Calling The Wild Turkey……..When And How Often??

By: Scott Ellis

2005,2006,2007 Florida State Turkey Calling Champion

2004, 2007 Florida State Gobbling Champion

Quaker Boy Game Calls Pro Staff

One of the most asked questions about hunting the wild turkey is “when do I call and how often?” I feel that there is an art to calling turkeys. It’s all based on feeling him out and knowing what he wants to hear. How do you know this? Well I think it will come to you the more you work gobblers in different scenarios. Right off the roost, mid morning with hens, with out hens, public land bird, private land bird. In my opinion, whether calling a hot to trot two year old or a four year old hard hunted public bird, it’s a matter of getting his attention and keeping his interest just enough to get him to investigate. If you over call him, he will stand his ground and wait for this hot hen to meet him for their rendezvous. If you under call him, he will move off to the next hot item.

Take into consideration what part of the season it is and the possibility the bird your working has been called to before. Early season, less pressured birds are generally going to be more workable than birds later in the season that have heard every call in the book. I feel the toms come to the realization that every hen sound they hear is not an actual hen, making them much more difficult to call. That’s not to say that a late season gobbler can’t be called, especially when all of his harem has been bred and is nesting, leaving him all alone most of the day.

My first advice in the process of learning when to call and how often is to practice, practice, practice and become proficient in more than one type of call - box, pot style and air(mouth and tube calls). Learn every vocalization a turkey makes and be able to reproduce these calls. The more calls you have in your repertoire the better chance you’ll have to coax him in. Obtain recordings of wild birds and listen to rhythm and not necessarily tone.(for sounds of the wild turkey go to NWTF.ORG) Remember every wild turkey has a different voice. Record your calling, outside preferably. Gain confidence in your calling, know that you can purr when needed, cut when needed, yelp when needed etc. Nothing is worse than a hunter that is afraid to talk with a gobbler because his calling lacks confidence.

Now for the two types of birds I’ll be discussing. One is your basic call-shy gobbler and two is the workable bird that will come in with just the right amount of coaxing. I don’t mean the two year old that will fall over himself getting to you at the first sound that resembles a hen. I mean a workable gobbler.

When first engaging this tom, just feel him out and see how responsive he is. Start him with a little yelping and back off. If he starts in, then stop!! Over calling is probably the number one reason hunters don’t bag toms. Let me state that again. Over calling is probably the number one reason hunters don’t bag toms!!!

Give him enough to get his attention and start him coming. As your bird is closing I would recommend , what I call, checking him. Just a soft yelp or cluck to find his position and verify he’s still closing the distance. If his gobbles are farther away then its time to get more aggressive with him. Regain his attention with some cutting and excited yelping.

If this works and he starts moving toward you again, then let him work, let him come. I personally like to throw a series of purrs and clucks at him just to seal the deal. A good rule of thumb, less is almost always better, but like I stated previously, don’t loose his attention. Just don’t call every breath to hear him gobble. I love to hear a tom gobble as much as the next guy but don’t get caught up in the moment.

As for Mr. Call Shy, this is the gobbler that will really put your skills and patience to the test. This is the bird that will make you the proudest if you outsmart and bag him or humble you just the same if he evades you. This bird is going to be influenced by very soft subtle hen talk - purring and really soft clucking along with soft short yelps, very similar to tree yelps. Also, throw in a little whine or two. Use a series of the calls mentioned every 15 or 20 minutes.

Make your set up as realistic as possible. Not just with audible turkey talk, but with turkey noises, such as the age old trick of scratching in the leaves while simulating the above mentioned calls.

While hunting the third weekend of the central Florida season, I bagged a great bird on public land using those very tactics. He had gobbled on his own one time and I never answered him directly. I did exactly what I mentioned above, purring and clucking, whining and soft yelping on my Quaker Boy World Champ mouth call and about 40 minutes later the bird slipped in ever so cautiously, never strutting, never gobbling. He weighed 17 pounds, had an 11” beard and 1 1/2” spurs.

When working a bird off the roost, you may want to try a fly down with just wing beats, not the cackle. Use a hat beating on your leg or use a wing off a turkey to simulate a hen flying down. Also knowing where this bird is going after fly down can be valuable to your success.

Setting up where he’s going along with this light calling can prove to be successful. More times than not this bird is going to come in quiet and will not alert you of his presence. If you know this bird is using the area and know he isn’t vocal, just set up, soft call and wait. You are basically fooling this tom into believing you’re a lonely hen feeding. Keep in mind this type of scenario is really not engaging the bird in conversation as mentioned with the first type of gobbler.

Just remember when you’re working a vocal gobbler, call him just enough to keep him coming. Keep his interest piqued enough to make him look for you but no more! As he works his way in, check him a time or two to make sure he’s still closing the distance then shut down your calling and be looking for that neon red, white and blue head. If you’re working a non vocal, call shy bird or just hunting a tom you know is in the area but isn’t giving away his location, simulate a call shy hen - one that is looking for company but isn’t going to gather attention while trying to gain companionship. Soft hen talk mixed with feeding noises is a safe bet.

In addition, if you know anyone that has been successful hunting and taking turkeys, pick their brain for knowledge. Take to the field with them and see what makes them successful. You can learn more from one hunting trip with a good turkey hunter than
many seasons afield by yourself.

Scott Ellis