What hen sounds when gobbler is close?

[Meleagris gallopavo]

What hen sounds do you use that mimic a hen when she knows a gobbler is close or when she she's him?


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[silvestris]

Quaver.

[Greg Massey]

Soft cluck and purr ... may add soft yelp or 2 ...

[Meleagris gallopavo]

Quaver.

Not sure how a turkey quavers. 


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[Meleagris gallopavo]

Soft cluck and purr ... may add soft yelp or 2 ...

Thanks Greg.  I thought the soft cluck and purr/ soft yelps would be it.  I can do those with my mouth calls.


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[WildTigerTrout]

A very soft purr on a mouth call.  Silence works real well when they are really close!

[Ondavirg]

Quaver.

Not sure how a turkey quavers. 


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Soft as you can get 3 note yelp

[mountainhunter1]

There is never any perfect answer, but I try to call to him early on and then begin to shut down as he closes the gap. If he is coming, just let him keep doing so. The one thing about calling to a bird if he is close - if you can see him, he can also see to where you are and expects to see a hen moving around where that hen noise is coming from. Once he gets into sight, silence is your best friend. You can still scratch in the leaves if need be, but if you are making hen sounds in sight of him, he expects to see a hen and will 99.9 percent of the time not be good with not seeing that if he is hearing hen talk no matter how soft it may be. If you are using a hen decoy, you can ignore some of that sentiment.

That is why I try to set up so that when I can see him, I can kill him. That way I can still call to him all the way up to that moment when he appears and is in range of my shotgun. But even then, if he is coming - let him come and let silence be your best friend and maybe just scratch in the leaves if you feel that you need to give him something.

When I became a professional leaf scratcher, my success went way up more so than any last little sound that I could give him with my calls.

[Marc]

Mating scream

[Meleagris gallopavo]

There is never any perfect answer, but I try to call to him early on and then begin to shut down as he closes the gap. If he is coming, just let him keep doing so. The one thing about calling to a bird if he is close - if you can see him, he can also see to where you are and expects to see a hen moving around where that hen noise is coming from. Once he gets into sight, silence is your best friend. You can still scratch in the leaves if need be, but if you are making hen sounds in sight of him, he expects to see a hen and will 99.9 percent of the time not be good with not seeing that if he is hearing hen talk no matter how soft it may be. If you are using a hen decoy, you can ignore some of that sentiment.

That is why I try to set up so that when I can see him, I can kill him. That way I can still call to him all the way up to that moment when he appears and is in range of my shotgun. But even then, if he is coming - let him come and let silence be your best friend and maybe just scratch in the leaves if you feel that you need to give him something.

When I became a professional leaf scratcher, my success went way up more so than any last little sound that I could give him with my calls.

I have seen leaf scratching turn the tables on gobblers! 


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[mountainhunter1]

In my part of the country, the birds used to tear the woods up. In recent years, hens are very limited in their vocalizations most of the time. One exception is when you see a large flock and then at times the hens will get pretty vocal at times. I think they feel safer in large groups.

I have wondered exactly why hens just don't talk as much as they used to. Two things I think contribute to this, even though it is not likely the whole picture. First of all - This change (at least from what I could see), seemed to coincide with the advent of custom calls and hunting videos where guys were cackling and cutting and calling loud and often and such and hunters went into the woods and tried to duplicate what they saw in the advent of the video hunting world. So, we went from the days when man had maybe an old box call or a an old home made slate from a coffee can or roof tile where he was lucky just to make a sound or two, - to the evolution of everyone having a vest full of calls and thinking they are Ben Lee or Preston Pittman.

The second thing that I think heavily contributed to the hens being much more muted is the explosion of predators. The numbers are just so much higher than they were twenty years ago where I live. I honestly believe that hens have learned to be more tight lipped to save their back side. Now, I am sure there are other factors, but I think these two issues have had a significant hand in the lesser vocalizations from hens today in the woods. But that being so - what is true in my part of the country may not be true elsewhere.

My point and to connect it to this subject being discussed - I have watched the hens and learned to evolve and also talk less where I live and hunt and my has success went way up as a result. A little goes a long ways. When that bird is coming, I just let him come. I can always say more, but I cannot take it back if I start off with too much.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

In my part of the country, the birds used to tear the woods up. In recent years, hens are very limited in their vocalizations most of the time. One exception is when you see a large flock and then at times the hens will get pretty vocal at times. I think they feel safer in large groups.

I have wondered exactly why hens just don't talk as much as they used to. Two things I think contribute to this, even though it is not likely the whole picture. First of all - This change (at least from what I could see), seemed to coincide with the advent of custom calls and hunting videos where guys were cackling and cutting and calling loud and often and such and hunters went into the woods and tried to duplicate what they saw in the advent of the video hunting world. So, we went from the days when man had maybe an old box call or a an old home made slate from a coffee can or roof tile where he was lucky just to make a sound or two, - to the evolution of everyone having a vest full of calls and thinking they are Ben Lee or Preston Pittman.

