My 2022 Turkey Season

[StickString96]

As you can tell, I have nothing better to do after work than prepare for turkey season. Tried to keep this as quiet and relaxed as possible. I find it hard to roll my tongue for purrs while keeping steady air pressure, but not too much air pressure. I think it's much improved from yesterday's session though. Please disregard the wind noise, it was blowing a gale. Days are getting warmer and longer!

https://youtu.be/Ah3qzOKU6OA

[Paulmyr]

That is a great point. This is why I'm here to learn. I will focus on the subtleties of calling as well.

If you don't mind me asking what call are you using in that audio. Your yelp has a unique reverb type sound I don't normally hear from run of the mill mouth calls or callers. Unique in a good way. It has a lot of turkey in it. That's an extremely strong base to start from. Cow calling Elk possibly?

Gobblenut and Bowguy hit some great points about purring. Work on getting inflection into your calling. Mono tone calling and perfect rythem are just not turkey. Break up your calls, vary them slightly by pitch and cadence. When your set up on a gobbler try and get a feel for what's going around you. When you call to him don't just lay out the yelp yelp yelp cutt cutt yelp repeat of the typical turkey hunter, say something to him.
Ex: Not saying this how you should start Your conversations with every Gobbler just using it this as an example.
Your on a ridge line. There's gobbling somewhere below and your trying to make 1st contact. Start with subtle yelps, maybe 2, maybe 3. Pause for a moment and run another string of yelps slightly longer and gaining in intensity. Pick up the pace and volume slighlty and pause for a moment. Start another string higher in volume with a pleading more rapid pace. Play this string out to about 10 yelps maybe more in cresciendo style. For the most part you just told the toms below your lost and looking for company. It wasn't because you yelped at them it was because of the subtleties you added to the yelp and yelp sequence.

Turkey's speak with each other using inflection. It's not so much which call to make; cluck, purr, or cutt, as it is how you present it. Recently I heard Denny Gulvas put it something like this: Say your trying to get the attention of your buddy in a crowed auditorium, you don't speak out in a mono tone, "hey Pete over here." You shout out " HEY,.....HEY MAN OVER HERE..... ITS ME. COME ON OVER AND LETS HAVE A CHAT!"
Turkeys are the same way. When they're content they let out smooth content sounds. When aggravated or aggressive it gets choppy and sharp. You know what it sounds like when somebody is demanding you to do something and so do Turkey's. Learn how the birds use these variances in call structure and and audio cues to communicate with each other. You've got the basics down now get out there and and gain some experience.

[GobbleNut]

Hard for me to believe you have just started using a mouth call and sound that good, really.  Your calling as is right now would call in gobblers.  It needs some fine-tuning, but your progress is impressive if indeed you have just recently taken up the mouth call. 

The other fellows have given you sound advice about the practical application of calling when you are actually out in the woods.  Simply stated, it is better to be realistic in terms of making the correct calls at the right time and at the right volume than it is to be able to make the perfect "contest caller" sounds.  As Paulmyr states, that realism will almost invariably include some variations in rhythm, volume, and "turkey emotion".

As others have said throughout these forum pages, when all is said and done, experience in the woods is the key to success.  Getting out there, listening to turkeys and how they interact with each other, and then replicating those sounds and interactions is what will ultimately determine your long-term success as a turkey hunter.  As for being able to replicate those sounds, I believe you are well on your way there!   

[Bowguy]

One thing I might add to help is watch the depth of call and sequence. Sometimes too deep and slow or broken could be taken for a gobbler or jake. That's an absolutely sound call at the right time, just understand the differences and how and when you'd use it. At times a deep slow yelp can be deadly. It's all about what you're trying to present and what the birds need but you're doing fantastic imo.
What are you using to learn cause whatever it is it's def doing you good.

[StickString96]

That is a great point. This is why I'm here to learn. I will focus on the subtleties of calling as well.

If you don't mind me asking what call are you using in that audio. Your yelp has a unique reverb type sound I don't normally hear from run of the mill mouth calls or callers. Unique in a good way. It has a lot of turkey in it. That's an extremely strong base to start from. Cow calling Elk possibly?

