"Calling In" a turkey

[Hobbes]

Nothing to be sorry about.  I do agree though.....I like them in close.

[Happy]

I think Hobbes has a valid point. Technically speaking anytime a bird approaches towards the caller aided only by audible stimulation then it is called in to some extent anyways. "In" is a very relative term.

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[Yoder409]

"Calling in" and "calling to the gun" are two different things.

I once had a Gould's bird come from over a mile away and across a 1000 foot deep canyon.   I was beating feet, carrying a fine Gould's tom, and had a very little bit of time to make a WHOLE lotta ground to get to my meet point before dark.  I never did see the bird that I was calling to as I walked.  But I "called him in".  I listened to him chasing me down for a long way.

"Calling to the gun" varies, according to your gun's capability of insuring a clean kill and your willingness (or refusal) to shoot past a predetermined distance.

[Harty]

In the woods where I usually don't use decoys they gotta round that bend or crest that hill so I can seal the deal(30-40 yds). In the fields where I use dekes and will harvest with a bow 20 yds. To me it's all about getting them within a range that I'm comfortable with completing the kill.

[MK M GOBL]

Guess it somewhat will depend on your hunting, in my area (home ground) a mix of hardwoods and farm ground and all ridge and valley. So in the timber the birds are close, mostly not using decoys then (on some sets yes but pretty rare). For the farm ground and dealing with "field" birds and filming we are mostly out of a blind and decoys, not all but most of the time, Bow Hunts are pretty much all out of the blind. These hunts are up close, Bow can be in the 7-10 yard range and the shotgun will be 15-17 yards, this does make it easy to "range" a bird for the under forty yard shots.


MK M GOBL

[Jimmyj]

Just having them respond to your calls and come closer with each call. Kill or no kill there's nothing more exciting in the hunting woods for me!

[SteelerFan]

My definitions or descriptions of a hunt as I would relay to my hunting friends:

1. Heard nothing
2. Heard ___ birds, but no answer - (usually add in distance & number)
3. Had one answer - bird answers calls / but nothing much more
4. Worked a bird - bird answers and moves closer (Usually add time & distance)
5. Had a bird come "in", but... (hangs up / spooked / hens / etc.)
6. Called one in = in range (killed / passed / no shot / missed)

So I guess to me, "called in" = in shooting range


To my non-hunting friends:

Them: "did you catch anything?"
Me: "nope"

[eggshell]

When I first saw this thread I had an urge to reply, but restrained my compulsive side. There has been wayyy too many divisive dumpster fire threads here in the past and they do nothing for our sport. I will say I have been surprised and pleased this has been a open and thoughtful  discussion so far. Maybe if it was closer to season it may have been more heated.

As for me, I don't use many measuring sticks and standards anymore. I do what I am comfortable with and at the end of the day my only question is, "was I happy with the hunt?". If I can answer yes to that it was a good day. Over 45+ years my standards of purity have waned if not washed down the river.....I just want to have fun and mess with some birds. Make no mistake i hunt hard and hunt to kill, what is a sport if it doesn't have a measurable goal. So set those standards and goals wherever you want and call anything you want, just have fun and be kind to those sharing the space with you.  I could care less if I officially called a bird in or killed him, but I want to hear him gobble and I want him to play the game. Some days he wins and some I win, but I only win once because he's dead if I win. That is my goal to win as many times as I have tags, but the best seasons are when I lose several times before I win. It's kind of like a football game, it's ok to lose the 1st quarter, even 2nd or third, but when the final clocks hits zero you better have won the fourth by enough to overcome your losses.

[Muzzy61]

I think human-turkeys less than 40-yds on public land counts as well!!!

[GobbleNut]

My definitions or descriptions of a hunt as I would relay to my hunting friends:
1. Heard nothing
2. Heard ___ birds, but no answer - (usually add in distance & number)
3. Had one answer - bird answers calls / but nothing much more
4. Worked a bird - bird answers and moves closer (Usually add time & distance)
5. Had a bird come "in", but... (hangs up / spooked / hens / etc.)
6. Called one in = in range (killed / passed / no shot / missed)

So I guess to me, "called in" = in shooting range

Right on the money,...we must have similar hunting friends.

