My early, middle, and late season calling strategy doesn't change much; however, the turkeys that are attracted to it seem to change as the season progresses. My basic tactic involves locating the breeding area (usually a grass or picked grain field) where the turkeys will probably be headed after fly down, often 200-300 yards from their roosting site. (I've also used it within 100 yards of the roost if I'm in an unfamiliar area.) As the hens and gobblers wake up and start their talk back and forth to each other, I let them know where I'm at by some soft tree yelps eventually followed a few minutes later by louder yelps, often getting a gobble response. This sets me up as the new hen on the block. Because of the peck order, sometimes boss hens will make the trek to check me out, dragging in a gobbler behind her. More often than not, the gobbler's peck order will necessitate that he come in to check out the new tom since I've now begun to answer his gobbles with my Primos gobble tube, sometimes cutting him off or double gobbling. Early in the season, the gobblers that come in to check me out are often the subordinate ones that must watch while the boss gobbler goes off with the real hens. While I can see or hear gobblers that are over 100 yards away, it's not unusual that a tom or two will silently slip in on me. While the boss gobbler is what we call "henned up", those lower on the peck order are not above slipping away to check out a possible unclaimed hen and do a little breeding of their own. Later in the season, as hens to breed become fewer and fewer and the boss gobbler finds himself alone after fly down, he is more likely to respond to my calling because (1) he still is looking for hens to breed and (2) there's a new intruder gobbler moving in on his territory that is trying to lay claim to this new hen and the peck order demands that the new tom be put in his place. Obviously, this doesn't always work, but it's the most consistent strategy that I've found to date. About 10 years ago, I was taking a gobbler about once ever three years via sounding like a hen. Since then, I've filled all three (sometimes only two) of my Illinois tags. I thank Ray Eye who was with H.S. Strut at the time who wrote an article on using the peck order to bring in gobblers. Based on his article, this is the strategy/method that I've developed that works for me. I just filled my first season Illinois tag on the second day of the five day season and plan to use it for my two remaining permits during the third and fourth seasons. Best of luck as you discover what works for you. Be sure to share it with the rest of us. We're never too old to learn!
