trying calls on a live turkey

[sharxfan]

Okay here is a question for you gurus on calling out there. I have a family member that just came into possession of a live turkey. Would it be beneficial to practice my slate calling techniques on it to see how the turkey reacts and to check and see if I am doing it right? Or is it domesticated and it won't give a flying fig what I do and won't help me in any appreciable way to do this?

[drenalinld]

I think pen turkeys are great to learn what to sound like from but I wouldn't  put any stock in their reaction to your calling.

[dirt road ninja]

I think pen turkeys are great to learn what to sound like from but I wouldn't  put any stock in their reaction to your calling.

X2

[joshb311]

Might be interesting to see how it reacts if you are able to watch him while he's unaware of your presence. I would imagine a pen kept gobbler would react differently than a wild one, though. Of course I am speculating completely as I have no point of reference. lol

[handcannon]

I had a jake and a pair of hens until this past summer. I really enjoyed listening to them. I had a small opening where I could see the pen from my shop. While building calls, I'd test them out on the birds. Starting out really softly to see if they could hear it. Boy they could hear good. Light yelping and purring usually got the hens to yelping and looking around. The jake would usually go into strut but would not gobble at them. About the only thing that got him gobbling good was log trucks passing by the house. It was fun to do but after a little while, they would lose interest in the calling. If they seen you doing it, they would not react to the calls. They just wanted food.

[TRKYHTR]

I pulled out my calls I got from the Convention today to take a few pics. Well I can't put a box call in my hand without working it. I worked a few and then picked up a different call. I got no response from my turkeys who are in my backyard. When I hit the next box call they all hammered hard. I thought Wow was that just an anomaly. So I hit it again and they hammered again. No response from three and then they hammered twice in a row from the same box call. I think I might carry that call this year.

TRKYHTR

[MY]

   The pet turkey I had would gobble at anything.  You could clap, bark, open the pen, or scream, it didn't seem to matter.  I'm sure tame turkeys are different just like wild turkeys though, probably depends on the one you're testing your calls out on.  If I had used mine as a test subject i could've gotten away with a rusty nail for a striker and an old piece of tin for a slate.

[Rockhound]

Tame turkeys will gobble if you fart loud enough

[Bamarich]

Okay here is a question for you gurus on calling out there. I have a family member that just came into possession of a live turkey. Would it be beneficial to practice my slate calling techniques on it to see how the turkey reacts and to check and see if I am doing it right? Or is it domesticated and it won't give a flying fig what I do and won't help me in any appreciable way to do this?

Most pen-kept turkeys will gobble/strut at anything... but it'll make you feel good.

[joshb311]

Tame turkeys will gobble if you fart loud enough

  I've got a buddy that says he can get toms to gobble at will.... I think you may have discovered his technique... 

[TrackeySauresRex]

Tame turkeys will gobble if you fart loud enough

  I've got a buddy that says he can get toms to gobble at will.... I think you may have discovered his technique... 

Thats how the squeeling hen may have been invented 

[TANK]

I think pen turkeys are great to learn what to sound like from but I wouldn't  put any stock in their reaction to your calling.

X2

X3

[jblackburn]

I learned how to turkey call when I was a kid because we had tame turkeys on the farm.  The tame gobblers are morons, so I would not put much stock into getting them to strut, gobble, or even relieve themselves because your calling gets them worked up.

Now, once I figured out that the hens had more sense, I would call to them to get them to react, especially mimicing them. So if you have a hen, listen to her, especially rhythm and cadence.

[Rockhound]

Tame turkeys will gobble if you fart loud enough

  I've got a buddy that says he can get toms to gobble at will.... I think you may have discovered his technique... 

I knew not to give away my secrets 

[Rockhound]

when we were about 16 a guy moved into town and we became friends he wanted to get into turkey hunting i was at his house one day and he said i think i figured it out! watch this he took out his slate and played a tune and 3 penned gobblers across the road hammered he grinned real big and said thats purty good aint it. i said yea that will call in a turkey but watch this i took my hand and as hard as i could possibly could slapped the rear fender of his truck and they hammered at me. i broke his heart