[TRKYDOG]

I like to call them in as close as possible and for ME that's 40 yds. or less.  I like to watch them come looking for me.  If they hang up out there and won't come any closer, so be it, they win for the day and I get to hunt them again sometime.  I'm not that desperate to kill a turkey at 70 or 80 yds. I would just use a rifle if allowed if that were the case and I really needed to kill one at long ranges.  But, to each his own, just don't be one of those guys and act like you did something special.

[randy6471]

Under 40 yards for me.

[vt35mag]

My definitions or descriptions of a hunt as I would relay to my hunting friends:
1. Heard nothing
2. Heard ___ birds, but no answer - (usually add in distance & number)
3. Had one answer - bird answers calls / but nothing much more
4. Worked a bird - bird answers and moves closer (Usually add time & distance)
5. Had a bird come "in", but... (hangs up / spooked / hens / etc.)
6. Called one in = in range (killed / passed / no shot / missed)

So I guess to me, "called in" = in shooting range

Right on the money,...we must have similar hunting friends.

X2

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[LaLongbeard]

Well....I'm glad most of you can get turkeys to 40 yards. I personally cannot guess the yardage to within 30 yards either way, so have no idea how far they are when I shoot. That's why I've spent so much money on my shotgun and shells. I got a .410 semiautomatic that was made in Kazakhstan,I think. Sure it jams about every other shot but man it's cool looking. It's made of  .99% plastic, the good toxic kind, I think the firing pin and maybe one of the recoil pad screws is metal everything else is plastic. I'm shooting 3/8 of an ounce of TSS # 12s, the 3/8 ounce really tamed the .410 recoil. With my 3-12 x 42 tasco scope it weighs about 14 pounds but with full .410 loads my shoulder takes a beating.
        As far as calling in a Gobbler I don't think it matters how you get them to the feeder, sometimes the sound of the feeder going off seems to bring them out, sometimes they just seem to wander up into the decoy spread?? Either way I'm shooting no matter the range I mean I spent all this money on my shotgun and $12 dollar a round shells, not to mention the time and energy to set up 23 decoys and a small tent, and walked at least 50-75 yards from the truck, I'm not taking any chances.
     I've said it before and I'll say it again "What difference does it make how you kill them,as long as you have a picture for Facebook that's all that matters" I shot a hen last year about two weeks after the season closed, I halfway fanned her tail out as best I could for the pics, and no one I know knew it wasn't a Gobbler! I did have to edit some of the video footage for my Utube page  but still got 2 likes for my video.
     

[crow]

Well....I'm glad most of you can get turkeys to 40 yards. I personally cannot guess the yardage to within 30 yards either way, so have no idea how far they are when I shoot. That's why I've spent so much money on my shotgun and shells. I got a .410 semiautomatic that was made in Kazakhstan,I think. Sure it jams about every other shot but man it's cool looking. It's made of  .99% plastic, the good toxic kind, I think the firing pin and maybe one of the recoil pad screws is metal everything else is plastic. I'm shooting 3/8 of an ounce of TSS # 12s, the 3/8 ounce really tamed the .410 recoil. With my 3-12 x 42 tasco scope it weighs about 14 pounds but with full .410 loads my shoulder takes a beating.
        As far as calling in a Gobbler I don't think it matters how you get them to the feeder, sometimes the sound of the feeder going off seems to bring them out, sometimes they just seem to wander up into the decoy spread?? Either way I'm shooting no matter the range I mean I spent all this money on my shotgun and $12 dollar a round shells, not to mention the time and energy to set up 23 decoys and a small tent, and walked at least 50-75 yards from the truck, I'm not taking any chances.
     I've said it before and I'll say it again "What difference does it make how you kill them,as long as you have a picture for Facebook that's all that matters" I shot a hen last year about two weeks after the season closed, I halfway fanned her tail out as best I could for the pics, and no one I know knew it wasn't a Gobbler! I did have to edit some of the video footage for my Utube page  but still got 2 likes for my video.
     

Did you save the wing bones?   And is there any chance you could post a youtube on what to do with them.