Public land calling help

[jwhunter]

You have got it all wrong a turkey does not know if you are using a primos  call or a custom box, pot, tube, diaphragm call. Turkeys respond to Turkey calls.... period. Hunting TV stars are fooling you to think you need to buy this new call... it will make you kill more birds... BS. Learn to make good turkey sounds, scout, and good woodsman ship kills more turkeys than any thing else period, not a magic call

[Garrett Trentham]

You have got it all wrong a turkey does not know if you are using a primos  call or a custom box, pot, tube, diaphragm call. Turkeys respond to Turkey calls.... period. Hunting TV stars are fooling you to think you need to buy this new call... it will make you kill more birds... BS. Learn to make good turkey sounds, scout, and good woodsman ship kills more turkeys than any thing else period, not a magic call

Turkeys come to turkey calls because they sound like a turkey....in the spring turkeys may come to investigate weird sounds but you'll never convince me they have a clue as to if you are playing a box call a diaphragm, trumpet or pot call.

I have to agree with the above. Woodsmanship: knowledge of the landscape and how turkeys use it, and making good strategic decisions during the hunt will always outweigh your calling ability in importance. However, it does help to sound like a turkey and know how to work a bird with a call.

Your primary focus when calling should be realism, sound like a turkey. Certain calls make certain vocalizations better than others. Wingbone calls make great, quiet tree yelps and tube calls can make obnoxiously loud yelps and cuts that will make a turkey gobble when other calls won't. The real ticket is to learn how to make each call sound like a turkey, then learn when each call works best for you. I've heard guys use a mouth call and make it sound just as raspy and sharp as a box call. I've heard guys do kee kees on a slate call that sounded clear and whiny as a latex mouthcall. Having the ability to operate a call to that level, and thus beyond what 95% of hunters can do, is a very deadly trait when hunting public land turkeys.

Choosing a call most days it's a game of guess and check. If they don't respond to one thing, try another. Then again, it may not be your calling at all. The birds may be in a different area or "turned off" by the weather. That's part of the frustration that makes turkey hunting so fun.