Gobbling experiences

[Number17]

Squealing hen noises have consistently worked better for me than aggressive gobbler noises. I called a bird in form my mom last year squealing on my wingbone. He came out to a field looking for us, strutted in place a while about 100 yards away, and then began to walk away after some hens entered the field opposite of us.
I squealed, he turn and jogged right into us. 24lb Eastern with 1.25" spurs. Heaviest bird I ever put my hands on.

Gobbler calls work fast when they work, but they have been fairly inconsistent for me.

As for getting hens to come looking for you with their chief in tow? Super soft clucks and 2-3 note yelps on my wingbone. It's just silly how well that works. Like a magnet. #deathtools.

[bwhana]

I have killed a few with gobble's over the years, the fact that I rarely use it and it has worked might be telling me something!

One stubborn bird hung up on private for the third day in a row about ran me over coming to a gobble!

I think if I had a more realistic gobble I would use it more often.

Jake yelps on a wing bone have been deadly.

Tightening your gobble up might not be as important as you think. If I remember correctly on the wild turkey science podcast they had an interview with an animal behaviorist or something to that order.

 When talking about setting out decoys the guy said he'd set out the rattiest decoy he could find. The ratty nature of the decoy was supposed to emit an unhealthiness and portray the decoy as vulnerable and an easy mark for a beat down. Not sure if they got into gobbling or not but I would think a lacking gobble would come off as juvenile or sickly and possibly work better at pulling gobblers in than a nice sweet booming gobble.


In a more recent episode they were talking gobble studies and the subject came up about adult gobblers response to a Jake gobbling. Apparently Jake gobbling causes adults to gobble at a higher rate. Anecdotal evidence in one case showed a gobbler gobbling some 20 odd times after a Jake gobbled if I remember correctly.

You just described the Funky Chicken decoy!

[Paulmyr]

I have killed a few with gobble's over the years, the fact that I rarely use it and it has worked might be telling me something!

One stubborn bird hung up on private for the third day in a row about ran me over coming to a gobble!

I think if I had a more realistic gobble I would use it more often.

Jake yelps on a wing bone have been deadly.

Tightening your gobble up might not be as important as you think. If I remember correctly on the wild turkey science podcast they had an interview with an animal behaviorist or something to that order.

 When talking about setting out decoys the guy said he'd set out the rattiest decoy he could find. The ratty nature of the decoy was supposed to emit an unhealthiness and portray the decoy as vulnerable and an easy mark for a beat down. Not sure if they got into gobbling or not but I would think a lacking gobble would come off as juvenile or sickly and possibly work better at pulling gobblers in than a nice sweet booming gobble.


In a more recent episode they were talking gobble studies and the subject came up about adult gobblers response to a Jake gobbling. Apparently Jake gobbling causes adults to gobble at a higher rate. Anecdotal evidence in one case showed a gobbler gobbling some 20 odd times after a Jake gobbled if I remember correctly.

You just described the Funky Chicken decoy!

Don't you know it!

[Jim Spencer]

It probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: Be very selective when and where you use gobbler yelps or gobbles. On heavily hunted public land, it's probably not the best idea.

[Marc]

I often use a gobbler call, and find it a useful call in the turkey hunting tool box...

I generally use it to get a bird to gobble...  I have found all too often that gobbling is contagious, in that once you get one bird to gobble, often others will sound off.  In quiet woods, I will often precede my hen calls with a gobble or two to get the testosterone flowing in those birds and make them gobble.

I often use a gobble-call alone as a shock gobble, and will make ground on a bird before switching to a hen call, which as worked for me as well.

I have on a couple occasions made a close henned-up tom angry enough to come in to run off the intruder as well.

Been using a gobble call fairly consistently over 10 years, and have yet to call in a hen with a gobble call though.  I do realize that bird behavior can be different with different terrain, much less different terrain with different sub-species, so I do not doubt that others have had success calling in hens with a gobbler call, but I have yet to see that happen.