Gobblenut and Bowguy hit some great points about purring. Work on getting inflection into your calling. Mono tone calling and perfect rythem are just not turkey. Break up your calls, vary them slightly by pitch and cadence. When your set up on a gobbler try and get a feel for what's going around you. When you call to him don't just lay out the yelp yelp yelp cutt cutt yelp repeat of the typical turkey hunter, say something to him.
Ex: Not saying this how you should start Your conversations with every Gobbler just using it this as an example.
Your on a ridge line. There's gobbling somewhere below and your trying to make 1st contact. Start with subtle yelps, maybe 2, maybe 3. Pause for a moment and run another string of yelps slightly longer and gaining in intensity. Pick up the pace and volume slighlty and pause for a moment. Start another string higher in volume with a pleading more rapid pace. Play this string out to about 10 yelps maybe more in cresciendo style. For the most part you just told the toms below your lost and looking for company. It wasn't because you yelped at them it was because of the subtleties you added to the yelp and yelp sequence.

Turkey's speak with each other using inflection. It's not so much which call to make; cluck, purr, or cutt, as it is how you present it. Recently I heard Denny Gulvas put it something like this: Say your trying to get the attention of your buddy in a crowed auditorium, you don't speak out in a mono tone, "hey Pete over here." You shout out " HEY,.....HEY MAN OVER HERE..... ITS ME. COME ON OVER AND LETS HAVE A CHAT!"
Turkeys are the same way. When they're content they let out smooth content sounds. When aggravated or aggressive it gets choppy and sharp. You know what it sounds like when somebody is demanding you to do something and so do Turkey's. Learn how the birds use these variances in call structure and and audio cues to communicate with each other. You've got the basics down now get out there and and gain some experience.

It is a Woodhaven Blue Vyper 2 Reed call. I love the tone it has and it just seems to fit my mouth. I have also been playing around with the Woodhaven Stinger Pro V3 3 reed, which has more rasp but makes it harder for me to get clear 2-note yelps. I'll post a clip of some calling with the V3 later this week. I don't have any prior experience with any sort of mouth call, but I did saxophone and trumpet in middle and high school. Maybe that is helping out as far as positioning and air control?

I'm looking forward to getting in the woods this spring and putting this all together. A guy in a NWTF video said something that stood out to me. "Understand the who, what, when, where, why in a hen turkey's calling. Everything she says is for a reason. It's not just what she says, but also how and when she says it." I think this is what you are pointing to Paulmyr. It seems like this will really only come from experience, but I'm trying to supplement that as much as possible beforehand. Thank you for the advice.

[StickString96]

One thing I might add to help is watch the depth of call and sequence. Sometimes too deep and slow or broken could be taken for a gobbler or jake. That's an absolutely sound call at the right time, just understand the differences and how and when you'd use it. At times a deep slow yelp can be deadly. It's all about what you're trying to present and what the birds need but you're doing fantastic imo.
What are you using to learn cause whatever it is it's def doing you good.

Bowguy that is a good point thank you. On my 3 reed call I think my hen yelps sometimes shift towards a jake yelp. Its harder for me to get a distinct 2-note separation, and the call naturally has more rasp. I'm trying to get that worked out as well. More practice! I imagine jake yelps can be deadly at times, if used in the right situation.

I'm not really using any guides or instruction for learning. Just listening to videos, audio clips, and experimenting with the calls. Trying different techniques until I make a sound that sounds "turkey-like" and then refining it from there. Trial and error.

[Bowguy]

Dr Lovett has real turkey cds to listen to but what you're doing is working

[Paulmyr]

That is a great point. This is why I'm here to learn. I will focus on the subtleties of calling as well.

If you don't mind me asking what call are you using in that audio. Your yelp has a unique reverb type sound I don't normally hear from run of the mill mouth calls or callers. Unique in a good way. It has a lot of turkey in it. That's an extremely strong base to start from. Cow calling Elk possibly?

Gobblenut and Bowguy hit some great points about purring. Work on getting inflection into your calling. Mono tone calling and perfect rythem are just not turkey. Break up your calls, vary them slightly by pitch and cadence. When your set up on a gobbler try and get a feel for what's going around you. When you call to him don't just lay out the yelp yelp yelp cutt cutt yelp repeat of the typical turkey hunter, say something to him.
Ex: Not saying this how you should start Your conversations with every Gobbler just using it this as an example.
Your on a ridge line. There's gobbling somewhere below and your trying to make 1st contact. Start with subtle yelps, maybe 2, maybe 3. Pause for a moment and run another string of yelps slightly longer and gaining in intensity. Pick up the pace and volume slighlty and pause for a moment. Start another string higher in volume with a pleading more rapid pace. Play this string out to about 10 yelps maybe more in cresciendo style. For the most part you just told the toms below your lost and looking for company. It wasn't because you yelped at them it was because of the subtleties you added to the yelp and yelp sequence.

