned is to scratch in the leaves if they are dry. Last year a buddy and I had 2 birds hung up in a field. I was well hidden and was able to bring the birds in by calling very little and scratching in the leaves.

[triple d]

Try this first, you can always over call later if it doesn't work.

Get as close as you withoutbeing seen by the Tom. If he's still in the tree, give a couple of tree yelps and shut up. If he gobbles at your calls, he knows where your at. Don't call again until he's on the ground.

When you know he's on the ground, and your not looking at him in front of your gun, give him your best call on what ever you use the best. If he answers, don't call again. Get ready to shoot in the direction he last gobbled. If he gobbles again in a different direction readjust your position. If he's getting closer, he's probably coming to you unless something makes him hang up. That's where know the land is good. If you know he's hung on something, there's no sense calling anymore. Go to plan B and set up on him again.

All totalled, you might have made three or four series of calls before you kill him, that is if it works. Just remember, you don't here hens calling non stop in the woods, so why would you do it?
thats some very good info. that makes more sense than anything i've heard. but what about gobble calls and hen calls together.to kind of pant a picture of a hen and a tom together??

[squirrelsniper]

My method - Pay attention to what the real birds are doing and act just like them.

If you have a tom gobbling his head off and/or you're hearing hens all over the place, then call often with no more than 5mins between making some type of call.

If it's a quiet morning and there just isn't much going on, a few yelps every 15-20mins with a few soft clucks and purrs every 5min or so is plenty of calling.

[Double B]

Once you get the Tom coming and he's getting close, just give him some seductive purrs. If he's walking toward you, I would hesitate to call much, because you will probably stop him and send him into strut again. Get him moving and let him come into range. When they gobble a few times, maybe give him a yelp series or some purrs. Play hard to get!!;)

[Pollcat]

You'll hear as many different opinions on here as there are turkey hunters. Fact is each morning, set-up, and turkey are different. There's no right or wrong call. The keys to being a successful turkey hunter are: one can never have too much patience, and one can never have too many tricks up their sleave. Some hunters are one set-up, soft calling, patient hunters. Some hunters are loud yelping nervous hunters. I would classify myself as a soft purring, loud yelping, hard cutting, leaf scratching, wing beating, run and gun type hunter that knows when to sit quietly and be patient....yet more often than not I leave empty handed, though a better man for witnessing the sights and sounds of the spring woods that God has created for each and every one of us to enjoy.

[big300mag]

I use the same tactic as described by Multi., but after the tom responds to my soft tree yelps, I wait until it gets daylight enough to see the surrounding woods well, which means the turkeys can also. I then give a fly down cackle, in hopes the tom will fly down to get with the first "hen" to hit the ground. This tactic works great in areas where the toms seem to stay henned up. Using this tactic last year, I got to hunt a grand total of 1 1/2 hours. I took my first bird in the first 30 minutes of opening day and the second bird came the next day, one hour after setting up. Both birds were roosted with hens, but flew down while the hens stayed on the roost. The key here is to call very little. Once the tom hits the ground, he will be coming your way, so if you call at all, do it sparingly and soft.

[GSP]

Many good answers given here. Multi's was very sound. The best I think was:

Sorry that I do not have an absolute right answer.

[Pinwheel8]

It all depends on what the gobbler wants. If I am calling hard and he is coming in, I continue to call hard until I pull the trigger. If he hangs up I quiet down a little. Trick is, there is no wrong or right. You will read and hear everything and everyone is right.

Ray Eye has killed more birds than just about anyone, and he hammers his calls. I can't quote him but he told me that excited hens call alot, so he tries to sound like an excited hen. I hear hens every year that sound like they have a fire under them and cut loud and fast enough that the most experienced hunter could never duplicate. I think where most hunters get away from calling hard is when they try calling aggresive a few times and toms walk away from them gobbling. They immediatley blame it on the birds being call shy or that they called too hard. If they had done some scouting they probably would have known that the bird they were trying to call northwest off the roost had gone southeast everyday for the past 3 weeks everymorning. That was his routine, where he went everyday. Had nothing to do with callin' too much, just what he does.

