question

[catdaddy]

This conversation reminds me of a story told by the great Ray Eye. He and another fellow got into a heated discussion one evening about which was more important—calling or woodsmanship. Ray was adamant that it was calling—the other guy argued it was woodsmanship. The next morning they hunted together and set up on a gobbler. The gobbler flew down, gobbled a few times and began to slowly walk away from the hunters. After the gobbler left, the fellow hunting with Ray went to over to him pretty worked up and said " Ray!!!! Why didn't you call to that Gobbler?? Why did you just sit there and let him walk off??  Ray replied " I keep waiting for you to woodsmanship him over to us!"   

[RutnNStrutn]

Both are very important. But to my personal experience, there is a lot of moving, setting up, subtle adjustments, anticipation, and learning turkey behavior. That's woodsmanship. I've heard some great callers, and dang, I wish I sounded that good. But I've also heard some awful callers, and some of them are flat out turkey killers. So in my opinion, woodsmanship is more important than calling ability, although both are necessary skills.

[Happy]

Tree rooster,
I think we got a little sidtracked. Yes to me woodsmanship seems more obvious. My question was not about that. It was which would you give up to gain more of the other. There is no wrong answer to that as we all have different strengths and weaknesses. I just felt the need to clarify so that people would not be confused.

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[RutnNStrutn]

Since I'm just an OK caller, and a pretty decent woodsman, there's your answer. I'd give up some calling ability to be a better woodsman, because I think that pays more dividends.

[BowBendr]

You know, there is a way we could put this all to a test. This spring, go out and roost you a gobbler in any fashion you choose. Go back to hunt him the next morning and leave the calls in the truck. See if you kill him...


2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions

[guesswho]

You know, there is a way we could put this all to a test. This spring, go out and roost you a gobbler in any fashion you choose. Go back to hunt him the next morning and leave the calls in the truck. See if you kill him...


2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions

I'd give a couple folks I know about a 60% chance of killing him.   Most folks I know I'd give them about a 95% chance of boogering him without ever seeing him.

[Happy]

Oh I could kill him but that's not the point and I would quit hunting if reduced  to those measures. However once again the question is not whether woodsmanship or calling is more important. The question is personally which area would you sacrifice 10% of your skill to gain 10% in the other. I wholeheartedly agree that you have to be able to call a turkey to consistently kill them. In my world the two skills go hand in hand. I just wanted to see if like me, how many feel they call better than than they handle the rest of the game and vice versa.

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[guesswho]

Out of the two, my calling is the weakest.  I'd gladly give up 10% Bobcat'n skills to gain 10% more calling realism.  I'm totally confident in my when,why and where to call, would just like a little more realism to my ear.

[USMC0331]

Both are very important. But to my personal experience, there is a lot of moving, setting up, subtle adjustments, anticipation, and learning turkey behavior. That's woodsmanship. I've heard some great callers, and dang, I wish I sounded that good. But I've also heard some awful callers, and some of them are flat out turkey killers. So in my opinion, woodsmanship is more important than calling ability, although both are necessary skills.

I agree. I learned a few tips from Mr. camp and Mr. Johnson about turkey hunting and they stressed woodsmanship. You can be the best caller on the planet but if your out of position your only talking to yourself.

[Happy]

Now I am always practicing calling because you can always improve. But what got me thinking about this is I was thinking about the one fellow I know that is consistently death on birds. I can out call him hands down but you can drop him off on property he has never seen before and if he is in earshot of a bird then that bird is in serious trouble. He doesn't kill one every time out but I would never bet against him. Now me in the same situation will bat a lower average. I really get better the more time I spend on a certain piece of property. I want to really get better at that aspect of things. I know experience is always the best teacher but he makes me a little jealous. I feel my game will go to a higher level if I can get a better handle on that.

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[wvmntnhick]

Now I am always practicing calling because you can always improve. But what got me thinking about this is I was thinking about the one fellow I know that is consistently death on birds. I can out call him hands down but you can drop him off on property he has never seen before and if he is in earshot of a bird then that bird is in serious trouble. He doesn't kill one every time out but I would never bet against him. Now me in the same situation will bat a lower average. I really get better the more time I spend on a certain piece of property. I want to really get better at that aspect of things. I know experience is always the best teacher but he makes me a little jealous. I feel my game will go to a higher level if I can get a better handle on that.

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And for a brief moment, I thought this was about me. Lol

As I've stated in the past, my calling isn't great. It's improved, but not great. In recent years I've done much better in that department. In the past, I also relied heavily on the use of a rifle. Granted, most birds were still shot within 40 yards, it was there if I wanted it. Calmed down a lot lately and the thought of using a shotgun doesn't seem so bad. Having said that, it leads me to believe that woodsmanship is certainly more important. How much more? I can't say for sure but that's where my 10% would go. Looking very much forward to the coming season.

[GobbleNut]

Good question,...and an interesting and lively discussion here. 

My answer is sort-of a cop-out on the direct question, but to me it depends a lot on where I am hunting and the situation. 

There are times I have hunted a spot that I knew very well, but for some reason my calling just wasn't getting responses, which in turn made me question my calling tactics and ability.  In those instances, I would have been willing to trade some woodsmanship for a bit more confidence in what I was saying to the turkeys.

On the other hand, there have been just as many times that I have been somewhere that I did not know very well,...or at all,...and felt my calling was spot-on (or at least reasonably competent), was getting responses from gobblers, but could not get them in.  At those times, I would gladly give up a bit of calling ability to have a better idea of the lay of the land and more knowledge of the habits of the birds in the area.

The bottom line is that my answer to the question would likely change in any given situation.

[turkeyfoot]

You know, there is a way we could put this all to a test. This spring, go out and roost you a gobbler in any fashion you choose. Go back to hunt him the next morning and leave the calls in the truck. See if you kill him...


2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions

Ah but it was your woodsmanship that found and  roosted the bird so your calling could kill him and to kill him means you knew where he was most likely to fly down for a good set up 

[turkey_slayer]

To me woodsmanship isn't about finding the birds. That's easy. You're not tracking bongo thru the rain forest. Turkeys are located by vocalizations, sight, tracks, droppings, feathers, scratching and dust bowls. Not more to it than that. Woodsmanship is how you move/setup and choose to do things to make the kill. When I became a better woodsman is when I started killing birds more consistently. Where to setup, what to say/what not to say, how to read the bird, etc. I think when you add superb woodsmanship with top notch calling then you have the recipe for ultimate success. So in short, imo, woodsmanship is the most important but add that with top notch calling and your at the pinnacle. My calling needs more work than my woodsmanship

[born2hunt]

I have sat and thought back on past hunts and tried to think what it was that helped me succeed, or fail for that matter. And I think it boils down to where and how you hunt. I often hunt a couple of small tracts that do not hold birds due to the lack of roost trees, but I kill birds there regularly with out decoys. Now while I feel both of the mentioned skill sets are very important, I can promise you that woodsmanship will not get a gobbler to cross a fence or leave a hen. And it wont keep that sassy ole hen pacing around your tree for 5 or 10 minutes looking for the intruder while the gobbler your after takes his sweet time strutting into gun range. When you don't have many options of where to set up and you cant get where you know he wants to go its the calling that makes the difference.  Now when I'm on public land a mile or so deep it is undoubtedly my woodsmanship that gets me into a position where my calling can even be used.

So lets set aside the decoys and forget those HOT fired up gobblers that would cross hell and high water after hearing a single yelp and I not sure the average hunter would consistently do to well with out combining both of the skills.

I am an average hunter but I feel pretty well rounded so if I had to give up part of one to gain on another I'd just keep what I have and go hunting. If I cant kill him today it just means there's more fun for tomorrow.