When do "you" call agressively?

[ferocious calls]

All depends on the situation. Being a call maker and propagator of Easterns, I love to call. Love to really fire them up. If I think I can get away with it I send it, until I shouldn't. When that is depends on the tom/toms mood. I'm often wrong, but when I'm rite Bam!.

[bwhana]

I firmly believe indecision is worse than a bad decision when it comes to turkey hunting.

Great words of wisdom for turkey hunting, but also true in most facets of life!

[GobbleNut]

I use both aggressive and conservative/passive calling tactics depending on the circumstances...which can obviously vary a bunch depending on a whole list of factors.  Having said that, where I generally hunt (which is an important qualification in this discussion), I would estimate that I strike gobblers with aggressive calling probably ten times for every one time I will strike one with passive calling.  But that is just the nature of the game WHERE I MOSTLY HUNT. 

Conversely, I am just as certain that the fellows that stick with conservative calling where THEY hunt have learned over time that that is the best way to approach things wherever they are. 

One thing for certain is that before I give up on an area, I am going to throw the kitchen sink at them before I leave.  Admittedly, doing that doesn't work all that often, but it has worked just often enough that I ain't gonna quit doing it.  At the same time, I also hunt under the mantra of "once you do something you can't take it back".  It is generally best not to get too crazy right off the bat...but at some point, you might as well go there...   

[Paulmyr]

After reading through this post I remembered something I read from a pretty renowned duck guide on a different forum.

The guide was know to be generally a pretty conservative caller. One day while hunting just outside of a refuge he would call to the ducks and they'd never waiver. He noticed as he picked up the calling the ducks would come off there path into the refuge. Soon the guide was calling to them all the to the gun.

When they got back to landing after a successful days hunt a person who knew the guide came over and in discussion asked I'm curious why you switch from your normally conservative calling to aggressive calling all the way to the gun?

The guides answer was simple. Wasn't working!

[Gobbler-one]

I'm a conservative caller as a rule. I have on occasion hammered gobblers all the way to the gun and I have argued with boss hens to see them tow their boyfriend in range. I too am a believer that once you get aggressive you can't go back. It either works or turns them off sending them tight lipped the other way. I believe (to steal a phrase) in taking their temperature. The birds will let you know how to call to them. A brood or boss hen will usually start getting aggressive with you when calling. If she does, I start interrupting her by mimicking what she says. I say it louder, and longer cutting her off and never allowing her to have the last word. She can't stand it and will argue non stop to your set up. In my experience this tactic will not work with a younger hen that is lower in the pecking order. I pretty much do the same technique when calling aggressive to a gobbler. Cutting him off and not letting him have the last word. They will usually start chain gobbling as if saying "shut up and listen".  It's alot of fun when it happens, but timing is everything. For me conservative calling works most consistently.
Good thread. I like reading everyone's different perspectives.

[Gooserbat]

Western Oklahoma on a henned up Rio.

[appalachianassassin]

Most of the time

[King Cobra]

I'm a conservative caller as a rule. I have on occasion hammered gobblers all the way to the gun and I have argued with boss hens to see them tow their boyfriend in range. I too am a believer that once you get aggressive you can't go back. It either works or turns them off sending them tight lipped the other way. I believe (to steal a phrase) in taking their temperature. The birds will let you know how to call to them. A brood or boss hen will usually start getting aggressive with you when calling. If she does, I start interrupting her by mimicking what she says. I say it louder, and longer cutting her off and never allowing her to have the last word. She can't stand it and will argue non stop to your set up. In my experience this tactic will not work with a younger hen that is lower in the pecking order. I pretty much do the same technique when calling aggressive to a gobbler. Cutting him off and not letting him have the last word. They will usually start chain gobbling as if saying "shut up and listen".  It's alot of fun when it happens, but timing is everything. For me conservative calling works most consistently.
Good thread. I like reading everyone's different perspectives.

X2

[jakebird]

I spend most of my time on heavily pressured public land . I like a bird to gobble once on the roost so I know where he is but I'd prefer he not burn the woods down and attract other hunters. Once I get a close set up, I dial it down.....soft and sweet. Leaf scratching. Scrape a wing on a tree. I want him to slip in drumming and let my gun shot be the only sound the other hunters hear.