I have went in places where people have hunted hard during the am and called their hearts out. I go in about noon or so and call harder than they did and kill birds. I have almost called hard enough to start a friction fire and kill birds. Call shy? The other hunters thought so. I just happend to know what the birds do when they lose the hens due to scouting. The other guys had no idea where the birds go after fly down, summed it up to the birds being call shy or henned up and went home for a nap.

On the other hand I have killed two birds that I can remember by making a few clucks and scratching in the leaves. When I killed my first bird he ran into the sound of my walking in dry leaves.

I can sum it up like this, you can't call too much, you can't call too little. Scout as much as you can and let the bird tell you want he wants to hear.

[tomcbigbucks]

I agree with Pinwheel, every bird is different every hunt is too. I try to read the bird know the situation and respond accordingly. Once he gets close I do some soft purring and scratching of the leaves. With gobble calls I usually only use them if the birds hang up for over a half hour and hasn't moved. On the limb I usually get the bird very fired up because it does the same to me, almost half my birds have been shot within the first 1/2 hour. I don't think there's no right or wrong I call a lot because I want that excitement, I set quiet all day for deer with turkeys I WANT THE TALKING AND EXCITEMENT IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK TO ME I'LL MOVE ON! It works for me in NJ every year I get my 2 long birds, but different people like different things. I do try to wait at lest 5 mins between my series unless he has responded 3 times without me responding then I answer. Good luck!

[naturalelite]

Some great advice given out here. Let us know (with pictures) how your hunt went and what you did /Didn't do right/wrong. Experince is the only way to get better. Every set up and every bird is different. Good luck

[keith meador]

i will follow the expert instruction and guidance of my mentor and guide "lab". he has agreed to allow me along on the hunt to learn from him, which i greatly appreciate. i am sure any mistakes made will be the result of my inexperience in the turkey woods. that said, i have no idea what the various sounds a turkey makes thru its daily activities. i hear folks referencing sounds from the roost, sounds of agitation, sounds of content (assuming the purring sound here). it will be nice to get a close up look at how turkeys really live and act.......as you can tell i have no turkeys around the property i hunt, so just seeing one while hunting is an experience all to itself.....

[naturalelite]

With lab in your corner you should be fine. Unless your both in a blind and one of you ate chilli the night before:eek:

[keith meador]

With lab in your corner you should be fine. Unless your both in a blind and one of you ate chilli the night before:eek:

he has been asked to not consume chili for three days prior to my arrival. i have 3 dozen boiled eggs that will make the trip with me along with a family sack of white castles and a 12 pack of fosters beer just in case he failed to honor the gentleman's agreement we have......i will fight back if he doesn't hold up to his end of the deal.....

[nwest]

he has been asked to not consume chili for three days prior to my arrival. i have 3 dozen boiled eggs that will make the trip with me along with a family sack of white castles and a 12 pack of fosters beer just in case he failed to honor the gentleman's agreement we have......i will fight back if he doesn't hold up to his end of the deal.....


OMG don't kill him, if you unleash all that on him you will become wanted by the gov for a WMD:D

[lab]

No chili, but I did eat some bean soup last night that made it's way with me to work today for lunch.:D:eek:

As for the calling, make sure that you do not allow the gobbler to dictate when you call. Make him gobble at you instead of him making you call at his gobbles. If you call after he gobbles, the ball is in his court. If the bird is in close, call soft, short, and not too much. All he needs is a little reminder that you are still there. If he is truly interested, he will not need much coaxing.

[keith meador]

OMG don't kill him, if you unleash all that on him you will become wanted by the gov for a WMD:D

the sad part is if i consume the above menu of goodies, it will not come close to evening the playing field....lab should never be allowed to eat chili under any circomstances....