Turkey's speak with each other using inflection. It's not so much which call to make; cluck, purr, or cutt, as it is how you present it. Recently I heard Denny Gulvas put it something like this: Say your trying to get the attention of your buddy in a crowed auditorium, you don't speak out in a mono tone, "hey Pete over here." You shout out " HEY,.....HEY MAN OVER HERE..... ITS ME. COME ON OVER AND LETS HAVE A CHAT!"
Turkeys are the same way. When they're content they let out smooth content sounds. When aggravated or aggressive it gets choppy and sharp. You know what it sounds like when somebody is demanding you to do something and so do Turkey's. Learn how the birds use these variances in call structure and and audio cues to communicate with each other. You've got the basics down now get out there and and gain some experience.

It is a Woodhaven Blue Vyper 2 Reed call. I love the tone it has and it just seems to fit my mouth. I have also been playing around with the Woodhaven Stinger Pro V3 3 reed, which has more rasp but makes it harder for me to get clear 2-note yelps. I'll post a clip of some calling with the V3 later this week. I don't have any prior experience with any sort of mouth call, but I did saxophone and trumpet in middle and high school. Maybe that is helping out as far as positioning and air control?

I'm looking forward to getting in the woods this spring and putting this all together. A guy in a NWTF video said something that stood out to me. "Understand the who, what, when, where, why in a hen turkey's calling. Everything she says is for a reason. It's not just what she says, but also how and when she says it." I think this is what you are pointing to Paulmyr. It seems like this will really only come from experience, but I'm trying to supplement that as much as possible beforehand. Thank you for the advice.

Your past experience with the sax and trumpet has taught you where the air needs to come from and how to control it. It's hard for a lot of beggining callers to grasp the concept. I have no musical background so bear with me on this as the terminology may be lacking.

Most new callers use their mouths to control air flow instead of thier diaphragm. Pressures from the diaphragm are used to control tone and intensity. The manipulation of the jaw, lips, and tongue controls the pitch of the tone. When you start your yelp your trying to get the high pitched squeal and break it over into the low pitched squawk. Higher pressure from your tongue against the call will achieve the squeal. Relaxing your tongue and dropping your jaw relieves the pressure changing frequency of the pitch, breaking the call over and producing the squawk.

In short, the quality of the sound will come from the from your diaphragm. By the sound of it, you have solid grasp on that. Manipulating the call the with your mouth will put the "feeling" into your calling.

Here's another good point I heard from Mr Gulvas. When dealing with wild turkey audio, you need to to listen to it and record it  on high quality equipment if you want to hear all the nuances of a Turkey's voice. Cheap microphones and speakers don't cut it. They are just not capable of capturing and reproducing the mainly the lower frequencies.

So if your using your phone to hear wild turkeys and record your practice sessions your just not getting a true picture of the actual sounds you or a turkey makes. Surprised me little to hear them lower resonating frequencies in your yelping.

Any how, I hope I didn't confuse anyone with my limited knowledge on audio terminology.

[Zobo]

     You're going about it right:  practicing your calling a lot before hitting the woods, patterning the gun and reaching out on this forum. Good on you for that, your smart and honest and not pretending you know what you don't. You will be successful I'm sure.
     I would add two things I learned from time spent in the turkey woods:
     #1 It is of the utmost importance to not be seen, take the time to set up and hide well, use the natural vegetation as well as your camo, sit still, be patient.  When they approach sit dead still, squint.
    #2 Be quiet while hunting especially if you going with a buddy as you said. I can't tell you the amount of times I've heard hunters talking in the field and making noises that don't belong in the turkey woods. Yes, have fun with your friends but not within earshot of game, and that's a lot farther than people realize.
     So my basic advice is to be quiet on your approach and invisible on their approach.

