new guy needing some guidance(turkey)

[FullStrut]

Hey everyone im new to the forum and this will be my 2nd yr hunting turkeys and im from Ontario Canada. anyways last year i ate tag soup and i had some troubles and didnt know how to fix them so ill ask here!. first off what sounds do you make and how often when the birds are on the roost? secondly all last year every morning that id setup id go in very quietly but for some reason when the birds gobbled it was never to my calling and when they flew down they always went the opposite way every time! and lastly for now what types of callin do you do when the birds are on the ground and moving around.. yelping, cutting, clucking etc??

Thanks!

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Welcome to the forum, there are a good bunch of hunters here that will help you out. I call very little to a roosted bird, no more than a couple of real soft yelps and clucks not more then 2 or 3. I don't answer a gobbler I make him answer me, if he gobbles first then wait a while before you call back, if he answers I quit. If I'm in close I don't call at all until he's on the ground. I like to start off with a flydown cackle and a couple of sharp cutts, then go to some soft yelps, clucks and purrs. If he dosen't answer the I'll build up to some louder yelps and clucks, a few cutts mixed in, if he answers then I'll do some clucks and purrs and then be quiet, make him come looking. If a hen answers your calls, then go straight into some hard cutts, then copy every sound she makes.
Best of luck to you this spring.

[grizzly]

when i set up in the morning on a tom i will very seldom call to him on the roost i will let him hit the ground and see where he wants to go and if need be i will very carefully move. the calls i use depends on what seems to fire him up. fullstrut welcome to the forum you said this is your second year .the best why to learn about turkey hunting is to get out in the woods and hunt[;)] good luck[:D] wayne

[swpatrkyhunter]

Hi Fullstrut! Welcome to the forum!
 
                   Boy! Did you pick the right place to come! There are alot of experianced guys here that are always happy to give advice.
 
                  Ok. So here's my 2 cents!  When i first started out I ran into alot of the same problems your having right now. First thing you need to do is get yourself a cd with live turkey sounds on it. One that explains what the vocalizations mean and when the are used. Knight and Hale have a good set of cd's called "Spittin Feathers" I used this cd to learn what the vocalizations were and when to use them. It's not enough to know how to make the turkey sounds. You need to know when to use them and what your saying. Makes a BIG differance.
 
                  The second problem your having is a matter of the birds seeing you come in in the morning. If you know exactly what trees their roosting in then go to those trees and see just how far you can see from the ground. Then think of the vantage point of veiw they have from the tree tops. It took me a couple of years to figure out that I was getting busted every time I went in to my set up. But don't just pay attention to where the toms are roosting. Know where the hens are roosting as well. If they bust you they will drag the toms away from you.
 
                  You should also get the video from Hunters Specialties  "H.S. Strut University  So........You Want to be a Turkey Hunter"  It has alot of information on it that can help explain a few things for you.
 
                  When calling in the morning while the birds are still on the roost you should do a few soft tree yelps, then shut up! Just let them know your there. After flydown then you can hit them with a few soft plain yelps, maybe scratch in the leaves a little to mimic a feeding hen. Throw a couple purrs into the mix. After that if you get good responses then you just adjust your calling to the temperature of the bird.   Good Luck!

[dam3391]

Fullstrut,

You came to right place for great information.  The members on here are as passionate about turkey hunting as you can get.  Everyone is also very willing to give tips and help out whenever and however they can.

I think just like swpatrkyhunter said, we all learn some hard lessons those first couple of seasons in the woods.  The first is don't call to much to a roosted bird.  We all love to hear the hammering of a gobbler in a tree, but calling at him for the sake of hearing a gobble doesn't do us any good.  Like others have said let him gobble away, maybe throw 2 or three soft (real soft) yelps to let him know your there than shut up.  He's gobbling to get his ladies to call back.  Make him answer you.  You don't need to call anymore, he knows exactly where you are! 

Last season I finally learned to let the bird gobble on roost and for me to shut up,  I have a couple of soft yelps just before i thought he would fly down and 5 minutes later he pitched in meadow 10 feet from me!  He knows where you are.

[mark hay]

Don't call to birds before season ,,,,,,,,,,,,,they learn faster than hunters.
Call softly ,,,you can always ,,,if needed ,,,turn up the volume later . In my turkey hunting career most of the gobblers came to soft calls ,,,few calls .
 There is great experience and advice here on this forum .
 
 Spend as much QUIET time as possible with the turkeys ,,,yearround . Just observing and listening .
 
 Keep an accurate journal of every outing , hunting trip , successful hunts , and the ones you messed up .  Detailed notes of landscape , and turkey behavior , time , month ,,,,,,,,,,,,,priceless !
 
By the way ,,,I hunted the same public land 5 seasons before I tagged one in . Oh I called several birds ,,,,,,,,,but I made tons of mistakes ,,,,,,,,being impatient won't harvest a turkey.
 
Welcome and good hunting