Soft and Slow or Loud and Aggressive?

[Gobbler428]

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Depends on the bird, the mood he is in and how you feel he will respond. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't and sometimes neither will work!

[roberthyman14]

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2 yelps and put the call away.  Heavy pressured florida birds are tough.  Dont want the bird to gobble if he doesnt have to.  Draws the people in fast.

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[Big Pine]

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9/10 times it’s going to be soft and slow in my neck of the woods. Every once in a while you will find a loudmouth bird you can call hard to but it’s not really common for me. Couple soft yelps and some scratching in the leaves can get you a long way

[ColbyModisette]

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Depends on the situation, I hunt super high pressure Louisiana gobblers and usually have to be pretty gentle with them.  But if you catch him in the right mood you can get aggressive and really get down on him.  I struggle sometimes in other states making myself get more aggressive.

[StruttinGobbler3]

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Interestingly enough, I know the rule of thumb on Osceolas is soft and seldom calling. However, when I caught my first Osceola strutting in a pasture, I had to call that bird more aggressively than any turkey I have every killed. Loud, fast yelps and cuts, and plenty of them too. Took him forever to strut into shooting range. On the flip side, when I went to Texas to hunt Rios it was the opposite. Always heard Rios were easier to hunt than the Easterns on my home ground, and were responsive to aggressive calling. Finally a guide taught me to call way softer, and much less, which resulted in two dead gobblers in two days.


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[Harty]

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Listen to the birds and how they are talkin that day then join the conversation . If nothings being said try and strike one up. If the conversation is boring try and rile it up a bit.

[mcw3734]

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I would agree with the general consensus on this thread that 'it depends'. Because that is the correct answer.

But I would also suggest this: don't assume it to be strictly an either/or option as you've framed it. I've had good success on public lands calling assertively, but maybe only every 10-15+ minutes. And if a bird is clearly headed my way, MAYBE calling in response to his gobbles, otherwise, I shut up. I guess you might call that a strategy of high intensity, low frequency calling.

Anyway, just something I've experience on occasion.

[Terry]

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Whatever it takes. Like most I start quiet, but I am not afraid to crank it up if need be. Last year my buddy and I found a bird that would only respond to two hens. That was on the second to last day of the season on hard hunted public land.

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[Fullfan]

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All depends on what the gobbler likes.

[GobbleNut]

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Pretty much agree with the general consensus that it depends on the mood of the next gobbler you encounter.  One thing I might add is that too many of us tend to "pigeon-hole" ourselves into thinking that "our" birds will only behave a certain way and will only respond to a certain type of calling.  ...Ain't necessarily so, folks.

Turkeys are turkeys,,,,and THEY are the ones that decide what they like and what they don't at any given moment.  Over the years, I have seen LOTS of gobblers get killed responding to some of the most awful calling and odd-ball calling tactics imaginable. 

Don't get me wrong.  I don't advocate going off the rails right off the bat when initiating a conversation with a gobbler, but those of us that start off thinking that this bird I am calling will only come if I do a certain thing,...and that thing only,...is going to NOT kill some gobblers that could be killed by trying something a bit different on him.

On the other hand, there is no doubt you will shut some gobblers down by getting too creative with your calling,  On those birds, there is always another encounter at another time to try something different.  That is just turkey hunting....

[Fdept56]

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I think every single turkey hunting tactics question can be answered in two simple words.

“It depends.”

[rakkin6]

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Like it was said before I tend to gauge it off of the bird. I tend to start off soft though and has the day goes on I may pick up the volume and frequency. I have had pretty good luck killing birds between 10:00 and 2:00 doing this.

[Turkeytider]

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If a gobbler has hens, most times you end up hunting them. That usually ends up trying to tick off the boss hen so she`ll come looking and hopefully drag him along. That will call for pretty aggressive cuts and yelps.

In the afternoon, it`s the occasional soft yelps, clucks and purrs. Whole different game in the afternoon.

[randy6471]

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  I usually start with soft, subtle calling early and get more aggressive as the day goes on.

  Location also makes a difference for me. Although I’ve killed a couple of Osceolas with aggressive calling...I have more success using soft, subtle calls. On the other hand, when hunting easterns back home in Pa, I kill as many or more with aggressive calling than I do with soft calling.

[RutnNStrutn]

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All of the above......depending on the situation. You got to feel out the birds you are working. Personally, I try to mimic what's going on around me. If the birds are quiet that day, I tone it down. If the birds are ripping it up, I rip it up right along with them.