[StickString96]

     You're going about it right:  practicing your calling a lot before hitting the woods, patterning the gun and reaching out on this forum. Good on you for that, your smart and honest and not pretending you know what you don't. You will be successful I'm sure.
     I would add two things I learned from time spent in the turkey woods:
     #1 It is of the utmost importance to not be seen, take the time to set up and hide well, use the natural vegetation as well as your camo, sit still, be patient.  When they approach sit dead still, squint.
    #2 Be quiet while hunting especially if you going with a buddy as you said. I can't tell you the amount of times I've heard hunters talking in the field and making noises that don't belong in the turkey woods. Yes, have fun with your friends but not within earshot of game, and that's a lot farther than people realize.
     So my basic advice is to be quiet on your approach and invisible on their approach.

Zobo thank you for the kind words and tips. You really think squinting can make a difference? Like turkeys will actually lock onto the whites of your eyes? I've never thought about that. I know they have great eyesight but that is next level stuff! We both have full camo leafy suits and will try our best to be quiet and remain unseen.

[Paulmyr]

     You're going about it right:  practicing your calling a lot before hitting the woods, patterning the gun and reaching out on this forum. Good on you for that, your smart and honest and not pretending you know what you don't. You will be successful I'm sure.
     I would add two things I learned from time spent in the turkey woods:
     #1 It is of the utmost importance to not be seen, take the time to set up and hide well, use the natural vegetation as well as your camo, sit still, be patient.  When they approach sit dead still, squint.
    #2 Be quiet while hunting especially if you going with a buddy as you said. I can't tell you the amount of times I've heard hunters talking in the field and making noises that don't belong in the turkey woods. Yes, have fun with your friends but not within earshot of game, and that's a lot farther than people realize.
     So my basic advice is to be quiet on your approach and invisible on their approach.

Zobo thank you for the kind words and tips. You really think squinting can make a difference? Like turkeys will actually lock onto the whites of your eyes? I've never thought about that. I know they have great eyesight but that is next level stuff! We both have full camo leafy suits and will try our best to be quiet and remain unseen.

Turkeys are prey animals. I guarantee they know what predator eyes look like if there close enough. When I get birds close my eyes are hiding just under the brim of my hat. Turkey bodies is all I see, if I can help it, until it's time to pull trigger or they leave on out.

[StickString96]

     You're going about it right:  practicing your calling a lot before hitting the woods, patterning the gun and reaching out on this forum. Good on you for that, your smart and honest and not pretending you know what you don't. You will be successful I'm sure.
     I would add two things I learned from time spent in the turkey woods:
     #1 It is of the utmost importance to not be seen, take the time to set up and hide well, use the natural vegetation as well as your camo, sit still, be patient.  When they approach sit dead still, squint.
    #2 Be quiet while hunting especially if you going with a buddy as you said. I can't tell you the amount of times I've heard hunters talking in the field and making noises that don't belong in the turkey woods. Yes, have fun with your friends but not within earshot of game, and that's a lot farther than people realize.
     So my basic advice is to be quiet on your approach and invisible on their approach.

Zobo thank you for the kind words and tips. You really think squinting can make a difference? Like turkeys will actually lock onto the whites of your eyes? I've never thought about that. I know they have great eyesight but that is next level stuff! We both have full camo leafy suits and will try our best to be quiet and remain unseen.

Turkeys are prey animals. I guarantee they know what predator eyes look like if there close enough. When I get birds close my eyes are hiding just under the brim of my hat. Turkey bodies is all I see, if I can help it, until it's time to pull trigger or they leave on out.

Makes sense!

[StickString96]

What do yall think about kee kees or kee kee runs? I recently just discovered them while listening to some of the GNCC guys calling. From what I've read online its predominantly a fall flock call for hens and poults, but can be used with some success in the spring to imitate a lost hen. Any body use them regularly or had success with them on occasions?

[Paulmyr]

What do yall think about kee kees or kee kee runs? I recently just discovered them while listening to some of the GNCC guys calling. From what I've read online its predominantly a fall flock call for hens and poults, but can be used with some success in the spring to imitate a lost hen. Any body use them regularly or had success with them on occasions?

Here's a great podcast with Denny Gulvas about turkey language. The guy spends every spring the turkey woods just filming and recording turkeys. He gets into kee kee's a little in this podcast.

https://www.theturkeyhunterpodcast.com/e/379-a-quick-chat-with-denny-gulvas/

[StickString96]

I'll give it a listen on the way to work in the morning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk