Is Sounding Like a Real Turkey Overrated?

[AppalachianHollers]

This has been a good discussion thread. I thank everyone for their thoughts (and those who will weight in).


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[paboxcall]

There are lots of true statements when it comes to being better turkey killers in this thread. However, the question was is sounding like a real turkey overrated. The plain and simple answer is no, it is not overrated. Sounding like a real hen will NEVER be a detriment. In NO way is it overrated to sound like a real turkey.

There's the answer.

There's hen calling, then there's hen calling with realism and emotion. If you don't know the difference, just listen or watch Denny Gulvas. That guy transforms into a hen turkey. No way is that level of calling a detriment, and couple that realism with woodsmanship, birds are in trouble spring and fall.

[WTNUT]

I think the cadence, rhythm of "How a turkey talks" is more important. I have used clear calls, raspy calls and all can do the same thing. It's about learning to talk turkey and what to say, when say and when not to call. 


MK M GOBL

X2 and also knowing it's time to stop calling.

All times 10

[ferocious calls]

It helps a caller to be around vocal Turkeys as often as possible. The 24 Eastern hens presently in my pens have great variation of tone. Cadence only changes with excitement or distress.

While I enjoy yelping to a gobbling Tom to make him speak, the clucks bring them to the gun most often. Especially on those hardheaded Toms'. 

Shannon, you are spot on.

[GobbleNut]

My fundamental thoughts on this subject are these:
1) Yes, being able to call "realistically" is important. 
2) With today's calling instruments that are available to anybody that wants to hunt turkeys, learning to call and sound like a real turkey is probably the easiest part of the entire turkey hunting process.

...The End...   

[BTH]

 The key the past 5-7 years for me was knowing when to be a subtle very realistic sounding turkey and then be realistically quiet like real turkeys that has brought the gobbler in for a kill. I like him to hunt for me. Just need to learn the quavy confidently on the mouth call now.

Sounding like the boss hen note for note with cadence, emotion and inflection is never a bad thing. Sometimes she does all the hard work for you.

[rt2bowhunter]

If I'm out hunting and find myself with a gobbler in front of me gobbling. And theres a hen behind me calling. I'm shutting up .

[perrytrails]

Some very good comments here.

I think it can be overrated. Let's face it, if you call and he gobbles you sound like a hen. Simple? Lol

Sounding more realistic can help you convince more birds, maybe more educated birds that your a real hen. Very true. But most people don't think about what a real hen does besides just calling.

Sometimes you gotta move.
I'm not talking about crawling towards the gobbler. What I'm saying is left or right or around him. Maybe 15 -20 yards maybe less. That little bit of movement can make the difference, peak his curiosity.

Answer this question ...
How many real hens stay in the same place and call to or answer a gobbler, for as much as 2 hours? MOVE. Sometimes just 2 maybe 3 trees over. Move and sound like a real hen feeding. If your set up is right, he will come take a peek at some point. I hunt 95 % big timber. Set up so when he peaks his head up, he's in range. Make him look for you. Listen for foot steps.

You'll know when he answers if you have time to move without being seen, crawl over a few trees and cluck and purr as you crawl.

If you got a bird responding but holding tight sometimes it's for other reasons besides hens.

Two or three weeks into a season, how many guys have worked this bird? How many guys spooked or shot at this bird? How many sit calling from the same place and never move?
I say be more realistic over all, not just your calling.

If moving didn't work cut him off. Nothing. This this the patient part. Keep your gun up and wait. May be 30 minutes or a hour. You just gave him everything you needed too. Curiosity will get the best of him.

Is calling overrated? More than you might think. But sounding better than your average caller and doing things differently will help you.

[packmule]

Some very good comments here.

I think it can be overrated. Let's face it, if you call and he gobbles you sound like a hen. Simple? Lol

Sounding more realistic can help you convince more birds, maybe more educated birds that your a real hen. Very true. But most people don't think about what a real hen does besides just calling.

Sometimes you gotta move.
I'm not talking about crawling towards the gobbler. What I'm saying is left or right or around him. Maybe 15 -20 yards maybe less. That little bit of movement can make the difference, peak his curiosity.

Answer this question ...
How many real hens stay in the same place and call to or answer a gobbler, for as much as 2 hours? MOVE. Sometimes just 2 maybe 3 trees over. Move and sound like a real hen feeding. If your set up is right, he will come take a peek at some point. I hunt 95 % big timber. Set up so when he peaks his head up, he's in range. Make him look for you. Listen for foot steps.

You'll know when he answers if you have time to move without being seen, crawl over a few trees and cluck and purr as you crawl.

If you got a bird responding but holding tight sometimes it's for other reasons besides hens.

Two or three weeks into a season, how many guys have worked this bird? How many guys spooked or shot at this bird? How many sit calling from the same place and never move?
I say be more realistic over all, not just your calling.

If moving didn't work cut him off. Nothing. This this the patient part. Keep your gun up and wait. May be 30 minutes or a hour. You just gave him everything you needed too. Curiosity will get the best of him.

Is calling overrated? More than you might think. But sounding better than your average caller and doing things differently will help you.

Great post.

[CrankyTom]

Is sounding like a real turkey overrated?
Yes!

The calls that work best for me don't sound like turkeys at all!  They call all the turkeys in not just Toms.

I've used rubber bands,  balloons, ocarina, Jews harp, a drum, a kalimba, chimes none of which sound like a turkey plus I have used an aluminum can, copper pipe, ceramic tile, the back of a mirror, an aluminum channel and other things that sound similar to turkeys. 

