Calling vs Bush whacking

[catman529]

If you can't get a bird to come to your calls, will you use the woods/terrain to your advantage and put the sneak on him, or will you let him go to call him in another day? for me it depends on how easily I could sneak on the bird. Assuming there is enough cover to sneak up on a hung up bird, would you do it or quit and call him another day?

For those who hunt in the fall, do you prefer to call the flock or ambush/stalk them? I do a little of both in the fall, but prefer to stalk and ambush.

[WildSpur]

I do not ambush or pop shoot.

I do use terrain and re-set up though.  Sometimes multiple times too but I still call to the bird.  I don't think I would feel right not calling a bird in.

I don't know how I would fall hunt.  I never gave it a serious attempt.

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[DirtNap647]

i like to hunt turkeys... you dont always get that story book hunt ...hunt as you shall like

[WildTigerTrout]

If I can't get him to work to a call then he walks. Calling is what the sport is all about. I don't want to ambush one but I will move position and maybe change calls to try to coax him in. In Pennsylvania it's illegal to stalk a turkey anyway. IMO it's too dangerous and unethical.

[CASH]

Calling a bird in is bushwhacking too.

1.  You're camoed head to toe.
2. You're pretending to be a hen.
3. He comes in looking for a hen and gets shot in the face by someone hiding from him.

IMO this is one of the most tired questions/arguments in turkey hunting.

[redleg06]

Would I use the terrain to get in front of them if they wont come to calling? Yep.  Did just that twice in the last week while everyone else is leaving the woods without turkey that arent responding much to calling.

I dont get the mindset that a better turkey hunter would rather watch one walk away then use the terrain to get in front of one and "bushwhack" him when he walks in to gun range.

As opposed to watching him walk away from you while you sit there and call at his tail feathers....   

I hate it for ya if you're going to bang your head against that wall but I got no problem using the terrain and making a move to get in front of one if calling isnt getting it done....I'll be toting that non-responsive turkey out while yall boys get on and talk about "call shy" and "henned up".   

[redleg06]

Calling a bird in is bushwhacking too.

1.  You're camoed head to toe.
2. You're pretending to be a hen.
3. He comes in looking for a hen and gets shot in the face by someone hiding from him.

IMO this is one of the most tired questions/arguments in turkey hunting.

agreed.

[duckaholic25]

Would I use the terrain to get in front of them if they wont come to calling? Yep.  Did just that twice in the last week while everyone else is leaving the woods without turkey that arent responding much to calling.

I dont get the mindset that a better turkey hunter would rather watch one walk away then use the terrain to get in front of one and "bushwhack" him when he walks in to gun range.

As opposed to watching him walk away from you while you sit there and call at his tail feathers....   

I hate it for ya if you're going to bang your head against that wall but I got no problem using the terrain and making a move to get in front of one if calling isnt getting it done....I'll be toting that non-responsive turkey out while yall boys get on and talk about "call shy" and "henned up".   

X2 Well put

[calebb]

Whether I beat one with a call or I beat him by sneaking on him, I still won. I am not above using a ditch or fence row to make a move on a bird. It's all just part of the game to me. Of course I'd rather work one that puts on a television worthy show, but I like to give them a ride home in the truck more. Some of my most memorable hunts have been what you would call "unorthodox."


Just last year while hunting with my dad we had a bird gobbling his head off in a cedar thicket but wouldn't budge. After listening to him for nearly an hour I started slipping through the cedars to close the distance on him. I managed to get within 5 yards while my father kept him gobbling and strutting. After letting him shake my bones with close range gobbles and drumming I killed him at 4 steps. He never took a step in our direction but without a doubt a hunt I'll never forget.

[TauntoHawk]

Would you rather call a 2yr old hammering all the way to the gun barrel or out manuver that ellusive Old tom with the sharp hooks and swinging rope.. I know what Im doing

I have no problem doing whatever it takes to kill a bird im after, we all preffer them to coming in roaring to everything we dish out but to consistantly lay them down a bag has to have more than 1 trick

I worked a bird once for over 3hrs just hung up out of range in a strut zone above me, can't count how many times he gobbled to me or himself but he eventually drifted off after a hen. After big big loop and I got right infront of him, never needed another cluck he walked right in, the hen almost tripped over me as she passed. I dont feel like less of a turkey hunter because I didn't seduce him out of the strut zone but I did figure out the Exact place he was going when he left.

[TurkeyTom]

I think how you hunt is a personal thing and I'd never tell anyone what is right or wrong for them, except shooting them while on the roost.

But with that said, I'd use every trick in the book I could to get the bird within range. I've moved on them and several times in my life, I've made the right move and got in front of them. But I also change my calling when I do.

If I was using one of my box calls when he hung up, I'd switch to a slate or mouth call. And I'd change my style too.  If I was giving yelps and cuts, I'd start nothing more than soft yelps, clucks and purrs with a little leaf scratching thrown in.

[catman529]

Interesting the variety of opinions.... Two things that stuck out to me - why is it illegal to stalk a turkey in PA? For safety reasons so you don't get shot? Also I saw where it was referred to as "unethical."  I'm not going to knock anyone for hunting a certain way (long as its legal) but I don't get whats unethical about stalking a turkey? To me it's about the hunt, not just the sport of calling one in. Stalking is a good hunting skill IMO. If you don't want to stalk a turkey that's cool, I have nothing against it and I prefer to call em in myself.  But it takes skill to outwit a turkeys vision long enough to get in range. In some cases it would be much more challenging to sneak on one than calling one in.   Just my 2 cents on that matter. Now keep the replies coming, I like reading the different responses....

[lumberjack]

If I can't get him to work to a call then he walks. Calling is what the sport is all about. I don't want to ambush one but I will move position and maybe change calls to try to coax him in. In Pennsylvania it's illegal to stalk a turkey anyway. IMO it's too dangerous and unethical.

The sport is all about hunting turkeys, however you choose to do it (within legal limits)!!!  I do hope for those that sneak/stalk...you keep safety above all else.  A old hunting buddy of my dads was shot, on private property, because the shooter had 5 gobblers get away that spring and #6 wasn't getting away!!! BE SAFE!!!

[VanHelden Game Calls]

There one in the same.  Well unless you are actually calling a bird to your truck

But even when I set-up for "calling" I put myself in an area they want to be.  So am I bush-whack'n or calling?  How do I know if the bird came because I called or came because he was coming anyway?  if I call one to my truck and shot him at 50+ yrds am I a caller or a bush whacker?

Sometimes we overthink

[WildTigerTrout]

I repeat it is ILLEGAL to stalk a gobbler during the spring hunt in Pennsylvania. I will quote the regulation from Pa.'s 2012-13 Hunting and Trapping digest. On page 35 under turkey seasons, bag limits and regulations it says "Statewide. Only turkeys with visible beards are legal. Hunting by CALLING ONLY-NO STALKING- one-half hour before sunrise until noon from April 27 through May 11, and then from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset from May 13 through May 31. Hunters are asked to be out of the woods by 1pm when closing hours are noon". So you can see if you choose to stalk or try to sneak up on a turkey in Pa. without calling you are breaking the law and subject to arrest. With the high hunting pressure that we have here it is a safety issue plain and simple. In Pa. like I said before the sport is in the calling.