I have a pretty good idea of the cadence from watching YouTube videos, but I can't seem to find a pattern in how many yelps I should be doing. Also, is each turkey different in regards to how high pitched a yelp should be?
there is no set number however turkeys have different meanings with yelping. for instance you have lost yelping , conversational yelps , mating yelps... ect. usually a standard 3 to 6 yelps , fluctuating low to high showing excitement or vice versa with a few clucks thrown in is a good medium. its a tough question to outright answer. listen to the hens while hunting and how the gobblers respond to their yelping. you can only have a rule of thumb , after all I don't think the turkeys can count. don't get into a habit of the same number of yelps and clucks with the same pattern. mix it up along with volumn and even tempo. this will add realism which is more important than a certain number of yelps in a series. this is just my opinion. good luck
I try not to do the same over and over. You know how many times I have picked out a hunter because he does a 4 yelp sequence all morning long.
So basically, random yelps will be my best bet? And by random yelps, I mean random number, random pitch, random cadence.
Will it hurt to throw in some rasp here and there?
Quote from: mikejd on March 16, 2016, 11:33:59 AM
I try not to do the same over and over. You know how many times I have picked out a hunter because he does a 4 yelp sequence all morning long.
Never had that problem because most get so caught up in their calling session that they just run on and on.
Some variation in pitch is natural. Cadence varies the least. Face different directions too.
about 8 but you need to mix it up...if you mess up keep going...everybody has their own style
So basically, yelp until a turkey gobbles back, then stick with that?
When watching YouTube videos, listen to the hens more than any caller.
Here's a good one from Ellis:
http://youtu.be/53mjIfm_wlE
Your calling must be authentic, communicate emotion. Otherwise you can yelp two times, three times, or fifty thousand times it won't matter. It's all about realism. Cadence and volume are just parts of the sum total.
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on March 16, 2016, 09:10:48 PM
So basically, yelp until a turkey gobbles back, then stick with that?
You might be yelping for hours, and that ain't natural. Yelp a few times and stop. Wait a bit and yelp a few more times. Who's counting?? Turkeys can't! But they know when you yelp 50,000 times, you ain't natural.
Instead of you tube Lovett Williams has great CDs. Get one or two, he explains a lot of the whys n you'll hear real turkeys making all the calls they have
If you have the time, get into the woods at fly down time before season and listen. Get close enough to hear them without spooking them. Many may tell you to leave your calls at home but, you could learn a lot with very little calling. Spend the first week without a call and just listen. Knowing the roost areas is key.
Maybe 3. Maybe 10. Really doesn't matter. Real hens don't count. Me either. I just go with what sounds right to me. If the bird I'm calling to likes it I guess it doesn't matter to him either. Just try to sound like a real hen.
Quote from: Yoder409 on March 17, 2016, 08:20:00 AM
Maybe 3. Maybe 10. Really doesn't matter. Real hens don't count. Me either. I just go with what sounds right to me. If the bird I'm calling to likes it I guess it doesn't matter to him either. Just try to sound like a real hen.
:z-winnersmiley:
What Bowguy said about the Lovett Williams tapes. Sounds like your new at this, there is no better sound to copy than the real turkeys. Lovett was a Turkey biologist and Hunter for many years, he recorded all the turkey sounds and breaks them down by life cycles and hunting seasons. Get a few of them and listen to the hen sounds, most of your questions will be answered.
Also, if you can find a copy of "The Turkey hunting world of Ben Lee" one of my all time favorite reads.
This book inspired me during my early years of turkey hunting.
Your questions have no right or wrong answers, there are no finite numbers, and what worked today will probably not tomorrow. This is why so many of us enjoy the challenge of hunting these great birds.
The only way to learn is go hunting, try different sounds, different strategies, different calls, it's all good.
RW
I vary the number, cadence oitch, volume and mix in purrs clicks and whines.
And I could care less if I have a weird sounding yelp now and then...listen to live hens ain't none of them gonna win on stage
You will hear turkeys make 1-3 nice calm yelps, they will make the standard 3-8 yelps, OR they may get excited and try to call a gobbler back to them and give 30 loud yelps without taking a breath. You have to be in the situation and call accordingly.
Steve
My first choice in choosing the sounds I will be making is to listen to the hens that morning... If the hens are clucking and cutting more than yelping, that is what I do, if they are mostly yelping, that is what I do.
I think that often we get so caught up in hearing birds gobble, that we forget to listen for the hens. I have hunted with several people who never even heard the hens talking cause they were so keyed on the gobbling at first light. As soon as I hear that first gobble, I listen for the hen that made them gobble (unfortunately, sometimes I never do hear them). Listen to the cadence, the tone/pitch, as well as the sounds they are making (clucks/cuts verses yelping).
I have heard hens repeat the same sequence over and over in repetitive manners... Sometimes they mix it up... If what I am doing is not getting a response, I try something else (that might mean a different call, or switching from yelping to clucking or cutting or purring).
I think that one of the most important things is not calling though. Once I have a bird coming closer, I try to call as little as possible... A watch is a very important turkey hunting tool for me, cause 5 minutes seems like an hour when I really want to call again. As long as a bird is making forward motion towards me, I do not call anymore. Ten minutes go by without an answer, and I might try to call again.
And once again, do not ignore the hens... Sometimes a hen is easier to call in than the tom... If a tom is henned up, and you can get the dominant hen riled up to come in and fight, the tom will follow. The most successful method for this is to emulate the hen as soon as she starts talking... Cut her off in mid-sentence a couple times as well (apparently women of all species hate this). The one time I usually call aggressively is when I am calling to the hen.
Cool thread !
Quote from: deerbasshunter3 on March 16, 2016, 11:38:56 AM
So basically, random yelps will be my best bet? And by random yelps, I mean random number, random pitch, random cadence.
Will it hurt to throw in some rasp here and there?
BINGO!!! A good call to use is the cutt that goes into a series of yelps, 4-5.