Birds not responding to Locator Calls

[hotspur]

I will bunt kisatchie opening weekend listen before the season for gobblers to gobble on their own. These Turks are call shy, I've called some in with excited calling but most only approach half way, hunter must sit longer in most cases, scout before season  and forget the locator  call

[g8rvet]

Plenty of good advise, just wanted to chime in to respond to the OP.  One private place that I hunt, a pine tract with a field and a creek bottom that runs through it where they roost.  Never once had a bird respond to a crow call.  Ever.  That place is loaded with crows.  See them every morning I hunt there.  When I first hunted there, I was using it to locate and literally had 15+ pizzed off crows circling my head.  I have owl hooted and had them answer, but now I tend to set up along the field and let them work their way to me instead of trying to get close to them.  What set off at least 50% of the ones I have killed there has been a Redtailed Hawk.  They must nest there every spring and when that hawk screeches, 9 times out of 10 if a gobbler is roosted in the bottom, he will gobble.  Nothing to the dozens of crows.  Also a house across the bottom raises peacocks, I hear them nearly every hunt. Birds never gobble to them either.

Another place I hunt - public.  Lots of creek bottoms and the place is lousy with owls.  Usually have a hoot off on every clear morning.  Gobblers rarely respond.  I have called them in the tree I am sitting against plenty of times.  Videoed one later up in the morning that followed me as I was walking along a new area and hooting occasionally.  He got closer and finally lit over my head.  Got some good video after I fired him up by hooting.  Nary a gobble.  Crow calls?  Work great there.  Not every time of course, but as long as I wait til the sun is up, if Tom has not cleared his throat by the time I think he should and I don't have any solid intel, I will give the crow call a shot before I move on.  Have had more than a few responses. 

So, I believe them hearing those locators all the time will make them immune.  A friend of my nephews took him turkey hunting one morning. He stopped at a little culvert over a branch.  Had a guard rail. He opened his tool box and grabbed a rubber mallet out of it.  Walked over to the guard rail and gave it a whack - BUUUUWHHHHOOOOONNNNGGGGGGG!  Again.  Last time. Said he has located a bunch of turkeys like that.  My brothers Father in Law, as he got older would drive around and honk the horn.  He killed more birds then I will see in my life with his side by side and #6 low brass.  Said more than half had been located with his truck horn. 

[357MAGNOLE]

  My brothers Father in Law, as he got older would drive around and honk the horn.  He killed more birds then I will see in my life with his side by side and #6 low brass.  Said more than half had been located with his truck horn. 

There is a cop here on base that turkey hunts, I see him all the time riding around, come to a stop, flip on the siren for a second and turn it off then hop out for a listen.

[ilbucksndux]

Lots of good opinions here. I have got them to gobble to an owl call but have more luck with a few loud sharp cuts,or the truck horn ,than anything else. There is one place that i hunt that the birds almost NEVER gobble with their feet on the ground and if you can get one to gobble after 8 am it is a miracle .

[paboxcall]

Was hunting a small section of public ground, about 500+ acres, on a beautiful spring morning, cool, still, blue skies.  Had some action there the day before.  But that particular morning I never heard a bird, and I tried everything.

Then, around 11:00am, the community fire whistle sounded off about a mile up the road.

The woods came alive with gobbling, at least 8 different gobblers gobbling each time that whistle peaked.  After a minute or two the siren went quiet and so did the woods.  Never heard another bird.

Some days are like that.

[357MAGNOLE]

Was hunting a small section of public ground, about 500+ acres, on a beautiful spring morning, cool, still, blue skies.  Had some action there the day before.  But that particular morning I never heard a bird, and I tried everything.

Then, around 11:00am, the community fire whistle sounded off about a mile up the road.

The woods came alive with gobbling, at least 8 different gobblers gobbling each time that whistle peaked.  After a minute or two the siren went quiet and so did the woods.  Never heard another bird.

Some days are like that.

Although apples to oranges kind of reminds me of something from last year. I had one gobbler I knew where he liked to be.  He was always within this one 80 or so acre track. Any way, the last couple weeks of the season I could never get him to respond to anything. I would see him from 3-400 yards away and he would not respond to anything, not yelps, clucks, gobbles, purrs, cro calls, owl nothing. I swore that he had to be a deaf bird.  Any way, season comes to an end and I was driving through the area he lived in... I turned a corner and this SOB was strutting in the middle of the freaking paved road. Not only was he strutting, but I honked the horn and gobbled his head off and got off the road and just kept strutting like he did not care I was there.... Its like he knew the season was over and was celebrating

[WyoHunter]

I haven't had a turkey gobble at a locator call in better then 10 yrs. Ever. Crow, hawk, owl, peacock. you name it. Nothing.

Can't say never but I can count on my hand how many responses I've got.

[Anobody]

back pocket locator call for me is a dog whistle.... shhh dont tell anybody my secret 

[hotspur]

In my experience a turkey that is fired up is most likely to respond to a non turkey locator call

[BowBendr]

I locate turkeys with a turkey call, be it fly down time, mid-day or fly up time. I just get far better responses that way. Im so far off the road that I dont care who hears it...


2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions

[CMBOSTC]

I use my mouth call most of the time to locate. Occasionally, I have used a dog whistle and or an air horn that you can get at Walmart.

Chris

[Crawl79]

Smalls, I hunt same areas as you do. Also have hunted a few other midwest states.

I find that turkeys in La and Miss even on public land hear enough real and fake crow calls in the middle of the day and will only gobble at them if they are in the perfect time of the year when they are really fired up. Same for gobbling at woodpecker calls. I have killed a few birds in middle of the day that have made that mistake but majority of the time you won't get them to gobble at one or just one gobble. Allot of times I find they gobble at a crow that is sitting over their head cawing at the turkey. Can't beat the real thing, if I am walking and hear a crow or another loud noise I ALWAYS stop to listen...

As for midwest my favorite locator call in the evenings at dark is a coyote howler. I have made many a bird gobble at that, even better than gobbling at them...

[Marc]

I have also had very poor luck with locator calls...  Never ever had a response from a crow call (probably too many crows around), had some luck with owl calls, but I always wonder if they are gobbling to the call at near-by hens...  There is a lot of owl activity in some of my areas, and with a lot of natural owls hooting all morning, I rarely seem to hear a bird gobble in response to such calling...

Heard them respond to actual coyotes...  Hunting somewhat near a neighbors house, I heard a marital argument break out once that seemed to generate some gobbles...

Best locator call I have used is a honker call though...  Just enough around that they hear some, but not so much that they become overly accustomed to them...  I have most certainly heard birds respond to a loud honker call (which I actually carry at one property).

[srmturk]

"Heard them respond to actual coyotes...  Hunting somewhat near a neighbors house, I heard a marital argument break out once that seemed to generate some gobbles..."

This legit made me laugh out loud