Ive been turkey hunting for about 2 years and i hear alot about turkey locators such as owl calls and crow calls. Just curious how effective they really are and what should i get? Thanks.
I rarely use them. Usually the natural crows and owls do a pretty good job in the mornings around here. If I do use one it would be an owl early and a crow or hawk later in the morning.
Ya I use a owl to try to get one to gobble early in the AM if I don't here them gobbling crow later in the morning even use the wood pecker
I like to use a hoot owl early in the morning. Where I hunt there are a lot of owls that live around the area and I like to get them fired up.
They end up doing the work for me.
Quote from: guesswho on January 06, 2012, 08:45:54 PM
I rarely use them. Usually the natural crows and owls do a pretty good job in the mornings around here. If I do use one it would be an owl early and a crow or hawk later in the morning.
X2. I usually let the early morning progress at it's own pace. I would say I very rarely use them at anytime, but they can be effective. I think the key is not over doing it.
The only locator call I use much is the crow call and then only sparingly. I listen to the REAL crows first to see if a gobbler will go off. If they don't go off on a real crow what good is it to use a call. One call I will NOT use is a coyote. I will use a turkey call as a last resort.
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 06, 2012, 10:41:14 PM
The only locator call I use much is the crow call and then only sparingly. I listen to the REAL crows first to see if a gobbler will go off. If they don't go off on a real crow what good is it to use a call. One call I will NOT use is a coyote. I will use a turkey call as a last resort.
Yeah, you gotta watch what type of call you use....may get a yote instead :fud:
Quote from: TeocTom on January 06, 2012, 10:48:30 PM
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 06, 2012, 10:41:14 PM
The only locator call I use much is the crow call and then only sparingly. I listen to the REAL crows first to see if a gobbler will go off. If they don't go off on a real crow what good is it to use a call. One call I will NOT use is a coyote. I will use a turkey call as a last resort.
Yeah, you gotta watch what type of call you use....may get a yote instead :fud:
IMO a coyote call scares them and shuts them up, at least here in my little part of Pennsylvania. I don't think the Old Gobbler wants to sound off with a coyote lurking about.
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 06, 2012, 11:02:28 PM
Quote from: TeocTom on January 06, 2012, 10:48:30 PM
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 06, 2012, 10:41:14 PM
The only locator call I use much is the crow call and then only sparingly. I listen to the REAL crows first to see if a gobbler will go off. If they don't go off on a real crow what good is it to use a call. One call I will NOT use is a coyote. I will use a turkey call as a last resort.
Yeah, you gotta watch what type of call you use....may get a yote instead :fud:
IMO a coyote call scares them and shuts them up, at least here in my little part of Pennsylvania. I don't think the Old Gobbler wants to sound off with a coyote lurking about.
Great point. I won't use one. Trying to get one to gobble in the evening...maybe. Around here, we have way too many coyotes. You might get a shock gobble on the roost in the morning, but it will do more harm than good in my opinion. I think our overabundance of predators, such as coyotes has altered the gobbling activity the last few years. It's survival mode.
Where I hunt the guide uses a crow call to locate turkeys and I have watched that work for him but so did his box call the next day. Still learning, good posts.
Quote from: guesswho on January 06, 2012, 08:45:54 PM
I rarely use them. Usually the natural crows and owls do a pretty good job in the mornings around here. If I do use one it would be an owl early and a crow or hawk later in the morning.
X2
I use an owl call in the early AM and then around 9am a crow call. Here where I hunt we have a lot of geese and a lot of times as these Canada Geese are flying out to feed, you can't hear a gobber gobble unless he standing on your head.
Primos peacock call does a very good job to get them to shock gobble.
I was hunting late season on heavily hunted public land last spring, and it was quite quiet. I gave one series on the peacock call, and one thundered off the roost.
I think there are too many variables to what will work and what won't work. In an area that has a high owl population, ol' tom might ignore them.
I can't run a crow call to save my bacon. Whenever I do it, it sounds like a joybuzzer on steroids!
I think that early in the breeding cycle, they will gobble to almost anything. Later on it gets tougher.
Like some sigs say on here,"Adapt and Kill."
I don't use locator calls I just stand along a road somewhere and listen for about 20 minutes
This kind of goes along with the post Guesswho made about roosting birds. There was a time, when I started turkey hunting here in the 70's, that it was easy to get a gobble using a gobble call, even after flydown ( I know, but there weren't many hunters, and it was private land). Now, that is basically a waste of time.
Then, for many years, I located, and subsequently killed, probably a couple of dozen birds at least, using an old no-name crow call I have that is quite loud. I rarely used it early, but if I didn't hear a bird on the roost I often would after hearing some real crows sound off, or, more importantly, later in the morning.
Now, now being the past few years, I rarely use the same call anymore strictly as a locator, because I just got tired of blowing the damned thing and not hearing anything, especially when I'm hunting in the South. I don't know if others have noticed this or not, but in my experience, birds just don't seem to shock gobble nearly as easily as they did 3 decades ago. I have no clue as to why not, but I honestly don't believe they do. In some ways, it is a plus, because we all know a bird that shock gobbles isn't necessarily receptive to calling in, so if you do hear a gobbler sound off on his own, it is probably more likely you will be able to seal the deal. Neill
Quote from: Neill_Prater on January 07, 2012, 11:39:04 AM
This kind of goes along with the post Guesswho made about roosting birds. There was a time, when I started turkey hunting here in the 70's, that it was easy to get a gobble using a gobble call, even after flydown ( I know, but there weren't many hunters, and it was private land). Now, that is basically a waste of time.
Then, for many years, I located, and subsequently killed, probably a couple of dozen birds at least, using an old no-name crow call I have that is quite loud. I rarely used it early, but if I didn't hear a bird on the roost I often would after hearing some real crows sound off, or, more importantly, later in the morning.
Now, now being the past few years, I rarely use the same call anymore strictly as a locator, because I just got tired of blowing the damned thing and not hearing anything, especially when I'm hunting in the South. I don't know if others have noticed this or not, but in my experience, birds just don't seem to shock gobble nearly as easily as they did 3 decades ago. I have no clue as to why not, but I honestly don't believe they do. In some ways, it is a plus, because we all know a bird that shock gobbles isn't necessarily receptive to calling in, so if you do hear a gobbler sound off on his own, it is probably more likely you will be able to seal the deal. Neill
The reason I use an air horn now to make them shock gobble.
Rarely use them myself.
I travel light and don't care to carry anything I won't use. I sometimes take my crow call around my neck and owl with my voice.
Most of the time I try not to give them slightest chance to know I'm there till that gun barks.
There are some places it won't matter, but hunting heavily hunted birds is different. They get somewhat suspicious about all that noise and that blob of camo walking through the woods every day.
Some places I have hunted you could stand by the trucks at dark and yell and the would sound off until you got bored and wanted to get some rest.
I think as a whole they probably do gobble less at the gamut of locators, especially on public land. But I still try, before I make hen calls, with hope he gives away his position so I can make a strategic set up before he starts working towards my set up.
You hear folks talk about being more realistic on our turkey calls, but food for thought, truly add realism to your locator calls you'd be suprised how much better of a reaction you would have from the gobblers. Also change up your sequences-for example- a barred owl scream instead of the eight note hoot- or a single note owl hoot with a nice roll at the end. Start a fighting sequence with a crow call instead of caw caw caw......
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With the woods I hunt being lots of NF ground, I am rarely near the birds at first light because I don't know where they are at. I will use an owl hooter a couple of times but hardly ever get a response. During the day I will use a box call to try and locate a bird. I have found that a box call works for me as good as a crow call.
No t being an expert alls I can say is if they do sound off for you it just gives you an idea of where to setup if you are not certain where they are and why
Quote from: PaTurkHntr on January 07, 2012, 05:57:59 AM
I don't use locator calls I just stand along a road somewhere and listen for about 20 minutes
Every year before the season starts I try to locate as many gobblers as I can, all on public land. I usually have located up to 60 birds by then, at least I did last year. By the middle of the season everything quiets down with all the pressure we get around here. If I don't hear anything anywhere I always walk the areas where I heard them before but the only locator call I use is cutting then yelping, or just yelping. I found alot last year by this method.
As was said earlier, I have seen the crow calls be effective around 1030-11 once the birds around here seem to get tight lipped. The crow call usually gets them going at least long enough to find out where they are and get set up where you think you can get them into range.
I absolutely use a locator call. That crow isn't always where you want him when you want him. i don't use it first thing because the crows are cruising and sounding off a bunch. But if I need to keep track of a bird while I reposition I use one. I also use them during scouting. Before I'll cross a field or come over a ridge top I will hit a crow call to make sure I don't bump one.
I've also had success with a peacock call. Recommend them after the turkeys have quit gobbling. That annoying sound would make me mad enough to yell back if I was a gobbler... :angry9:
And yes they work. I could credit them for many birds that I may have spooked or walked past. The two rules to remember is don't over use them and don't assume they will get a response every time. If you are where you think the turkeys want to be but don't get an answer to your locator, don't just move on. Hunt it as you would if you didn't have the locator.
I use locator calls religiously here in west TN. Mainly because I don't want to bust any and I know where they are heading usually based on what part of my farm they gobble from. I don't want them to think there is a hen anywhere around till get to the spot I know I can work them from. I don't always go just by passing crows because I've seen alot of birds keep lips sealed till one buzzes them right overhead. I also use owls late morning simply because it has more shock factor by then than a crow call does.
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 06, 2012, 11:02:28 PM
Quote from: TeocTom on January 06, 2012, 10:48:30 PM
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on January 06, 2012, 10:41:14 PM
The only locator call I use much is the crow call and then only sparingly. I listen to the REAL crows first to see if a gobbler will go off. If they don't go off on a real crow what good is it to use a call. One call I will NOT use is a coyote. I will use a turkey call as a last resort.
Yeah, you gotta watch what type of call you use....may get a yote instead :fud:
IMO a coyote call scares them and shuts them up, at least here in my little part of Pennsylvania. I don't think the Old Gobbler wants to sound off with a coyote lurking about.
I use a yote call out here in california and works wonders in most of the state. Except in the main area I hunt which is San Diego county,there is to many of them there for it to work. I use a snow goose or elk call down there oh and a duck call. They work just fine down in the south.
A coyote call may be a fine choice for Ca. IMO it is not for these smart, pressured Pa. birds. I don't know anybody here who uses one.
Locator calls are a good way to avoid bumping birds when your on the move. I use owl calls or goose calls. Never had much luck with crow calls.
WildTigerTrout , Thats one of the reasons it doesnt work in San Diego county too many people pushin birds around and hitting them with every standard locator on the market. Also to yote population is also high. Thats why I've gone to the extrem and use elk,snow goose and duck calls. I might have to get a peacock call to try it out,since there is a farm that has them and I hear turkey sound off to them. Im not to sure if it will work,but Im always willing to try it out...
A locator is very important to me. Can make the day when all else fails.
I sell an air horn for this specific need. Ferocious Shock locator.
Gave one to a friend to take to the mountains hunting.
Later we were talking and he said, " OH yeah, that shocker really works" I smiled and shook my head yes.
10.00 will get you one delivered. PM me if you want the loudest locator in the woods.
Very small and light but powerfull.
I use a crow call A LOT. Especially when moving on a bird. One of the gobblers I killed last year was tracked by a crow call. He would gobble at everything, but stay with his hens. We were able to track his movements using the crow call, get in front of him and then we just scratched in the leaves until his hen walked past us and he kept coming straight in.
While I am certain air horns will sure enough make them gobble, for my sanity I hope not too many around here catch on to that. Man that could get annoying real quick if in the wrong hands!!! I've heard a few honk their car horns, usually so often they couldn't even hear one if it gobbled.
The crows are thick around here, so the birds don't gobble at them much. My crow call worked well on Texas Rios, though. Missouri and Iowa Easterns...not so much.
crow callers wont work on these public land turkeys
around here on our public land the crows are horrible on several morning rick and i were hunting on P.L.i bet there were 50 crows sounding off at the same time i started once to shoot a few
they were so loud we could'nt even talk to each other much less hear a turkey gobble
Quote from: socalturkeyman on January 09, 2012, 02:57:25 AM
WildTigerTrout , Thats one of the reasons it doesnt work in San Diego county too many people pushin birds around and hitting them with every standard locator on the market. Also to yote population is also high. Thats why I've gone to the extrem and use elk,snow goose and duck calls. I might have to get a peacock call to try it out,since there is a farm that has them and I hear turkey sound off to them. Im not to sure if it will work,but Im always willing to try it out...
Coyote calls don't work here because it scares the s__t out of the turkeys! We have alot of coyotes here and breeding season or not I don't think the Old Gobbler wants to end up as some coyote's dinner. If I use anything other than a crow call it's a hawk or maybe a pileated woodpecker call. Both are effective here in Pa.
I carry a few, but mostly just let the owls crank them up.
Great Post ! I am not a turkey guru by any means but I have never had luck using a locater call on the public land easterns I hunt. I had ONE gobbler ever answer my owl call ! He musta been a 2 year old because he liked to gobble. Two years ago on opening day somebody came flying down the gravel road I was hunting off of. Every bottom he would get to he would lay on the horn. A bird actually sounded off about 80 yards from me but the dude on the horn didn't hear him and continued hauling a** down the road.
i owl hoot with mouth in morning with great success and box call later in the day
Quote from: maustypsu on January 08, 2012, 08:06:57 PM
I absolutely use a locator call. That crow isn't always where you want him when you want him. i don't use it first thing because the crows are cruising and sounding off a bunch. But if I need to keep track of a bird while I reposition I use one. I also use them during scouting. Before I'll cross a field or come over a ridge top I will hit a crow call to make sure I don't bump one.
I've also had success with a peacock call. Recommend them after the turkeys have quit gobbling. That annoying sound would make me mad enough to yell back if I was a gobbler... :angry9:
And yes they work. I could credit them for many birds that I may have spooked or walked past. The two rules to remember is don't over use them and don't assume they will get a response every time. If you are where you think the turkeys want to be but don't get an answer to your locator, don't just move on. Hunt it as you would if you didn't have the locator.
:agreed:
I've tried them all: crow, woodpecker, peacock, goose, owl, name it, even the "H.s. strut squealing hen" and never had a single gobble.
The only answer I can get is using a box call or a gobbler shaker but it's not always a good thing locating them using turkey sound 'cause I don't necessary want them to go toward where I'm calling from when trying to locate them...
If I could make them to shock gobble like you guys are doing it would make my life so much easier...
in my experience, locator calls are like turkey calls ie they all don't work all the time. The locators I carry are: crow, owl w/ my voice, goose and a piliated woodpecker. When one elicits a gobble I stick with it to get into position. Use them sparingly. Sometimes none of em work.
I have used most of the locaters with the success of making a tom gobble. I believe that all of them have worked at one time or another. We are talking about turkeys, not very smart, but very paranoid. I put the owl away after I here the first crow, and pretty much use a crow call the rest of the day. I use a shaker as a call, not as a locater. Same with a box call. You'd better have a good sitting spot picked if you are using them. :anim_25:
Quote from: Neill_Prater on January 07, 2012, 11:39:04 AM
This kind of goes along with the post Guesswho made about roosting birds. There was a time, when I started turkey hunting here in the 70's, that it was easy to get a gobble using a gobble call, even after flydown ( I know, but there weren't many hunters, and it was private land). Now, that is basically a waste of time.
Then, for many years, I located, and subsequently killed, probably a couple of dozen birds at least, using an old no-name crow call I have that is quite loud. I rarely used it early, but if I didn't hear a bird on the roost I often would after hearing some real crows sound off, or, more importantly, later in the morning.