I posted elsewhere here about turkey hearing.  They don't hear what we hear.   

Some say turkeys aren't curious I say they are extremely curious and come to sounds because of curiosity. 

Turkey's hear turkeys all day every day.  They are creatures of sight and sound.  When they hear different sounds, they want to see whats making the sound. 

I've spent to many hours in the woods with a frequency generator app.  I've played ranges of frequencies that sound like something that you would expect to hear in an outer space movie and the flocks show up.  Some of the frequencies make tree frogs croak like crazy. 

Check this short video out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVrQypTa8oQ

[crow]

Is sounding like a real turkey overrated?
Yes!

The calls that work best for me don't sound like turkeys at all!  They call all the turkeys in not just Toms.

I've used rubber bands,  balloons, ocarina, Jews harp, a drum, a kalimba, chimes none of which sound like a turkey plus I have used an aluminum can, copper pipe, ceramic tile, the back of a mirror, an aluminum channel and other things that sound similar to turkeys. 

I posted elsewhere here about turkey hearing.  They don't hear what we hear.   

Some say turkeys aren't curious I say they are extremely curious and come to sounds because of curiosity. 

Turkey's hear turkeys all day every day.  They are creatures of sight and sound.  When they hear different sounds, they want to see whats making the sound. 

I've spent to many hours in the woods with a frequency generator app.  I've played ranges of frequencies that sound like something that you would expect to hear in an outer space movie and the flocks show up.  Some of the frequencies make tree frogs croak like crazy. 

Check this short video out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVrQypTa8oQ

were you in western md. a couple of years ago using a call that sounded like a high pitched constipated seagull?

whoever it was did not think sounding like a real hen was over rated

[paboxcall]

Is sounding like a real turkey overrated?
Yes!

The calls that work best for me don't sound like turkeys at all!  They call all the turkeys in not just Toms.

I've used rubber bands,  balloons, ocarina, Jews harp, a drum, a kalimba, chimes none of which sound like a turkey plus I have used an aluminum can, copper pipe, ceramic tile, the back of a mirror, an aluminum channel and other things that sound similar to turkeys. 

I posted elsewhere here about turkey hearing.  They don't hear what we hear.   

Some say turkeys aren't curious I say they are extremely curious and come to sounds because of curiosity. 

Turkey's hear turkeys all day every day.  They are creatures of sight and sound.  When they hear different sounds, they want to see whats making the sound. 

I've spent to many hours in the woods with a frequency generator app.  I've played ranges of frequencies that sound like something that you would expect to hear in an outer space movie and the flocks show up.  Some of the frequencies make tree frogs croak like crazy. 

Check this short video out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVrQypTa8oQ

were you in western md. a couple of years ago using a call that sounded like a high pitched constipated seagull?

whoever it was did not think sounding like a real hen was over rated

[CrankyTom]

Is sounding like a real turkey overrated?
Yes!

The calls that work best for me don't sound like turkeys at all!  They call all the turkeys in not just Toms.

I've used rubber bands,  balloons, ocarina, Jews harp, a drum, a kalimba, chimes none of which sound like a turkey plus I have used an aluminum can, copper pipe, ceramic tile, the back of a mirror, an aluminum channel and other things that sound similar to turkeys. 

I posted elsewhere here about turkey hearing.  They don't hear what we hear.   

Some say turkeys aren't curious I say they are extremely curious and come to sounds because of curiosity. 

Turkey's hear turkeys all day every day.  They are creatures of sight and sound.  When they hear different sounds, they want to see whats making the sound. 

I've spent to many hours in the woods with a frequency generator app.  I've played ranges of frequencies that sound like something that you would expect to hear in an outer space movie and the flocks show up.  Some of the frequencies make tree frogs croak like crazy. 

Check this short video out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVrQypTa8oQ

were you in western md. a couple of years ago using a call that sounded like a high pitched constipated seagull?

whoever it was did not think sounding like a real hen was over rated

Nope not me but I have a friend who's calling sounds like a kid scratching a chalk board with both hands and he calls the toms in. 

Odd sounds calls whole flocks in not just toms.

[crow]

Is sounding like a real turkey overrated?
Yes!

The calls that work best for me don't sound like turkeys at all!  They call all the turkeys in not just Toms.

I've used rubber bands,  balloons, ocarina, Jews harp, a drum, a kalimba, chimes none of which sound like a turkey plus I have used an aluminum can, copper pipe, ceramic tile, the back of a mirror, an aluminum channel and other things that sound similar to turkeys. 

I posted elsewhere here about turkey hearing.  They don't hear what we hear.   

Some say turkeys aren't curious I say they are extremely curious and come to sounds because of curiosity. 

Turkey's hear turkeys all day every day.  They are creatures of sight and sound.  When they hear different sounds, they want to see whats making the sound. 

I've spent to many hours in the woods with a frequency generator app.  I've played ranges of frequencies that sound like something that you would expect to hear in an outer space movie and the flocks show up.  Some of the frequencies make tree frogs croak like crazy. 

Check this short video out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVrQypTa8oQ

were you in western md. a couple of years ago using a call that sounded like a high pitched constipated seagull?

whoever it was did not think sounding like a real hen was over rated

Nope not me but I have a friend who's calling sounds like a kid scratching a chalk board with both hands and he calls the toms in. 

Odd sounds calls whole flocks in not just toms.

,
I'll still take my chances on trying to sound like as real of a hen as possible, or a Jake or gobbler

[EZ]

I'll still take my chances on trying to sound like as real of a hen as possible, or a Jake or gobbler

I heard you were trying to find a chuck big enough to turn bass drums, lol.