which is more important ? calling ability or turkey knowledge

[JeffC]

Hopefully part of turkey knowledge will include PATAINCE, hate to admit it but I still get busted at least once every year, go into a new area not knowing where the birds are, sit down and call, hour later give up, stand up and there is a red head looking at me.

[GobbleNut]

While I totally agree that patience can be a key element in success or failure, it needs to be applied at the right time and situation.  There is both a time for patience and a time for action.  Granted, there are situations (unfortunately) where the only reasonable approach is to sit in one spot and wait a gobbler out.  However, there is a point where the spelling of "patience" changes,...and it becomes "ambush".

Again, patience is a virtue,...when applied appropriately and in the proper doses.  The moral of this story:  Don't become so enamored with patience that you can't see when "action" is needed.   

[Happy]

I know one thing. I ain't about to sit for 3 hours trying to convince a bird to come somewhere he obviously doesn't want to come. Some may call that patience but I will try and figure out why and do something about it. If he is responding well and obviously interested then in my opinion sitting on my rear end and doing nothing about it is the last thing I am going to do. Sitting in one spot and yacking for three hours isn't realistic anyways.

[GobbleNut]

Anybody that can sit and wait for hours for a non-responsive gobbler to show up is a better man than me.  I couldn't do it,...nor do I want to.  There are just a lot more enjoyable ways to hunt turkeys. 

The point of my prior comments is to let our newer hunters understand that, even though patience in the right measure is a good thing to have, it is not the end-all of turkey hunting. 

A newbie that interprets some of the comments made to mean,..."If I just sit patiently in this one spot all day and call a little bit I can kill a gobbler"...in my opinion, is missing out on the entire concept of being "patient" and when patience should be applied.

Just as there are circumstances that call for infinite patience, there are often many times where the opposite is true.  That is, aggressive hunting tactics will get you a gobbler when sitting and waiting will give you a great opportunity to watch the grass grow. 

The point is, don't "pigeon-hole" yourself into accepting that one method is superior to the other.  In time, and with that crucial element of experience, you will be able to make informed decisions on which tactic to use.

[silvestris]

One needs at least a modicum of turkey knowledge to properly employ the caller, especially the best call of them all, silence.

[3bailey3]

ok I had a hunt a few years back, struck I bird on the way out at about 2:30, I knew right where he was, I was above him, he was in a gas line and I was on a road that led down to him, he would answer every time I called, I would go quiet for some time but he would never move, so I am going to loop around to where he is, when I get there and I don't think I got busted doing it I call and he is right were I had been.. I decide to give up and leave for the day but as I am walking out he starts coming my way, I just sit down and scratch the leaves some, he gobbles every time I rake the leaves, its about dark now when I leave, wore out from a all day hunt but I know he will be right there the next morning, next morning he gobbles once on the ground and that's it....this is why I love it so much.

[Rzrbac]

Knowledge by a long way. I suspect many of us started off hunting without even owning a turkey call.  Think about hunting them like that for a season or two and then add some good calling. You quickly become lethal turkey hunter. It's not the most exciting way to learn but it is effective.

[Ctrize]

Knowledge but no calling is no fun.

[Turkeystudent]

I agree that it is a combination of knowledge and ability. Knowing where turkeys are located and where they are wanting to go, along with the knowledge of the terrain you are hunting is a big part of the equation. Knowing what to say, when to say it and how to say it is very important as well. I believe calling is important and have a great deal of respect for comp callers (I wish I sounded like them!). I am a very average caller at best with a mouth yelper but I sound better than some of the real hens I've heard over the years. As someone stated earlier, the right place and right time also has a great deal to do with it and the more you are in the area where turkeys are, the better your odds will be.

[Turkeyman]

For me the true joy of turkey hunting is fooling them, not killing them. No way could I sit in a blind hours on end even if you told me a bird would finally show up. I'm not built for it. Not that I don't have patience, but that patience only comes into effect if I'm working a bird. Not where I'm sitting and waiting for a totally non-responsive bird which may or may not show up. IMO that's bushwhacking, not turkey hunting.

So in answer to the original question, I think it's a bit of a tossup. I believe regarding calling ability, on a scale of 1 to 5, if you're a 3 you're good to go. BUT, your turkey knowledge and woodsmanship will dictate when to call, how loud to call, where to call from, what to say, how much to say and when to shut up! Those things you learn through experience. I've been at this game longer than most and still have my "moments" when I think I'm an idiot!

[silvestris]

Me, too.

[Ihuntoldschool]

Both are important.  Learn both, it's not a question of one or the other really.

[Plush]

Well the obvious answer is knowledge. Because A) You need some knowledge to even call and B) One can kill a turkey without calling, but you cannot call in a turkey if there are no turkeys to call in.

To be perfectly honest one could probably go and kill turkeys without calling or using decoys and it probably wouldn't be too difficult all things considered. If you have all the knowledge you can realistically have on a specific area and the birds in that area you could just set yourself up in the right spot and wait for them to come by. We use the tools to help us because A) Why wouldn't you if it helps? and B) For most it is a big part of the fun.

[nitro]

To loosely quote the great Roscoe Reams " a man who only kills two Gobblers a year is a man who is leaving a lot on the table"

It's this -

1.  Position - choose the place where you have the best odds to kill him.
2. Highly skilled calling
3. Nerves of steel
4. Accurate shooting at the moment of truth.

[Prospector]

Knowledge. If you know where they are then you can be successful with just clucks. Everyone can cluck on a box or pot- most can on a mouth call if that's your "flava". One of the best hunters I ever knew used homemade mouth calls and assembly line boxes- he was not a great caller, did not hunt in our times of TSS ( if u had a gun that patterned well to 40yds it was the "holy grail". Yet he was successful bc he knew Turkey habits and scouted exhaustively. Knowledge, hands down.... not even close