Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Question for guys who know how to call...!

This has happened numerous times to me. Call in a group of gobblers, they get to the top of the rise in the field 75 yds away, see my set up, gobble like there's no tomorrow (on Saturday went for half an hour), then just turn around and strut away.

Did the same early Sunday morning, except as they were moving away a jake with them decided to investigate, as they always do. Came in with a baby gobble and nearly no beard at all, but he'll be good eatin'.

Q: How do I get them d*mn gobblers to keep coming in...???!!!

Which way is your hen decoy facing? I put mine looking to the side and slightly towards me.

Are you using a mouth call? Some soft hen sounds might work once they spot your decoys.

Also, in my area (North Texas) the turkeys are hard to call in during the middle of April. They're easier to hunt at the beginning and end of the month.

Good job, you got a turkey!! There's always the 'next round' to try and get that elusive big tom.

This time I think the hen decoy was broadside to both me and the gobblers. I had a jake to go along with that one.

It was early, so I was still using slate for both quiet purrs and clucks, as well as brief yelping. The gobblers seemed impressed as they were gobbling pretty good as they walked away. I don't do mouth calls.

In my neck of the woods, earlier the better, and I did pull the early hunt.

I've had that exact same result when I went west a few counties and hunted Rio Grandes.

Try the fighting purr. (You won't need dekes.) And get ready.

Steve.
Maker of the Northern Scratchbox turkey call

I'll have to figure out how to do this...

#1 rule- don't overcall

those toms probably saw a live hen.
if they do, nothing you can do will
turn them away from that.
better luck next time, and at least
you got one

Learning to sit while peeing your pants and NOT CALLING... now that is the hard lesson to learn.

Call... get answer, call again to confirm your date, next sound he should hear is BOOM!

When I violate this rule my chance of going BOOM! goes way down.

Like Ron White says so eloquently "I had the right to remain silent, but not the ability"

Don't know how she did it. This is my baby sister with her first gobbler. And she did it on her own 1 week ago. Liberty, Ut on some of her land.

If I remember, 10" beard. Not bad for her first time.

Used a Benelli Performance Shop SBE II Turkey Edition 12g 3.5" mag to get the job done.

I think she said it was approx 40 yards away.

Wow...doesn't get any better.

Take a turkey fan, either a real one or a manmade one, and use that to hide yourself, and slip up on them. It works, I've seen it in action. As far as calling goes, once they start coming, I judge their 'temperature". If he seems hot, I will keep him excited with some calling. If he seems a little hesitant, I'll softly cluck or even be quiet. The hard part is learning to judge a turkey's behavior, as each one will be different.

If they would'a started coming in I would'a stopped calling...

Take a turkey fan, either a real one or a manmade one, and use that to hide yourself, and slip up on them. It works, I've seen it in action. As far as calling goes, once they start coming, I judge their 'temperature". If he seems hot, I will keep him excited with some calling. If he seems a little hesitant, I'll softly cluck or even be quiet. The hard part is learning to judge a turkey's behavior, as each one will be different.

First time I've heard of that.

A long way with a clear line of sight to the hen and with no movement toward them doesnt lend any desire or urgency to hunt her down as if you were in the woods squeakin away is my guess.

I always try turkey small talk....whines, and quiet purrs, and puts....it says Im cool, its cool and safe over here too. A single easy yelp thrown in afterward. Feeding type talk.

Good advice not to overcall with the yelp, but I find the more small talk I do, the curiouser they get.

sorry, but no way i'd ever tempt fate to do that. there's just
too many pinhead nitwits out and about that make "soundshots"
and will shoot at the first thing they see moving, deer, turkey
or otherwise. i've been on public land hog hunting wearing the
required orange and we had a turkey hunter (orange not required)
draw down on us because he thought we "sounded like some turkeys
moving through the woods". i can't be sure these days that someone
would summon help if they shot me, or try to leave the scene and
conceal the fact that they shot someone accidentally. that said,
i've used decoys, but never put one close to me where someone
might mistakenly shoot at it and hit me.

Not on public land and not in States that allow rifles to be used.

i wouldn't do it on my own land or any private or public land,
rifle or shotgun hunting either one.
people trespass everywhere these days, and many take a shot
with little discretion at all or no regard for a safe backstop

They do sell gobble calls, but for these reasons I don't have an interest in adding the use to my bag of tricks.

don't use a decoy...

Why not?

In your original post you said you called them in to 75 yards away... They hung up, they didn't "not come in".

They came in, 15 more yards and I'm hammering the biggest if they stop again. Your situation is the same as when honkers circle 20 yards outside the outer decoy, looking things over. Only with turkeys they are stationary and have even better eyes than the honks (if that is possible)

If pre-rut they may have showed more interest in a gobble call/with jake decoy. Or they may have had any of a 100 other distractions/suspicions. I have had bachelor groups see a hen decoy and deflate and run like hell even when I hadn't called a lick (early season) It's like they had already been married!

They may have seen something they didn't like or just seen something over yonder they liked better.

You ever get it all figured out you be sure to let me know eh? it is an awesome show of a magnificent bird!

They hung up alright. Generally, the bird needs to be 25 yds or closer, I don't have a turkey gun, but rather a beater Ithaca Model 37 with a full choke.

I have more success turkey hunting than deer hunting, but that is another story.

Two guys in Kansas got shot doing that recently. It's not legal in every state.

Steve.

Gobbling is to tell hens where toms are so they come to them, not vice versa. So if the hen can see them they want her and expect her to come to them. Sometimes they deviate from this, and others they don't.

. I have used the "reaping" twice which is sneaking up to them with a decoy. Killed both birds. Yea it was fun but in no way challenging. Many people say how unsafe and what not but on private land that you are familiar with I don't see that much danger in it honestly. Public land would be seriously stupid. I just chose to hunt them differently. Not criticizing

I would ditch the decoys if hunting in woods or on a wood line that you can back up in the woods a little further. Make them search for you. Try a strutted decoy if you must use them. Maybe a jerk line. ( I rarely if ever use decoys)
Fighting purrs can bring in aLive hen if she is mad, but I have also scared them off that way too. Can you get on the same wood line as they are roosted and call them laterally and not across the whole field?

More cutting and less yelping if the birds are unpressured can cause them to get in your face a little more aggressively . If pressured avoid this as it can cause the opposite. One thing I do that seems to calm skittish birds and brings them that final distance is kee kee run mixed into yelping as well as a few feeding squeals. Less is more for the most part when calling

When you use a decoy (which I do half the time) try setting her up behind your position so if she is seen, they don't get a fix on you. Try to soften your call as soon as you can get them about 50 yds out of range. Purrs and yelps. no putts. By the middle of the season, don't even think about using a gobbler decoy. The boys will split if they see one since they have had their butts handed to them a few times by then. When things get tough, I don't use a decoy at all and more times than not, a rangy old tom will come in silently while you limit your yelps to about 2 minute intervals. If you get a distant answer to your call, just be super patient because more times than not, one is on the way.-Mike

I agree that safety should be your first concern. But, it's pretty much works most of the time, or at least those who do lot say it will. I know of at least 5 birds that have been killed this year, using that method. I have a turkey tail fan that I sometimes carry, but I rarely use it. I hunt private land, my own mostly, and would have no qualms about using a fan. On the land that I hunt, trespassers are no problem, so that's the least of my worry. However, I'll agree that one needs to be careful and know what they're doing. It's like using a gobble call....I do it on my own land, but I wouldn't if I were hunting somewhere I wasn't familiar with.

The natural order is, the hens come to the toms. Set up closer to the crest of the hill, if possible. Their eyesight is just too good to fool them when they have a clear, unobstructed view.

A lot of good comments here.

As far as the fan method, I do remember seeing a brief video once in which a guy hiding behind a fan stood up and shot a turkey point blank. I'll pass.

First off in nature the hens go to the gobblers. So when you first hear him, close the distance as much as you can. Second, don't over call. I know it's hard not to when he's gobbling every breath but trust me it's better to keep you mouth shut and be patient. If you do any calling at all, try turning your head and try soft calling in the direction behind you. Makes it sounds like the hen is further away. If you're in the woods and know for a fact he's not looking try raking the leaves with your hand and use some soft purrs and clucks. Makes it sound like a hen feeding.