help

[cbbase34]

Still not understanding turkey hunting, people is saying to sound like a turkey not a hunter, aint that what turkey calls are for, mean it might not sount the exact same and all, but people still cant read what the turkeys are saying. Do you mimic what the hen says, because if thats the case how can you tell what she is saying. I have bought my videos, audio tapes and books, still dont understand. Is there a trick the the people knows and just wont share? I get people sending me real videos of turkes, but can you tell me why? I can sound just like them on the video that they send, but again i still dont understand anything.......... Are you suppose to call in the hens and the tom will follow then in for the shot or are you suppose to call to the tom him in. Is there anything at all out there on hen talk and what they are saying to get the tom to come in. I hunt all the other animals and do pretty good, just never did understand the turkey deal lol, so please all the help would be really good. Im sorry for the questions and all, but after years of hunting and still setting in the woods on hours and you can hear them and nothing gets you kinda crazy, thanks for all your help

[shaman]

I'll try and answer, but you've got a real jumble there. Let's break this down into two situations: Flydown and post-flydown.

Flydown:

What you're trying to do is first establish that you are a hen-- cluck, tree yelps, etc. If the gobbler honors your calls, he may fly down right to you. If not, you can just cluck and yelp occasionally and try to entice him in by acting disinterested (play hard to get) or crank it up and let him know you're a horney hen that needs it bad. I tend towards the former rather than the latter, but you will find callers here that prefer to crank that gobbler up to a fever pitch. My preference is dictated by the fact that I know my land very well, know where the gobblers are, and can usually pick a spot to go ambush them if they head off in another direction.

Post Flydown:

First and foremost, you're trying to make contact-- either with a shock call or just with loud yelping, etc. Once contact is made, the trick is to work the gobbler in to you. It may take hours or just a few minutes, but the gobbler needs to get an idea of where you and get the idea that you're receptive.


Conclusion:
My guess is that you're overcalling and over-braining things. Remember that calling is the least important part of turkey hunting. The real fundamentals lie in good woodsmanship, good scouting, and getting into the flow of the turkey's daily life.

With both my gobblers this year, my only calling was to establish my location for the turkeys-- a few yelps and a few clucks. The gobblers did the rest. I was well blinded in, so I could shift positions without betraying my location. I had picked the location, because the weather (wind and temp) dictated that the turkeys would want a protected pasture that was out of the direct effect of the cold wind. I was also between several flocks, so having an extra hen in the middle of it all would not be out of line.

I'm sure the first gob I shot thought I was a stray hen from the other flocks that was coming to him. The second gob I shot was moving from the top of one holler to the other and just figured I was a hen up feeding at the crossover.

Homework assignment:

If you are really frustrated with your calling, take just one call with you--don't worry about calling. Concentrate on ambushing a gobbler with just your brain. Use the call as sparingly as possible or not at all. Use the turkey's needs, the weather, and the lay of the land to put you and the gob together.

[proturkeyhntr]

Ok, this could turn into a several page article and I dont want that so I'll try in a nutshell to explain it. Shaman has offered some good advice as well. The first thing you need to understand is the breeding process of turkeys. You see we are reversing nature when we "call in" a turkey. A gobbler gobbles on the limb in the morning to attract hens. The hens will generally fly down and go to him, many times while he's on the limb. He pitches down struts and breeds hens. When he is on the ground throughout the day he will answer a hen when he hears one yelp, cluck or cut and she will then go to him. Now there's the basics. The gobbler calls in the hens and then shows off for them to win threre " love " or lust for that matter. In calling a gobbler worry about rhythm more than tone at this point in your hunting. Learn to cluck and yelp. Be able to reproduce these to calls at will. You'll get more advanced the more you call and practice. There are two other calls that will eventually be a must to learn. That is purring and cutting.

At any rate when you locate a gobbler off the roost. Try and get to within 100 -150 yards of him. Give him a series of soft yelps with a couple of soft clucks. This lets him know where you are. Give him two maybe three series of this. Then wait till fly down time. At that point you have to gauge your bird to see what he wants to hear. Less is usually better. Starting with a couple of clucks and leading into a yelp. See what his reaction is if he starts coming, then back off on your yelping just checking every 5 mins or so to see if he is still coming. If he starts drifting away then call a little more and sound more exciting with a little quicker rhythm and a couple of sharp fast clucks, basically cutting. Call to him just enough to keep him coming....


Hope this helps. Your best bet is to try and hunt with someone you know who is truly knowledgable and successful on hunting and calling turkeys. You can learn more in a weekend trip with him than bumbling around by yourself for years. Also read every piece of literature you can get your hands on about wild turkeys. From a biological standpoint, to calling the birds and hunting stategies. You just need to do some homework on your own.

There is truly an art to calling a turkey into gun range. Not the dumb two year old that comes running in at the first yelp you make on the call. but the bird that talks some agressive calling mixed with toning it down as well. Knowing when to call and how much. It will ultimately take some degree of trial and error on your part.


scott