[Duckdogdad]

I was a soft, easy caller until a few years ago. I bought property in north Mississippi which has steep ridges and big white oak bottoms. More often than not, it's easy to not hear them in the bottoms or they gobble very little on the roost. Took a friend of mine who has hunted extensively in Ozarks of Arkansas and Missouri. After hunting with me he changed my tactics. We now call loudly and aggressively, trying not to sound like a single bird, but a flock.  We are waking the birds up in the bottoms, now it's common to have Tom's gobbling in multiple directions. I've enjoyed the learning experience.

[Prospector]

 I respectfully disagree: you can be aggressive then take it back! If he's hammering you but not coming- hammer him back! Then withdraw that "support". Man the gun and shut up. It just might break him and bring him to see where that " hot lil thang" went. You can thank me later.

[ScottTaulbee]

I spend most of my time on heavily pressured public land . I like a bird to gobble once on the roost so I know where he is but I'd prefer he not burn the woods down and attract other hunters. Once I get a close set up, I dial it down.....soft and sweet. Leaf scratching. Scrape a wing on a tree. I want him to slip in drumming and let my gun shot be the only sound the other hunters hear.

X2. I want that sucker to gobble one time, once I have him pinpointed, I'd prefer he doesn't make another sound until he's flopping. I'll slip in until I can see him on the roost, then I will make a few soft calls, fluff the leaves and that's all he'll get.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Greg Massey]

I'm like Mark Prudhomme i want the gobbler to know i'm available as it's becoming daylight with soft calling. Being aggressive isn't something i necessarily do on a regular basis, it all depends on the mood and what the turkeys are telling me in response to my calling etc. Now up in the day as things settle down from all the morning activity, i will become more aggressive in trying to get a response from a gobbler or hen. So for me it's all about what i'm hearing and receiving back.

[Spurs]

I am aggressive at all times.  I was raised by the old school though; call once every hour with a few clucks every 15 minutes to let them know you're still there.

My tactics changed when I started testing myself on public ground outside of my area and more heavily hunted areas.  I became an aggressive caller that pushes the bird to get worked up.  Then I pull the rug out from under them when I dial it down.

My theory is if I can get that tom worked up, he is more likely to come check things out or at least give away enough information for me to alter my setup as he makes a move.  In other words, it's hard to kill them if they are not gobbling.

Another thing is that I found out that I am super aggressive with my setups.  I hunt by myself 99% of the time unless my kids are with me.  Hunted with a couple of different guys last year and I completely blew their minds when I took off at a dead sprint when we heard one on the next ridge over.  When I heard that bird, I immediately knew were he was and knew we needed to make up about a half mile towards the ridge intersection to have a chance, but these guys just didn't have that kinda get up and go.  When they finally made it to me, I was about ready to ring their neck because I thought they were wasting time.  They were about to ring mine because they thought I was being way to aggressive.   

[ScottTaulbee]

I am aggressive at all times.  I was raised by the old school though; call once every hour with a few clucks every 15 minutes to let them know you're still there.

My tactics changed when I started testing myself on public ground outside of my area and more heavily hunted areas.  I became an aggressive caller that pushes the bird to get worked up.  Then I pull the rug out from under them when I dial it down.

My theory is if I can get that tom worked up, he is more likely to come check things out or at least give away enough information for me to alter my setup as he makes a move.  In other words, it's hard to kill them if they are not gobbling.

Another thing is that I found out that I am super aggressive with my setups.  I hunt by myself 99% of the time unless my kids are with me.  Hunted with a couple of different guys last year and I completely blew their minds when I took off at a dead sprint when we heard one on the next ridge over.  When I heard that bird, I immediately knew were he was and knew we needed to make up about a half mile towards the ridge intersection to have a chance, but these guys just didn't have that kinda get up and go.  When they finally made it to me, I was about ready to ring their neck because I thought they were wasting time.  They were about to ring mine because they thought I was being way to aggressive.   

I'm also very, very aggressive with my set ups, I push the envelope on what I can and can't get away with on these rascals


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk