Aggressive cold calling

[Timmer]

Hi guys,

I've read various advice on cold calling and thought I'd share an experience that has got me questioning my tactics a bit.  

My historical method of cold calling (calling when don't know if there are any birds in the area) has always been a bit reserved.  If I was sneak hunting, I would call every 10 minutes or so, as well as when I was about to round a corner or crest a hill.  If I was sitting somewhere for a spell, I'd tend to call every 15-20 minutes.  With my calling, I switch between yelps, clucks, and purrs, and the occasional light cut mixed into the yelps.  I also switch call types (slate, box, mouth, push-pin).  I've certainly had my success over the years, but I've also had periods with no action.  

Two weekends ago I participated in a youth mentor hunt.  We were in an area that was a mixture of farmland, lowland, and not a ton of woods.  On day one we saw some hens, but didn't hear a single gobble or see a jake or tom.   Because I had a youth on his first hunt and his father along, we used a blind.  I did my usual calling.  After about 3 hours in a spot we would pack up our stuff and move to another side of the farm and repeat the process.  On day two we had the same experience all morning.  When we only had a couple of hours left to hunt, I decided to light it up!  Since I had nothing to lose and I called as loud, hard, and excited as I have ever called.  I called about every 5-10 minutes.  I still switched between call types, but only did excited yelping and cutting.  After about an hour I had 2 toms and a jake coming from 3 different directions.  My youth got his first bird.  It was awesome!

Moral of the story?  I'm going to add more aggressive calling to my cold call mix!

[870FaceLift]

I'm interested to hear others weigh in on this.  I've always heard to be careful with the hard, loud calling.  This holds especially true on calm days. That loud calling travels and doesn't sound natural to an old tom.  Who knows though?

I guess it's hard telling the effect it has on birds unless you're hunting over a wide open field.  If you're in the woods, you never know which birds your spooking.  My theory with calling aggressively like that is that it only works on birds that are extremely hot.  In other words, if they come into that type of loud, obnoxious calling, then they would have come into just about anything.  I've had quite a few do that!  Love those 
My grandpa used to say that if a bird is hot enough, he'll come into a knife scraping against a plate. 

[cfrye11]

I get progressively more aggressive. I think cause I get bored.

[Skeeterbait]

Yes it works.  Does it work every time? Nothing works every time.  But there have been times I have walked up on a gobbler mid day, spotted him, set up and tried soft calling him and they either look up and go back to bugging or don't even take notice.  Then fire up like a group of hens fussin with cutts, agressive purrs, sharp clucks and short demanding yelps and they come.  Contented hen talk just don't get some of their attention.  My favorite call sequence to get a mid day gobbler to gobble and reveal himself is three to five demanding raspy yelps followed by a sharp three note cutt.  A lot of birds just will not gobble at soft calling mid day.

[Flydown]

I like to get loud and nasty when birds are quiet, but only do it about once and sit and wait for him to get to my end of the breeding order. They hear you but they might just be pre-ocupied at the moment. Remember,they are males and want it every chance they can get it! Patience is the key and the longer I have waited out a turkey he usally ends up being a STUD but not all the time!

[fallhnt]

O.K. Here is my weigh in. I always get as tight in to the roost as I can and call hard.This is on public land in the spring in IL.Hunting hours end at 1:00 and pressure can be tough.Other hunters,mushroom hunters,horse riders etc.If you set up 150 yrds. away and call soft it won't happen. Add to this that I only bowhunt in the spring and I have had to change my style.So I get up early and pack in my blind etc. to within 60 yrds.of the roost most of the time.I also bowhunt NE. and KS. public land.If I can set up near the roost the birds never fly down to me.I call hard and stay all day.My two KS. birds,this year, came after an all day stay in 90 degree heat April 1st.One came from the west after a youth hunter shot birds in that direction with a gun and I called the other one across a big creek. Soft calling won't get it done that early out west. I call alot and have called in contests.I say this because when you practice it gives you confidence to call and that will kill turkeys. One other note is I fall/winter turkey hunt from Sept. to Jan. and this,I think, makes me a better turkey hunter.Late spring,early spring,I don't care becouse I use kee kee runs and gobbler yelping in the spring along with my hen calling.I get beat up bad in the sping in IL. but I keep going because our seasons are short and I don't want to look back at the end of the season and think I should have went yesterday for the hour before work.

[duxrus]

I get progressively more aggressive. I think cause I get bored.

[tomstopper]

I get progressively more aggressive. I think cause I get bored.

Exactly my problem.

[Skeeterbait]

Think of it this way.  Your sitting in the den watching the game on TV.  Your wife and her best friend are in the kitchen doing what women do best... talking.  You can hear them but it is nothing you are interested in so you tune them out.  All of a sudden they start shouting at each other and screaming.  You think "WHAT THE HECK" and run into the kitchen!  'Bout the same thing.  Only... lets hope there isn't a turkey in there with a shotgun.

[chcltlabz]

When I'm running and gunning, I call very loud and very often.  Its what works for me.  I'm a firm believer that aggressive calling can fire up a gobbler that would have otherwise remained silent.

I want my calling to reach out and I'm hunting for birds on the edge of my hearing range.  I can move on them then and tone it down if need be.

[870FaceLift]

Think of it this way.  Your sitting in the den watching the game on TV.  Your wife and her best friend are in the kitchen doing what women do best... talking.  You can hear them but it is nothing you are interested in so you tune them out.  All of a sudden they start shouting at each other and screaming.  You think "WHAT THE HECK" and run into the kitchen!  'Bout the same thing.  Only... lets hope there isn't a turkey in there with a shotgun.

I like that philosophy - makes a lot of sense!

[redleg06]

Yes it works.  Does it work every time? Nothing works every time.  But there have been times I have walked up on a gobbler mid day, spotted him, set up and tried soft calling him and they either look up and go back to bugging or don't even take notice.  Then fire up like a group of hens fussin with cutts, agressive purrs, sharp clucks and short demanding yelps and they come.  Contented hen talk just don't get some of their attention.  My favorite call sequence to get a mid day gobbler to gobble and reveal himself is three to five demanding raspy yelps followed by a sharp three note cutt.  A lot of birds just will not gobble at soft calling mid day.

100% agree with everything you said.   

[TrackeySauresRex]

Yes it works.  Does it work every time? Nothing works every time.  But there have been times I have walked up on a gobbler mid day, spotted him, set up and tried soft calling him and they either look up and go back to bugging or don't even take notice.  Then fire up like a group of hens fussin with cutts, agressive purrs, sharp clucks and short demanding yelps and they come.  Contented hen talk just don't get some of their attention.  My favorite call sequence to get a mid day gobbler to gobble and reveal himself is three to five demanding raspy yelps followed by a sharp three note cutt.  A lot of birds just will not gobble at soft calling mid day.

100% agree with everything you said.   

Thats good stuff,I pretty much work it the same way.
I've gotten lucky a few times this year    between 11 and 12, late morning birds running and gunning. Great tactic

[TauntoHawk]

I get pretty aggressive when cold calling, if a bird doesn't even want to give me a single gobble to some loud cutts and excited yelping then I dont wanna play with him either.


I got enough land and properties to keep moving til I find one that wants to go! If i'm contained to a single farm I will tone it down a good bit

[bbcoach]

Sounds to me like, we have numerous guys that have gotten away from the OLD SCHOOL theory of Soft, Subtle Hen Talk and wait at least 15 to 30 minutes before you call again to NEW SCHOOL--CRANK IT UP!  I have to throw myself into this mix.  If I'm calling softly and nothing happens, I figure what do I have to lose unless you want to set in one location and hope a Gobbler just happens to come by.  Is that called impatience or hunting?  We preach Patience but can't stand it when nothing is happening.