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Im no stranger to mistakes I have made lots over the years! Looking forward to giving it a shot this coming year and just want to make it a good experience for my boy.

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I started turkey hunting back when they asked "you're hunting what?!" and couldn't believe I'd waste my time doing it! That's a long, long time ago, almost 50 years now. I still really enjoy it. Best advise I can give you is know what your shotgun can do and what you can do with it. Learn to tell yardage and take high percentage shots. Be slow to move if one's near, a turkey's eyesight, and hearing, is incredible. You don't need to be an expert caller, practice simple yelps and learn the cadence of a turkey call. Most times, it's the quiet calls that bring the Tom in. Scratch leaves to sound like a turkey scrounging around, using soft putts and whines. Back when I started, there were no websites for info. I went to hunting expos and I found a biologist's cassette recordings of turkeys out in the woods and listened, over and over, to how real turkeys responded to crows, owls and hawks. And how they communicate with each other. Turkey calling doesn't just call in turkeys, I've had many encounters with predators looking for a turkey dinner too. Just some quick pointers that are my opinion and what's worked for me over the years. But the biggest thing, enjoy it and your time in the woods with your son!


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just go do it .you and your son will have a good time even if ya'll don't kill a bird














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Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


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Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
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This spring will be my 20th season and I’ve never gone a season without killing a bird usually multiple for me and my Dad whom I call for all on public land. And most guys would say I call way too much. Other than my first season I’ve never messed with decoys.

I typically only carry one call anymore plus I hoot with my voice to locate them.

I don’t think you need to carry as much as most guys and I don’t think scouting is important at all beyond knowing there’s birds in the area. You don’t need to know where exactly to sit or have a specific bird picked out. You’ll find that out when you’re hunting and hear gobbling birds.

Learn how close you can get away with setting up on a gobbling bird and learn to call and you’ll never eat a tag.

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Originally Posted by MOGC
Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


If a bird gobbles or clucks after moving closer to you he’s expecting an answer and if you don’t answer he’s not going to find you. They don’t always sneak in to gun range because they answer you. I’ve had a lot of birds go silent from several hundred yards out only to gobble just out of sight a half hour later looking for a hen. And you have to answer that bird.

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Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by MOGC
Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


If a bird gobbles or clucks after moving closer to you he’s expecting an answer and if you don’t answer he’s not going to find you. They don’t always sneak in to gun range because they answer you. I’ve had a lot of birds go silent from several hundred yards out only to gobble just out of sight a half hour later looking for a hen. And you have to answer that bird.



you hunt in a different state than I do.. different Birds . HA


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Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by MOGC
Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


If a bird gobbles or clucks after moving closer to you he’s expecting an answer and if you don’t answer he’s not going to find you. They don’t always sneak in to gun range because they answer you. I’ve had a lot of birds go silent from several hundred yards out only to gobble just out of sight a half hour later looking for a hen. And you have to answer that bird.




Virginia hunting - not Colorado, but I do call in Idaho when I can. The birds are harder to call than in VA, and they tend to hang up further out.

I'm a decoy fan, but get a good one - Avian X, DSD are good ones, and a couple other companies are starting to compete with them at a lower price point - MidwayUSA has a good selection for reviewing.

IMLE - get something out in front, the bird coming in is looking for "something" and will be hyper-alert for anything - you're going to get busted more than once by those eyes.

Box calls work, but a mouth call is less movement, and less likely to be seen - when I was commuting a distance to work, I called a bunch - and got pretty comfortable with a diaphragm call, it's dead time, so call away...especially at a stop light!

To me - just like an elk - the more you call before a hunt, the more you educate the flock on what you sound like - and they know what to avoid.

Anything that you move is subject to alert the bird - hat brim, shadow, etc - they pick up movement like a wild trout in clear waters.

You'll need to keep checking the spot through the coming year that you found the birds in - they will move as the climate and food sources change.



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Originally Posted by Hubert
Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by MOGC
Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


If a bird gobbles or clucks after moving closer to you he’s expecting an answer and if you don’t answer he’s not going to find you. They don’t always sneak in to gun range because they answer you. I’ve had a lot of birds go silent from several hundred yards out only to gobble just out of sight a half hour later looking for a hen. And you have to answer that bird.



you hunt in a different state than I do.. different Birds . HA


You’ve never had a Tom gobble, Yelp, or cluck to get the hen (you) to answer after he’s moved towards your position?

Hard to believe somebody hasn’t experienced that unless they’ve only hunted turkeys with decoys on field edges.

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There aren't a lot of absolutes in turkey hunting. I've hunted hard pressured birds on public land that were super spooky and call shy that for whatever reason suddenly one day will run you completely over and you can't do anything wrong. I know a guy that when he calls it sounds like a beagle caught in a barbed wire fence and he makes it worse by over calling his small farm and yet he kills a bird or two every year. I hunt them based on their mood on the day I'm hunting and go with the flow. I'll agree that most days the less calling is better approach is solid advice. However, that's not to say that a cluck or subtle yelp here and there along the way to keep Tom interested and steering in the right direction is a bad thing. And often it's a necessity. Depends upon terrain, cover, hunting pressure and the gobblers temperature on that day.


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Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by Hubert
Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by MOGC
Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


If a bird gobbles or clucks after moving closer to you he’s expecting an answer and if you don’t answer he’s not going to find you. They don’t always sneak in to gun range because they answer you. I’ve had a lot of birds go silent from several hundred yards out only to gobble just out of sight a half hour later looking for a hen. And you have to answer that bird.



you hunt in a different state than I do.. different Birds . HA


You’ve never had a Tom gobble, Yelp, or cluck to get the hen (you) to answer after he’s moved towards your position?

Hard to believe somebody hasn’t experienced that unless they’ve only hunted turkeys with decoys on field edges.

Why does my method of hunting bother you? are you so smart you know more than any one else, and if they don't agree with you they are wrong... get a life.


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When it comes to calls you need to find the one you can master. Whether it is a pot and striker, box or mouth call. I do think a good box call is great for locating birds and getting their attention. I’m not great with a mouth call but use one once birds are moving in so I minimize my movements. If I am calling for someone I will use my box or slate the whole time and set up about 10 yards behind the shooter. I wish I could use a mouth call as well as other folks do but I suck. However I have found that you identify your weaknesses and play to your strengths and ignore what everyone else is doing


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Originally Posted by Hubert
Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by Hubert
Originally Posted by widrahthaar
Originally Posted by MOGC
Originally Posted by Hubert
Most people call too much, If a gobbler answers you he has located you. stop calling, all you have to do is wait for him to come to you ... look up hill for him. 90% of the time he will circle you and come to you from the highest spot he can find. trust me on this..good luck


Sometimes...


If a bird gobbles or clucks after moving closer to you he’s expecting an answer and if you don’t answer he’s not going to find you. They don’t always sneak in to gun range because they answer you. I’ve had a lot of birds go silent from several hundred yards out only to gobble just out of sight a half hour later looking for a hen. And you have to answer that bird.



you hunt in a different state than I do.. different Birds . HA


You’ve never had a Tom gobble, Yelp, or cluck to get the hen (you) to answer after he’s moved towards your position?

Hard to believe somebody hasn’t experienced that unless they’ve only hunted turkeys with decoys on field edges.

Why does my method of hunting bother you? are you so smart you know more than any one else, and if they don't agree with you they are wrong... get a life.


Your method doesn’t bother me it’s just not a one size fits all type of deal. Telling a beginner to shut up after the first gobble every time you find a bird sets them up for failure.

Thin skinned much?

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Best way to learn to hunt turkey is to find a local veteran hunter that will take you a few times. Learn how to call and WHERE to set up after hearing a gobble. What to do and what not to do. Tricks of the trade.


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Thats the awesome thing about these birds, they all have different attitudes. While I agree, if he answers you he knows where you are....probably the tree you are even sitting under. Most of the time he's just saying... come join me and the other hens. It can be a long waiting game at that point. More calling can make those hens take him even further away from you. I like to call to the hens, get a ticked off hen and she'll drag him straight to you...but you've got to know when you are trying too hard...and that comes with experience. Every bird is different and that is what makes it so fun.

Biggest thing is patience, I remember in my early days...I'd move too soon, just to have the bird start gobbling again where I had been sitting all along. Patience kills birds.

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I have hunted Eastern species most of my life and they are said to be one of the most wary species of turkey. Best advice I ever got was the "set up" was the most important aspect of calling in a bird. Hard to explain but I try my best to be uphill from the bird and along a route they typically travel. I call until I know the bird is answering me and coming then I switch to a soft yelps and clucks. Know your shotgun/load capabilities and practice with it every year. Preseason scouting is important.... go in at daylight and listen. I use a crow call, owl and hawk calls to help me locate and move in on a gobbler. Every day in season is a new day and only experience will increase your odds of consistent success. Good luck.

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Join the local NWTF chapter, they will help you.

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Find turkeys. Invite an experienced killer along. You will likely find one of us who likes it so much we're glad to just call them up for someone new to shoot.


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Biggest thing is patience, I remember in my early days...I'd move too soon, just to have the bird start gobbling again where I had been sitting all along. Patience kills birds.

Yup. It pays to work a setup until you’re pretty certain no one’s coming in. They will shut up on you and come in silent, especially if there’s nothing for them to look at (decoy).

Spring turkey hunting relies on you getting them to go against their natural habit of gobbling to attract receptive hens. Gotta get them worked up enough to make them do what they ordinarily don’t- go to the hen instead of the reverse. I once had one pretty worked up and ready, until a real hen came along, walked right past my rubber one, and cut me out. The way she sidled around that decoy like it was gonna explode was pretty comical.


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