If you struggle to consistently kill turkeys and killing a turkey is your primary objective in the spring turkey woods, I’ll let you in on a secret that will dramatically increase your success…and no, it’s not baiting or tenderizing them through the feet. This technique is a close second on the boring scale to sitting in a blind with decoys over a food plot or field edge. And I’ll add, I don’t hunt this way, and if turkey hunting ever comes to this for me, I will quit turkey hunting.
I know guys who can’t call a turkey on the telephone, yet they fill their tags legally every spring. They’re not good callers, they’re good crawlers. This doesn’t mean that they stalk turkeys, but rather, they’re good woodsman. They move quietly through the woods, are patient, and can sit statue still for extended periods of time. The single biggest mistake spring turkey hunters make is calling too much and calling too loud. I don’t know anyone more guilty of this than me. I just love to hear them gobble.
Most of the birds I call up each year are satellite 2 year olds. These birds make anybody look good. The handful of “hooked” spur birds we kill are usually taken later in the season and later in the day after the hens have gone to nest. Calling too much, as I do, is the formula for failure with henned up gobblers.
Some people think that turkeys on public land or any heavily hunted ground are harder to kill because they’re call shy. This is complete bullshit. A turkey brain is the size of a pea. They do not learn from their mistakes or by watching their friends make mistakes. A mature whitetail? HELL YES! A mature gobbler? NOT A CHANCE! I can’t tell you how many times we’ve called up a group of gobblers, shot one at point blank, stood up and high fived, while the surviving gobblers throttle the bird on the ground. Birds in heavily hunted areas don’t gobble much and usually go the opposite direction of your calls because they’re looking at hens and the gobbler to hen ratios are so screwed up that there is little to no competition. In nature, the hens seek out the gobblers. Every time you yelp at him, you’re saying “here I am.” And every time he answers you, he’s saying. “here I am.” And he expects you to come to him. The more you call and the more he gobbles, the better chance that a hen will intercept him and she doesn’t like to share. It doesn’t matter how good you sound, she looks better…they are all Victoria’s Secret Models. After hearing a gobbler on the roost, if a hunter quietly moves into a logical position and doesn’t make a sound, there’s a decent chance that gobbler is going to pass within range if you’re patient and still. I hear birds on the roost in the fall a lot while deer hunting…and they almost always pass by my stand sometime during the hunt.
Personally, I’d rather buy one at Krogers as the silent approach isn’t nearly as fun as calling up a bird, but if you just like to shoot them, it is highly effective.
I know guys who can’t call a turkey on the telephone, yet they fill their tags legally every spring. They’re not good callers, they’re good crawlers. This doesn’t mean that they stalk turkeys, but rather, they’re good woodsman. They move quietly through the woods, are patient, and can sit statue still for extended periods of time. The single biggest mistake spring turkey hunters make is calling too much and calling too loud. I don’t know anyone more guilty of this than me. I just love to hear them gobble.
Most of the birds I call up each year are satellite 2 year olds. These birds make anybody look good. The handful of “hooked” spur birds we kill are usually taken later in the season and later in the day after the hens have gone to nest. Calling too much, as I do, is the formula for failure with henned up gobblers.
Some people think that turkeys on public land or any heavily hunted ground are harder to kill because they’re call shy. This is complete bullshit. A turkey brain is the size of a pea. They do not learn from their mistakes or by watching their friends make mistakes. A mature whitetail? HELL YES! A mature gobbler? NOT A CHANCE! I can’t tell you how many times we’ve called up a group of gobblers, shot one at point blank, stood up and high fived, while the surviving gobblers throttle the bird on the ground. Birds in heavily hunted areas don’t gobble much and usually go the opposite direction of your calls because they’re looking at hens and the gobbler to hen ratios are so screwed up that there is little to no competition. In nature, the hens seek out the gobblers. Every time you yelp at him, you’re saying “here I am.” And every time he answers you, he’s saying. “here I am.” And he expects you to come to him. The more you call and the more he gobbles, the better chance that a hen will intercept him and she doesn’t like to share. It doesn’t matter how good you sound, she looks better…they are all Victoria’s Secret Models. After hearing a gobbler on the roost, if a hunter quietly moves into a logical position and doesn’t make a sound, there’s a decent chance that gobbler is going to pass within range if you’re patient and still. I hear birds on the roost in the fall a lot while deer hunting…and they almost always pass by my stand sometime during the hunt.
Personally, I’d rather buy one at Krogers as the silent approach isn’t nearly as fun as calling up a bird, but if you just like to shoot them, it is highly effective.