The second thing that I think heavily contributed to the hens being much more muted is the explosion of predators. The numbers are just so much higher than they were twenty years ago where I live. I honestly believe that hens have learned to be more tight lipped to save their back side. Now, I am sure there are other factors, but I think these two issues have had a significant hand in the lesser vocalizations from hens today in the woods. But that being so - what is true in my part of the country may not be true elsewhere.

My point and to connect it to this subject being discussed - I have watched the hens and learned to evolve and also talk less where I live and hunt and my has success went way up as a result. A little goes a long ways. When that bird is coming, I just let him come. I can always say more, but I cannot take it back if I start off with too much.

I believe this wholeheartedly.  The turkeys here act very differently than they did many years ago.  The hens make a little noise when they get up in the morning and I hear a fly down cackle maybe once a year if I'm lucky.  Gobblers gobble like crazy on the roost, but you seldom hear one once their feet hit the ground.  If you hear a gobble during the day it's golden.  If I can get one to gobble mid-morning I feel like I can get him.  I've had few instances where then hens and gobblers went very vocal on one hunt 2 years ago.  I heard more turkey sounds that one time than I may hear 3-4 years combined.  I've hunted areas that don't see much hunting pressure and they're still very quiet.  I think it's predators.  We've had an abundance of coyotes and bobcats.  One guy that I work with had a bobcat tackle his decoy.  Most gobblers come in silent, so I basically sit still and call a small amount every 20-30 minutes.  Folks around here have a love/hate relationship with decoys including myself.  Either they kill your chances or they make a hunt quick and easy.  I'm gradually using them less and less. 

Anyway, I hope to use close calling at a minimum, mainly I want to make the right sounds to hopefully seal the deal.  It'll be situation-dependent.  But the leaf scratching can be magical.


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[Paulmyr]

Even if you can't see him he maybe able to see you unless there is some type of physical barrier in the way. If you can hear the rattle in his gobble he is very close and it's best to be silent in my opinion. If he came that far, if your patient he'll likey come the rest of the way if your not exposed. By that I mean some type of cover In front or behind you to break up your outline and possibly hide a hen. Turkeys don't have depth perception so cover behind you can be just as good as cover in front if you don't move.

As far as the thought of hens becoming less vocal because of predation, over the some 30 odd years of hunting them I've never really heard vocal hens very often. I think what stage in the mating season and flock size definitely play a role. Early in the mating season as breeding begins there's a lot of sorting out to do and flock size decreases as the mating season progresses and hens leave the flock to incubate nests.

Also, I think overall turkey densities compared to the available habitat might  also play a role as flock territories may overlap causing some conflict between the groups leading to more vocalizations if they get into close proximity to each other. In some areas flocks can spread out across the countryside and others they maybe be forced to share some of the same areas.

I think available nesting and brood rearing habitat tend to congregate turkeys in certain areas in the spring. If that habitat is limited there will be competition between flocks in the surrounding area. If nesting/ brood rearing habitat is not localized than flocks will spread out according to availability.

I think hunting pressure plays a major role in flock vocalization. If turkeys are being noisy they attract attention from the 2 legged predator. The 2 legged predators are much more noticable to turkeys than the 4 legged ones especially these days with hunter numbers at a high and with the chosen tactics of the some of newer breed of turkey hunters.

Used to be 5 guys could go into the woods and the turkeys would be none the wiser unless a shot was taken. Not because they sit one one place and call but because movement was more subdued. There was more observation in an effort to learn how the turkeys are using the landscape. What areas they liked and which they seemed to avoid and why they where doing so. Now there's more hunters running around the woods and I mean that literally.

I think the evolution of the run and gun style of turkey hunting from nothing here let's go look for one to I'm going to run and gun every gobbling bird here til I get one has played major role in spooking more turkeys than in the past. There's limited effort by these hunters to understand what is happening around them. All they know is I hear gobbles over there and need to get to him as fast as possible and kill him. They don't take the time to understand why he's there they just know he is and that's enough for them. They don't think about the repercussions of their actions and how it effects turkey behavior. In the  heavily pressured public areas I've hunted by the end of the second weekend it's a mad dash to the safety of private land.

Coyotes could possibly be lending itself to quieter turkeys but I've hunted areas with high coyote populations and less hunting pressure or evening closures and on some evenings nothing lights up a roost more than a pack of coyotes howling and barking especially when the coyotes are in close proximity to the roosted birds. The gobbling continues after the the pack noise has ceased.

Another example would be great horned owls. From what I understand, other than hunters they are the leading predator for adult gobblers yet they still gobble at owls calls. They maybe shock gobbles  after a hoot but the gobbling usually continues even after the known predator announces his presence.

[mountainhunter1]

Paulmyr - with every post, I am reminded that you are a guy who has tagged out many many times. Good luck the next few weeks turkey slayer. Hope one of those new boxes gets it done for you.

[RemingtonRules]

Scratching in the leaves.