When you are out scouting do you ever use your calls?
Thanks
Absolutely not. Cover ground and try not to let your target know you are even there. Get up early and learn their roosts. Don't teach them already that on the other end of your call is a person or at best no turkey. Just not a very wise decision to be doing.
No. Can just calling hurt you before the season? That depends on your level of ability. Personally I did not like to call before the season as I would rather them not know I am there or have been there. I have had turkeys walk up on me scouting and if I had been calling they may have associated the hen they were hearing with me. Of course I have a variety of calls but do not want to take one out before I get to really use it. Some people do and some do not, personal preference.
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If I am hunting somewhere that I KNOW there are turkeys there, I will not call to those birds. The one exception to that steadfast rule is when I am thinking about hunting an area that I am not familiar with and do not know if there are turkeys in the area or not. In those situations, I will sometimes call at strategic points during the day to try to get a gobbler to respond so I know there are some around.
I prefer to find out whether there are birds in an area by being there at first light in the morning, or in some cases, at last light in the evening. Listening and/or using a locator call will generally confirm the presence of gobblers,...or not,...in a lot of cases. If I can't be there at that time, and if I am unsure whether a place has birds, I will sometimes cut/yelp aggressively at strategic locations where I think my calling will be heard for a long distance and see if I can get a response.
If I get a response at any point in those situations, I have accomplished what I was trying to do,...and I am out of there until I will be hunting that spot. Calling to birds you know are there before the season,...just for the "heck of it",... is a great way to make them more difficult to call when you start hunting them.
Thanks for the response. That confirmed what I already thought but I just wanted to verify.
NO NO NO and Hell NO!!!!!! :character0029:
I hate to say this but I agree with gobblenut and that's sad cause I think he is senile. I will call in a new area if its after fly down and i wasnt in the area at daylight. Only to get a gobble. That's all I am after. I won't even walk in the woods and call though.
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Why not? If you're careful and don't bump birds. I call often when scouting new areas, usually from a vantage point where my calls roll down through an area where I suspect (hope) turkeys to be. It's a great way to locate numbers of bird on larger tracts of land. If it's a small piece of property and you know birds are there, then there's not much use.
No reason. There called Gobblers because they gobble do your scouting with your ears. Turkeys also have feet... that leave tracks. If you need a call to scout for turkeys your lacking woodsmanship or an alarm clock.
Absolutely not.
Never.
You bet, locator calls only. I have four that work for me!
MK M GOBL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJDWhyJZ6B8
Not like that. But I will call once if I am trolling and I don't have a clue where one is. If I get an answer, it is game on. I never call pre-season.
Quote from: EZ on April 07, 2019, 07:55:02 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJDWhyJZ6B8
Ray Eye hunts private locked down turkeys. If you read his books he goes on and on about the private land he hunts how no one is allowed to go to a downed Gobbler if other turkeys are around no driving roads etc etc.
The perfect example of public vs private difference. Look at all the Florida Gobblers being posted compares to how long it took the Penhoti guys to kill a few. There is no comparison public to private. No reason to call to a turkey if you cant kill him I don't scout when the season is open I hunt.
Quote from: LaLongbeard on April 08, 2019, 04:59:16 AM
Quote from: EZ on April 07, 2019, 07:55:02 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJDWhyJZ6B8
Ray Eye hunts private locked down turkeys. If you read his books he goes on and on about the private land he hunts how no one is allowed to go to a downed Gobbler if other turkeys are around no driving roads etc etc.
The perfect example of public vs private difference. Look at all the Florida Gobblers being posted compares to how long it took the Penhoti guys to kill a few. There is no comparison public to private. No reason to call to a turkey if you cant kill him I don't scout when the season is open I hunt.
I realize that. I only posted that to show somewhat a situation that I was talking about. As long as you're not walking through the middle of your hunting area calling and bumping birds and don't see why so many are deathly afraid to use a call to locate turkeys. The turkeys don't know weather you're not a turkey. I listen at daybreak and let the turkeys do their thing, but later in the morning in a new area, when the gobbling stops, I will use a call to try and make turkeys gobble... from a strategic point of course. Not every place I go.
I hunt mostly Pennsylvania Public land so believe me, I know how to hunt heavily pressured turkeys. Been doing so for 35 years and you are correct, it takes woodsmanship.
Plain and simple NO. Youll educate the bird by calling and he either comes in and you cant shoot or you move on and he comes in to see nothing and the gobbler knows where the calls came from. :firefighter:
Quote from: LaLongbeard on April 07, 2019, 04:22:25 PM
No reason. There called Gobblers because they gobble do your scouting with your ears. Turkeys also have feet... that leave tracks. If you need a call to scout for turkeys your lacking woodsmanship or an alarm clock.
Pretty accurate honestly. If you need to call you aren't doing enough scouting (which I guess maybe ones busy life might unfortunately cause) or you are really desperate.
If you have the time to get out there really early or really late in a day or even walk the woods for sign there is no reason you should be messing with an actual turkey call. It really just isn't a necessary tactic. If you have exhausted all options and still don't know if turkeys are there...sure, whip out a call if you want. I would book it the opposite direction after doing so though and wouldn't call after getting a response
Quote from: Plush on April 08, 2019, 10:39:30 AM
Quote from: LaLongbeard on April 07, 2019, 04:22:25 PM
No reason. There called Gobblers because they gobble do your scouting with your ears. Turkeys also have feet... that leave tracks. If you need a call to scout for turkeys your lacking woodsmanship or an alarm clock.
Pretty accurate honestly. If you need to call you aren't doing enough scouting (which I guess maybe ones busy life might unfortunately cause) or you are really desperate.
If you have the time to get out there really early or really late in a day or even walk the woods for sign there is no reason you should be messing with an actual turkey call. It really just isn't a necessary tactic. If you have exhausted all options and still don't know if turkeys are there...sure, whip out a call if you want. I would book it the opposite direction after doing so though and wouldn't call after getting a response
Not sure if this is directed at me or not, but the question was "do you call while scouting?" I do at times and in the right circumstances, which I tried to describe. That might not be the right thing to do for some hunters and that's great. Everyone has their own ways and methods.
Believe me when I tell you, I would NEVER do anything to make my turkeys harder to hunt. Please don't take the fact that someone may use calling as a locating tool as someone who is not woodswise or a good woodsman.
Quite frankly I would rather go to a high point in a new area and get a gobble out of one that go walking through the woods flushing them right before season but to each their own. I scout new areas yearly. Doesn't mean I am planning on hunting it right away but it never hurts to make sure there is a least some turkeys around. Different people have different methods. I know in the two days of scouting I did this weekend I was within 200 yards of gobblers on the limb. Never called,owl hooted or made a peep in any way. I left before they flew down and went and checked out new areas. I called in exactly 3 locations overlooking some large areas. I never mad a peep after I got a response and left the area. The point is be smart and plan ahead. No reason to go blundering through the woods getting everything worked up.
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Quote from: EZ on April 08, 2019, 11:56:30 AM
Quote from: Plush on April 08, 2019, 10:39:30 AM
Quote from: LaLongbeard on April 07, 2019, 04:22:25 PM
No reason. There called Gobblers because they gobble do your scouting with your ears. Turkeys also have feet... that leave tracks. If you need a call to scout for turkeys your lacking woodsmanship or an alarm clock.
Pretty accurate honestly. If you need to call you aren't doing enough scouting (which I guess maybe ones busy life might unfortunately cause) or you are really desperate.
If you have the time to get out there really early or really late in a day or even walk the woods for sign there is no reason you should be messing with an actual turkey call. It really just isn't a necessary tactic. If you have exhausted all options and still don't know if turkeys are there...sure, whip out a call if you want. I would book it the opposite direction after doing so though and wouldn't call after getting a response
Not sure if this is directed at me or not, but the question was "do you call while scouting?" I do at times and in the right circumstances, which I tried to describe. That might not be the right thing to do for some hunters and that's great. Everyone has their own ways and methods.
Believe me when I tell you, I would NEVER do anything to make my turkeys harder to hunt. Please don't take the fact that someone may use calling as a locating tool as someone who is not woodswise or a good woodsman.
I think there are a lot of stipulations before considering this tactic one would have to take into consideration. I certainly wouldn't do it in a spot I know well and know turkeys are there. I probably would only do it if I had a vast amount of land to cover and going out to each different spot a different morning would just be unreasonable. I could see myself trying this in the area I hunt...but then again it is 150,000 acres.
The thing is if I was going to scout this way, why not just do it when the season is going? Though part of me just wants to try this at a spot I don't have already eye balled just to see if I can find even more potential birds to take down. Did I just talk myself into tryin this?
Let me rephrase:
-If you know of turkeys already - NO
-Small piece of hunting land - NO
-If you are completely lost and can't find any turkeys - Probably Yes...in desperation
-Hunting thousands upon thousands of acres - Maybe a decent idea.
Though I personally do not think it is hard to locate turkeys. Their habitat and favorite spots to be are quite predictable and they scream before coming down every morning(at least the easterns by me). Mine are even nice enough to gobble for a solid 30 minutes after coming down to let you know their routes.
To me this is a last resort tactic or if you are trying to cover A LOT of ground. Though I think one would be better off focusing on a few areas if they can help it. The original poster doesn't really give a situation so really one has no option, but to say absolutely not because in most situation it is not really a good deal.
I answered no no no and hell no, but I will conceded there are scenarios where I would. On land I know and have had time to walk and scout the answer is no. I think when the OP said "scouting" it was assumed pre-season scouting your hunting area. If it was a blind hunt in a new area and was not hearing anything or did not have a lot of time to walk an area I would do some calling. It may not be the best scenario, but it beats just rolling dice.
My question to the guys that oppose scouting for birds by just walking around looking for turkeys and sign because it will scare them off is this: Who gets to hunt anymore where there are not folks regularly walking around in their hunting spots? I suspect there are darn few places in turkey country anymore where the birds don't regularly see or hear people.
Honestly, I find it hard to imagine that a turkey seeing someone in the woods is going to be negatively impacted by that experience and in any way associate it with hunters. Personally, every place I have ever hunted there has been plenty of evidence of people being there pretty regularly.
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 09, 2019, 08:15:01 AM
My question to the guys that oppose scouting for birds by just walking around looking for turkeys and sign because it will scare them off is this: Who gets to hunt anymore where there are not folks regularly walking around in their hunting spots? I suspect there are darn few places in turkey country anymore where the birds don't regularly see or hear people.
Honestly, I find it hard to imagine that a turkey seeing someone in the woods is going to be negatively impacted by that experience and in any way associate it with hunters. Personally, every place I have ever hunted there has been plenty of evidence of people being there pretty regularly.
Agree. Where I live, if you hunt public land, they have heard and seen people many times. My experience is that they just adapt and are cautious until things calm down. Now if they have been shot at or injured, that's a different story.
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I agree on the people thing. I live in the woods and they hear us and our dogs on a daily basis. I have killed three birds within site of the house. It is not uncommon for them to be close to the house gobbling, feeding or whatever. I have a spot out of state that is on a mountain side overlooking a lake and campground. Almost every morning I can hear people talking laughing, people in boats fishing and often I can see them hiking. I have killed multiple birds on this spot. They don't even act like they hear or see the people. yet if you make a wrong move or sound they are gone quick. It is what they perceive as danger not what we think might scare them. Heck i had three gobblers coming out in the field by the house a few years ago and as long as you stayed in the yard close to the house they ignored you even though they were only 200 yards away. If you took one step down the driveway or into the woods heads went up like parascopes.
Quote from: eggshell on April 09, 2019, 12:11:51 PM
I agree on the people thing. I live in the woods and they hear us and our dogs on a daily basis. I have killed three birds within site of the house. It is not uncommon for them to be close to the house gobbling, feeding or whatever. I have a spot out of state that is on a mountain side overlooking a lake and campground. Almost every morning I can hear people talking laughing, people in boats fishing and often I can see them hiking. I have killed multiple birds on this spot. They don't even act like they hear or see the people. yet if you make a wrong move or sound they are gone quick. It is what they perceive as danger not what we think might scare them. Heck i had three gobblers coming out in the field by the house a few years ago and as long as you stayed in the yard close to the house they ignored you even though they were only 200 yards away. If you took one step down the driveway or into the woods heads went up like parascopes.
Had a bird gobbling his head off not 100 yards from a river with a 60HP 2 stroke on an aluminum boat screaming down the river. Never bothered the bird in the least. He hears that on a daily basis.
Yes, Yes, Yes. I already know where the birds are, I want to SEE what they are. If he/they aren't what I'm after, I'll go elsewhere. I hunt particular birds.
Quote from: EZ on April 07, 2019, 11:30:22 AM
Why not? If you're careful and don't bump birds. I call often when scouting new areas, usually from a vantage point where my calls roll down through an area where I suspect (hope) turkeys to be. It's a great way to locate numbers of bird on larger tracts of land. If it's a small piece of property and you know birds are there, then there's not much use.
I agree with this.
Most of my scouting is done with my young children... Maybe go fishing or something after. Early morning scouting trips are tough due to time constraints.
I hunt one property where the birds seem to have different preferences every year, and it is a decent size piece of land. I take the kids out (about 9 am) and let them call until we get a gobble, then drive off as soon as we do. Birds are used to vehicles (it is a cattle property that is driven several times per week), and I doubt it hurts anything.
If I am looking at a new property, I certainly want confirmation that there are birds on the property during huntable hours. I get an answer and immediately stop calling and move on.
If I see birds, I certainly am not going to call at them... And I definitely would not attempt to call birds in before the season... But getting birds to respond mid-morning to a locator call has not proven fruitful to me, and getting an answer to a call gives me confidence, and some idea as locations to hunt....
locator calls only for me
this brings up a funny memory with my dad. We were just riding around on a preseason afternoon and I wanted to show him a particular spot. I had a mouthcall that I had recently purchased and I was playing around with it....I look down the ridge and here comes a gobbler and hens coming right to us we crouched down behind a large tree (in street clothes) and let them pass by us. We then drove to another spot and parked to rest a bit, he picked a box call up from the dash and gobbled on it, and a turkey gobbles back just off the road. His hearing was going down by this point and he said "D@#M son was that a gobble?" :TooFunny:
Thought I heard Ray say that some Of that land was public? Mike
Yep I call.
Quote from: LaLongbeard on April 07, 2019, 04:22:25 PM
No reason. There called Gobblers because they gobble do your scouting with your ears. Turkeys also have feet... that leave tracks. If you need a call to scout for turkeys your lacking woodsmanship or an alarm clock. Never ever call while scouting :z-twocents:
I have always read, heard and watched on videos/TV that you should never call when scouting as you will educate the birds, so that is what I have always done or not done if you will.
Now in the case I am hunting and not finding anything yes I used to call as I was walking and scouting the woods and fields and hope to again in the future.
Zelmo,
I am curious why you say "no" calling while scouting? A hen call would be a natural occurrence in the woods and as Sie-die-alot mentioned I have often read no calling when scout but have never seen a reason why. Thanks in advance.
no way ... no need to call....before season.. that's why you have eyes . ears and feet ... it's called scouting ...
What I am saying is you could walk 10 miles and not see or hear anything, whereas, as a call of some sort periodically used could produce a gobble so that you are aware of birds in the area. I am talking about huge tracts of land not small parcels of a few hundred acres. Also not talking about continuous calling but a periodic call. So what would be the harm in using a natural call such as a hen?
:newmascot:
Quote from: NCL on May 31, 2019, 08:44:42 AM
What I am saying is you could walk 10 miles and not see or hear anything, whereas, as a call of some sort periodically used could produce a gobble so that you are aware of birds in the area. I am talking about huge tracts of land not small parcels of a few hundred acres. Also not talking about continuous calling but a periodic call. So what would be the harm in using a natural call such as a hen?
It's already been said get there before daylight and you should hear the Gobblers gobbling. The sound carries along ways. If you've e been in an area since before daylight and walked 10 miles and not heard a gobble ,seen a track or any sign of a turkey there's probably not turkeys in the area.
You apparently want to call really bad while scouting lol... go ahead. The harm could be several things.
You make hen calls and a Gobbler comes in silent he sees you, you don't see him and continue on with the "periodic" hen calls. You have just made that Gobbler a lot harder to kill. The number one thing is if you were the only "periodic " hen caller in the woods that would be one thing but for some reason new inexperienced hunters all have this same "great idea" when several of you converge on an area "periodic " hen calling your not helping anything. I see it every single year at home the week before the season nobody in the woods then the Friday before the opener here comes the scouters and it's always about 9 am for some reason. Either get a good alarm clock or take up dove hunting would be my advice.
There are instances where calling while scouting can be beneficial, for sure. There are also instances where it is not.
The real discussion here is about whether a person can get in a situation where the turkeys he is calling to somehow associates that calling with a human being,...and in turn, associates human beings with danger. If that happens, you have just created a situation where those turkeys will most likely be harder to call in when you start hunting them. The more of those negative interactions turkeys have, the more that avoidance mechanism is ingrained in them.
Regardless of what anybody might tell you, turkeys are most definitely capable of "learning" to associate turkey calling with negative interactions with humans,...and will avoid that calling. Anybody that tells you otherwise,...well, they just have not "learned" themselves that turkeys will do that.
Now, on the other hand, turkeys can also learn to associate turkey calling from humans in a positive manner. For instance, the person who feeds turkeys on their property can use turkey calling when they put out feed to bring turkeys to them. As long as those people don't do something that makes those birds associate them with danger.
Look at it this way. Those of us that have set up feeders on our property are well aware that when "our" turkeys hear that feeder go off, they will very quickly come running. They have learned a positive association with that whirring of the feeder motor. The same can be done with turkey calling. However, do something that makes those birds think there is some sort of danger involved with human interactions,...and their attitudes will change quickly and dramatically.
Moral of the story: Call if you want to when scouting,...but be aware that if you do it in the wrong circumstances, you are hurting your chances of success when the season rolls around. :icon_thumright:
Gobblenut and Bay 1985,
Thank you, your answers were what I was looking to find out. I have often read do not call preseason under any circumstances but there is never an explanation why not to call which kind of seems counter intuitive. The "been seen by a silent turkey" makes a lot of sense, along with the how many others before you, couple that with the Pavlov Conditioning Gobblenut mentions and it becomes clearer. I live in an area that has turkey's in close proximity and I often sit on the back deck and call to them as practice to mimic the cadences and tones and I had never seen any type of adverse effect which prompted the question. Thanks guys I do appreciate the answer.
Quote from: NCL on May 31, 2019, 12:41:59 PM
Gobblenut and Bay 1985,
Thank you, your answers were what I was looking to find out. I have often read do not call preseason under any circumstances but there is never an explanation why not to call which kind of seems counter intuitive. The "been seen by a silent turkey" makes a lot of sense, along with the how many others before you, couple that with the Pavlov Conditioning Gobblenut mentions and it becomes clearer. I live in an area that has turkey's in close proximity and I often sit on the back deck and call to them as practice to mimic the cadences and tones and I had never seen any type of adverse effect which prompted the question. Thanks guys I do appreciate the answer.
I would say the turkeys your dealing with from the back deck are not as wild as the turkeys most of us deal with. Some places you see fllocks of turkeys in pastures next to houses. I can tell you it is a rare occasion to see a Gobbler next to a road or in a opening that can be seen from the road in Louisiana . They have most definitely learned not to hangout near roads and what happens when they do. Goblenut was correct turkeys can and do learn to associate good and bad experiences. Some places you can blow car horns or crow calls owl hoot all day and get an answer. I guarantee that will shut a Gobbler completely up most of the places I hunt. I read all these posts about turkeys doing things completely off the probability scale when compared to the public land I hunt. It's almost like we're talking about two completely separate birds and maybe we are. Lovett Williams wrote about the relative Wildness of turkeys depending on there location.
Quote from: NCL on May 31, 2019, 12:41:59 PM
Gobblenut and Bay 1985,
Thank you, your answers were what I was looking to find out. I have often read do not call preseason under any circumstances but there is never an explanation why not to call which kind of seems counter intuitive. The "been seen by a silent turkey" makes a lot of sense, along with the how many others before you, couple that with the Pavlov Conditioning Gobblenut mentions and it becomes clearer. I live in an area that has turkey's in close proximity and I often sit on the back deck and call to them as practice to mimic the cadences and tones and I had never seen any type of adverse effect which prompted the question. Thanks guys I do appreciate the answer.
NCL, IMHO, everyone's circumstances are different. If I were advising an inexperienced turkey hunter, I'd tell him to leave the calls at home. I've been hunting tough (eastern) Pa. public land birds for decades and I will use any tactic I can to locate as many birds as possible in the pre season. Although it's not my preferred method, I will use a call to locate turkeys in the right circumstances. Many of the areas I hunt are vast and with low turkey populations. Add to that, they don't always come back to the same areas in the spring after wintering somewhere else. I'm always "somewhere" at daylight listening. Then I move to other areas. If I can run a call from a high point overlooking a several hundred acre valley, and get a responce (or multiple responces) then I'm outta there, without having to stomp all over looking for sign and desturbing birds. As with anything, a little common sense goes a long way.
Thank you for the very informative thoughts. It seems to some extent the call/no call is very "situational". Heavily hunted area not a very good idea, as opposed to a very large area that is not often hunted. The area I hunt to oak covered rolling hills with a heavy grass cover. The reason I mention this is in one particular spot I have heard birds but never seen any physical sign such as tracks, feathers etc. so relying on just walking and looking may not be an indicator of birds being around, with that said the birds in that area seem to gobble so early morning does work.
One last thought, I have noticed the birds that live around my house, on one day will be as nervous or antsy as a long tail cat in a room full of rockers and the next almost stupid tame. These birds are hunted but not very heavy, I know the guy down the road shot one last year and I heard shots down there this year also.
I never use a call while scouting and try to observe from afar. The best is listening in the morning for where they are roosted, second best is observe where they are strutting lastly I like to see where they exit fields in the evenings.
Get as many farms, permissions, out of the way public areas and check on them before the season even begins, scout them the evening before as well and I am positive your success rate will drastically go up.
Kentucky law does not allow me to call outside of season for some reason.
Depends if it's before season heck no ain't getting myself a ticket it's illegal to call before season in my state now during season yes if it's been a tough morning with little gobbling and I know they have several hens then around 10-11.30 I will go on a troll I will soft yelp and cluck a few times every 50 yards killed many of birds that way and if I hadn't called wouldn't have known they was around I mean why not it's not like hens don't constantly talk
Quote from: DBuck90 on March 22, 2020, 11:42:39 PM
during season yes if it's been a tough morning with little gobbling and I know they have several hens then around 10-11.30 I will go on a troll I will soft yelp and cluck a few times every 50 yards killed many of birds that way and if I hadn't called wouldn't have known they was around I mean why not it's not like hens don't constantly talk
Good strategy when hunting,...but I think the intent of the original question was about scouting prior to the hunting season. ...just clarifying....
I never use any kind of turkey call when scouting even in areas that I have not hunted before. I will sometimes use a locator call(hawk, owl or crow). I rely on woodsmanship more than anything else. Look for tracks, feathers , scratchings, roost trees , scat etc. If there are turkeys in the area you will find some sign of them. You don't need to call! They are hard enough to hunt without giving them an education. ;D
Again , no calling while scouting before season.. NO NO NO...
absolutely not!
Quote from: dejake on April 11, 2019, 02:58:26 AM
Yes, Yes, Yes. I already know where the birds are, I want to SEE what they are. If he/they aren't what I'm after, I'll go elsewhere. I hunt particular birds.
I agree, I hunted this 30 pound bird for 2 years. I never did get him.I think a coyote, or a wolf got him.
NO! NO! and NO! BINOS PERIOD! Don't let them know you are there until they are staring down the barrel of your gun!
I have been trying to get some pictures of some turkey, want to get some quite badly and have even brought some calls with me to try to bring them closer but I have always been told to NEVER call before the season starts or you will educate the turkey so I have not been able to bring myself to do it.
Many years ago I would argue that it did not hurt your hunting or educate the birds. Every year I would call in birds and see where the "big ones" were, or just for the fun of it. Many years I would struggle with hung up birds or birds that would go silent. Then I decided to not do any preseason calling and minimum scouting one year. Holy cow I killed my two birds in 3 hrs of hunting the first two days. The next year repeated that success and I was sold. Pressure changes birds behavior. It's not only the calling it's the moving around in the woods and human presence. You spook way more birds than you ever realize. Now I walk one high ridge road along the family farm once about two weeks before season and the once 2-3 days before season and don't ever take a call. So my answer is NO.
The only exception is if I am in a completely new area for a short hunt of 2-3 days I will call from listening points to scout, because my time is so limited that I need to know about as many birds as possible.
Quote from: eggshell on April 01, 2021, 06:36:51 AM
Many years ago I would argue that it did not hurt your hunting or educate the birds. Every year I would call in birds and see where the "big ones" were, or just for the fun of it. Many years I would struggle with hung up birds or birds that would go silent.
Pretty much my experience in the early years, as well. It was fun calling gobblers in prior to the season,...and it was pretty easy. After a few years of doing this, I began to see a pattern developing. Gobblers that would come marching in to my calling one week would almost invariably hang up well beyond shooting range the next.
By the same token, gobblers I hadn't messed with before the season were much more likely to willingly approach my calling. It took a few years, but my feeble brain finally put two and two together and figured out that calling birds in before the season was, without question, resulting in them being more difficult to call-in close enough to shoot them later. (I must pause here and qualify this by stating that I do not use decoys. Using them would likely change the results witnessed above)
Now, I am not certain how much calling it takes or how close a gobbler has to come before that little Einstein brain of his clicks in, but there is no doubt in my mind that some sort of learning process occurs.
I will also readily admit that I am contradicting myself here a bit when I also state that there are times and circumstances where I will use a turkey call for long-distance locating prior to the season. That is a very effective locating tactic for finding gobblers to hunt where it is applicable,...but there is a very big difference between doing that and actually calling those gobblers in like you would when hunting them.
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 01, 2021, 08:40:08 AM
Quote from: eggshell on April 01, 2021, 06:36:51 AM
Many years ago I would argue that it did not hurt your hunting or educate the birds. Every year I would call in birds and see where the "big ones" were, or just for the fun of it. Many years I would struggle with hung up birds or birds that would go silent.
Pretty much my experience in the early years, as well. It was fun calling gobblers in prior to the season,...and it was pretty easy. After a few years of doing this, I began to see a pattern developing. Gobblers that would come marching in to my calling one week would almost invariably hang up well beyond shooting range the next.
By the same token, gobblers I hadn't messed with before the season were much more likely to willingly approach my calling. It took a few years, but my feeble brain finally put two and two together and figured out that calling birds in before the season was, without question, resulting in them being more difficult to call-in close enough to shoot them later. (I must pause here and qualify this by stating that I do not use decoys. Using them would likely change the results witnessed above)
Now, I am not certain how much calling it takes or how close a gobbler has to come before that little Einstein brain of his clicks in, but there is no doubt in my mind that some sort of learning process occurs.
I will also readily admit that I am contradicting myself here a bit when I also state that there are times and circumstances where I will use a turkey call for long-distance locating prior to the season. That is a very effective locating tactic for finding gobblers to hunt where it is applicable,...but there is a very big difference between doing that and actually calling those gobblers in like you would when hunting them.
Let's keep this going! Here's my 2 cents and thought process. If we ALL called before the season starts, most of us utilize the same calls, tempo and cadence that we do during the season. If you get a gobbler to gobble and comes to investigate that call and doesn't find that hen or you spook him, you just educated that bird to your call or calls. What happens when the season starts? Most of you that use your calls are saying I want to see him, well use locator calls, woodsmanship and binos, to put eyes on from a distance. During the season, I hear this argument, "The gobblers have Lock jaw!" or "Their henned up!" Did you every think it could have been you that educated them before the season actually started? You are using the same call during scouting trips and during the season. Personally I have 4 pots, a dozen strikers, several mouth calls and 1 box with me all the time during the season and I won't hesitate to use them all sounding like different hens. I also switch them out during the season to give me different sounding hens. I personally don't want to educate birds until they are 25-30 yards away with a load of Hevi 13 7's in their head and neck. Just Something to ponder!
No, nor do I scout. I don't even get up early enough to get under the roost in the dark. What? Do you wanna tag out the first day?
Quote from: howl on April 01, 2021, 02:57:47 PM
No, nor do I scout. I don't even get up early enough to get under the roost in the dark. What? Do you wanna tag out the first day?
I've been dragging my feet down here Ga not hunting as hard as I normally would because after the last isTag is filled I have no more excuses to stay.
Guess I'll be heading home tomorrow.
Quote from: bbcoach on April 01, 2021, 12:47:10 PM
Let's keep this going! Here's my 2 cents and thought process. If we ALL called before the season starts, most of us utilize the same calls, tempo and cadence that we do during the season. If you get a gobbler to gobble and comes to investigate that call and doesn't find that hen or you spook him, you just educated that bird to your call or calls. What happens when the season starts? Most of you that use your calls are saying I want to see him, well use locator calls, woodsmanship and binos, to put eyes on from a distance. During the season, I hear this argument, "The gobblers have Lock jaw!" or "Their henned up!" Did you every think it could have been you that educated them before the season actually started? You are using the same call during scouting trips and during the season. Personally I have 4 pots, a dozen strikers, several mouth calls and 1 box with me all the time during the season and I won't hesitate to use them all sounding like different hens. I also switch them out during the season to give me different sounding hens. I personally don't want to educate birds until they are 25-30 yards away with a load of Hevi 13 7's in their head and neck. Just Something to ponder!
I'll ponder it. I'm in no way advocating disturbing birds anymore than necessary in or out of season, but I don't follow the logic above.
For example, following that logic one couldn't possibly kill a bird after opening morning when we "all" go out and call to the birds with guns in hand, spooking, shooting, killing (or at least deafening them) sunrise to quitting time. Again, following that logic, hunting the second day of any season should be useless; we should just quit, put up our calls and camo and guns because the day before, opening day, the birds all got "educated."
By definition, isn't calling on opening day just more "pre-season" calling if hunting the second day? Why bother hunting day two?
Yet, many will argue late season is better than early, despite "ALL" having called to the birds with the same calls and tempo and cadence day after day after day. I don't run around the woods calling before the season, and I don't advocate it. But I do think its become an easy excuse to explain away quiet mornings and birds that hang up without looking at ourselves or the way we hunt first.
Just another point to ponder.
I however do agree 100% - stay distant, use the binos, tread purposefully, and switch up the calling in season. All good stuff.
I don't think they become unkillable, but they become more challenging. Every gobbler has the day his horny brain over rides his survival instinct and what intelligence a gobbler has. Kind of like a teenage boy. I have seen birds get more active later in season when hens leave them. Hunters have also left them alone more. My experience has been the first three days are the gravy after that the dumb birds are dead and the rest have wised up and it becomes markedly more difficult to call birds in. This is when the quality of calling skills and woodsmanship start to shine. Find the guy that consistently kills late season birds and I'll show you a guy who can run a call like a turkey and be part of the woods and one of the flock. I'll also bet you he makes very few calls. He can figure out were that old gobbler wants to be and will use just a slight bit of coarsening to get him there. I know I drop the tone of my calling by several decibels as season progresses. I also use way less yelps.