Southern MN turkey talk

[Fazzy]

This is my 1st year being drawn for the 1st season. I’m amped and ready to finally take my first longbeard. While I understand the basics of set-up, and the importance of stealthness and patience while in the woods, questions remain in regards to calling.

I hunt in SE MN – if that matters. I can work a box, slate & diaphragm call satisfactorily. My question is specifically when, which and how often to use these calls? Cluck, yelp, purr, when how often? Do you gobble? And what about cutting? Do you ever use the cutting call.

Now that I’m hunting the 1st season I imagine, with luck, Longbeard will be much more responsive to my calling than in years past (seasons 3-5).

[Hotspotter]

Fazzy:

Thanks for the detailed question. It's a good one. It's also very tough to answer!

So much of the way I approach what call to use, when, and how often is in response to a number of variables. I'll do my best to list them:

• Season/Time-Period - Henned up early with little gobbling, or spread out later with mid-morning loneliness?

• Scouting - What has your scouting taught you about the birds in the area? How many gobblers to hens have you been observing - i.e. is there lots of real-life competition? Will you take a jake?

• Pressure - Are there other hunters on the same property? Surrounding property? Hunting before you? What's their skill level? How do they hunt? Sit and wait (typically minimal pressure)? Inexperienced run and gun (Max pressure)?

• Time of day - It's unnatural to be cutting while birds are waking up in the tree. Also unnatural to be continually cranking on your calls when surrounding birds are hushed-up.

• Day-of observations - Probably the most important factor in my book, described below.

It's been stated that a successful turkey hunt is a series of decisions made properly, in succession. All you have to do is make the right decisions (there's lots of them!) on the right day, and you'll tag a bird. Maybe I give too much credit to the bird, or maybe I let us turkey hunters off the hook when I think that on certain days, certain birds are unkillable? Still, the thought remains, and the operative phrase "right decisions on the right day" is important.

Always note what the real-birds are doing. Hens and Toms. If they're loud and obnoxious, you have more license to be as well....to a point. If it's a quiet morning with little gobbling and hen-talk, you'll seem as tacky as ever if squawking away on everything in your vest. Less is more here. You want the birds to hear you (they do, whether they respond or not), but you don't want them to know where you're at. The most successful call or calling sequence is one that fires a bird up from a certain distance, without him being able to pin-point your location. If he's coming, you're not calling.

Generally speaking, I get out in the morning to a place where I've roosted a gobbler and set up as close as I can without being detected. I make a series of tree yelps. If I fire a bird up on the roost, I shut up. Eventually he flies down and I kill him, or I don't, and he walks off with hens or with a destination in mind. The whole time, I'm calculating where he wants to be, and where I can get to that he'll best like my calling (where he's most likely to come in). Within a 100 yards, undetected, is the most likely location, wherever it is.

I continue to keep contact with this bird or birds until I either screw it up, or decide that the birds are runners and/or pressured birds and then I break away and find new ones. Unlike the tournament walleye addage "never leave fish to find fish," I think with turkey hunting there are times when you need to work different birds. As a matter of turkey hunting philosophy, I'm much more an opportunist. I don't hunt particular birds, I hunt all toms. If one is giving me fits, I find another. It takes more land and more work, but it's more rewarding for the hunting style I employ.

Like anything, there are no hard/fast rules here. Only generalities and things that might work on any given day. I urge everyone to figure out what specific hunting traits/talents they have, and play to them!!! Know your strengths and capitalize. For many of you, it's sitting post-still along a field edge, intense scouting, or for others yet is calling or repositioning. Work on what you've not yet mastered, while at the same time, take advantage of what you're good at.

Sorry I'm not more exact in my answer. Maybe others have more hard/fast rules they live and die by?

Joel

[DonBo]

There are no hard and fast rules, but what USUALLY works for me is: If the birds are making a lot of noise, I want my calling to be part of that mix. If the birds are quiet, I'll maybe only make a soft yelp every 1/2 hour or so.

I believe USUALLY less calling is better than more calling. The type of call used can USUALLY be established by the birds that are answering you.

My best advice is use what you are most comfortable with and have the most confidence with. Hunt the way you are most comfortable with. I really like to find a good spot, get comfortable and wait them out. A pop-up blind is invaluable for this. I may sit all day, or move once or twice during the day. Others obviously like to move about more. If you have lots of land to hunt, this can work very well. I believe most, especilly newer hunters, will spook more birds this way than they will have an opportunity at.

However you decide to go about it, just plan on spending as much time as possible in the field. Just because the birds stop gobbling at 7:00 doesn't mean you should go for lunch, or a nap. They will be out there and active all day. You should be too.

[Fazzy]

Joel,

That's some great info. Thanks for sharing your hard won knowledge on this site. It's great to have a place to talk turkey, hear what others are doing and generally get pumped for the season!