Now, now being the past few years, I rarely use the same call anymore strictly as a locator, because I just got tired of blowing the damned thing and not hearing anything, especially when I'm hunting in the South. I don't know if others have noticed this or not, but in my experience, birds just don't seem to shock gobble nearly as easily as they did 3 decades ago. I have no clue as to why not, but I honestly don't believe they do. In some ways, it is a plus, because we all know a bird that shock gobbles isn't necessarily receptive to calling in, so if you do hear a gobbler sound off on his own, it is probably more likely you will be able to seal the deal. Neill
I agree about birds not responding to locator calls like they used to, I carry my owl hoot and crow call but rarely use them. I taught myself how to hoot and crow call using my voice so if I do it I usually just do it with my voice. We have so many crows, barred owl's and pilleated woodpeckers in my part of VA that I think they are just used to it. I may look into a peacock call or hawk call just for something different. I think the best locator for mid morning is a box call, especially if you cut real loud. My 2 cents.
Quote from: Neill_Prater on January 07, 2012, 11:39:04 AM
Now, now being the past few years, I rarely use the same call anymore strictly as a locator, because I just got tired of blowing the damned thing and not hearing anything, especially when I'm hunting in the South. I don't know if others have noticed this or not, but in my experience, birds just don't seem to shock gobble nearly as easily as they did 3 decades ago. I have no clue as to why not, but I honestly don't believe they do. In some ways, it is a plus, because we all know a bird that shock gobbles isn't necessarily receptive to calling in, so if you do hear a gobbler sound off on his own, it is probably more likely you will be able to seal the deal. Neill
I couldn't agree more.
Locator calls are just that, they help you get a bird to gobble if you dont already know where theyre at. saying that, i dont rely on them but like anything else their are times when they come in handy and i always carry an owl and crow call. They're never a replacement for good old fashioned scouting. good luck
would not go into the woods without a crow call.
Primos power crystal is the best crow locator call that I've ever used . I normally wait until I hear the first crow in the morning then I use it . When I don't want to keep calling to the bird when I'm moving on him I will blow on it periodically to keep tabs on him .
I typically wait until the birds gobble on their own, when that doesn't happen; I hit my crow or goose call to get them going. It's not 100% foolproof, but I wouldn't leave a locator call out of my vest.
I use a coyote howler in the evening when roosting birds. In the morning darkness I will use a hoot tube occasionally. Later in the morning I switch to either a crow or pileated woodpecker call. These all usually work pretty well.
Where we hunt the 1st day of season corresponds with an automotive event on the adjoining property. I have seen my brother throw everything including the kitchen sink call, and no response.
The birds started making noise, when the Hot Rods were started and reved up on the next property.
Going to get me a recored big block Chevy for my shock call this year !!!!!
Very early in the spring, last week of March, when jakes and toms are hanging together but not actively beginning to breed or fight yet, they will sometimes respond during the day to a wobbler shock call. This is my last resort call after they ignore all hen calls. I did it once out of frustration and it worked. I tried it again the following spring and it worked again. And again the next. Go figure.
They are great some of the time....just like all the other stuff we carry with us (nothing works every time).
I generally use them when I've found a gobbler and maybe they arent coming in, for whatever reason, and I need to keep track of him while I change my position. I dont want him to start heading my direction by using a hen call to locate him while I'm moving.
I carry a crow and a woodpecker. I think they're like anything and some will gobble to em and some will not. But I definitely try to rely on natural crows and things but I always try the woodpecker before I try an actual call. If one's on top of me I'd like the chance to sit down before he comes to me. I also always look to make sure I'm beside a tree or something I can get down in if one rattles off real close when I make turkey sounds. I had that happen 1 time and I laid on my belly in the briars next to a logging road for an hour before I actually shot him from a prone position. he was only like 50 yds when he gobbled and i wasn't ready.
It was a mad scenario when he started gobbling and I got him coming. He was gobbling a drumming like a lunatic. Birds started firing off and coming from all around me. 2 were on the other side of a big creek to my right. One behind me where i just came from and at least one other in front of me besides the one that was working. It was mass hysteria! Dude with me got screwed though cause I'm a bird in the hand kinda guy and whacked the 1st longbeard to step into a clear shooting lane. He got to take my picture. :)
i use a good ole hoot owl call