When to use what call

[rezeen6.5]

Hey gang, new to your forum and haven't been turkey hunting to long now ,but really do love it. I guess my ? is when do you use certain sounds while your calling.I mean like the kee kee ,or the kee kee run, what do they mean. The fly down kackle the pur, yelping how many yelps to do in a row all this stuff is important to me. I am doing my hunting by my self.I do alot of reading to try and figer out what to do but I would rather have ya'll help me out. I wish i had found this site before last season.I can call pretty good so I've told except for purring on a mouth call,. please help a new guy out Also I will be teaching my 3 sons about turkey hunting. I will be hunting with a recurve bow without a blind love this stuff did it last year was a blast. please help Mike

[rezeen6.5]

ttt

[Steve_In]

Welcome Mike. [:D] I suggest you update your profile. Add your general area where you live like Allen Co., In... This may get someones attention in your area and hook you up with a live local person.

I will be hunting with a recurve bow without a blind

You have picked a tough method of hunting. Your focus will need to be on woodsmanship to get close enough to get an ethical shot with a longbow. Calling when they are that close will give your exact location. You will need to be upright I assume so I would pratice shooting fast from behind trees and other cover. The late season when the bushes small trees and ground cover has blossemed may be the best time for you. Do a search for purring as I think there are several threads on this subject. Others will reply with tips on which call they prefer and their method. I like a good slate. I also use the slate to help me tune my mouth calls.

[kygobbler]

rezeen6.5, there is no easy answer to your question as far as what you call at what time, but heres my best shot. The kee kee is when a young poult is lost and looking for someone. The kee kee run is the same thing but with a yelp at the end. Both are best used in the fall after you have scattered a flck. The cackle is when a turkey is either flying up or down to roost. Now they don't always do this but its usually to tell the other birds that thier not flying away because of a predator. The soft yelp aka tree yelp, which is 3-4 yelps, is used in the mourning while on roost. Its like saying Im here where are you? The purr can mean different things depending on how loud you do it. If you do it soft it means your starting to get on my nerve. If you do it loud it means alright buddy Im going to whoop your butt. I hope this helps you some I know how it is starting out. The best advice I can give you is to get out in the woods and watch and listen. Turkey hunting is a aggervating sport at times what worked today to get a gobbler proably wont work tommorow. Good luck and keep at it. If I can help out just pm me.

[rezeen6.5]

Know thats good info right their thanks a bunch guys. I will update my profile. Please keep it comeing. Thanks Mike

[Hoytshooter]

I agree with the response that it can be aggrevating at times, You may be on a Gobbler one day and you call to him with whatever call and he turns and heads the other direction, on another day you use some other call and he runs to you like he was tied on a string, that is what makes it exciting. I look at it like playing chess you make the right move(call) at the right time and its check mate, make the wrong move and its over. That is what keeps us going back day after day.

[dewey]

I was on the NWTF website ensuring that I am making the right sounds at the right time and came across this. It talks about the sounds, when they are used and what they mean. It was a good refresher for me and possibly others.

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/calling_tips.html

Dewey

[retranger]

When I started chasing these dang birds the advice I got was,,,,,There are all kinds of turkey sounds out there but if you can do a "yelp and a cluck" that is all you need.,,,,,, [8|] That is basicly what I do, maybe a soft tree call first light and this has worked for me. [:D] Every thing Kygobbler states I have to agree with. I might add I use an owl call first light or before and crow call during daylight for locator calls. Like most other hunters I have a vest full of different calls but the old stand by is my Quaker Boy "grand ole master" box call and the Premo "freak" frictionite pot and peg. I guess the other thing your vest, pack or pockets should have is a ton of patience!!!! If you happen to be around a hen,,,,LISTEN TO HER TALK learn from experience.

[onpoint]

You have picked a tough method of hunting

ORIGINAL: Steve_In

 
Amen to that! You better get good with your close in callin'. Get good with the cluck and purr and since your standing with a bow, using a "wing" to rub on a tree to simulate a hen scratchin' wouldn't be a bad idea either. My favorite calls for sweet purrs and clucks are those that have thin reeds.The Cedar Hill twin lite and the Double D by HS Strut suit me best. Straight reeds with no cuts seem to work best for me. I can purr fairly well with 3 reed calls that have cuts as long as the reeds are very thin. I'm not a bow hunter, but assume you will needs your hands free[8|]. Good luck!!!

[Cut N Run]

I'm guessing your season is over now, like ours.  Your diaphram calls probably won't hold up form year to year, so practice with this year's until they're all used up.  Once I find a call model I can sound pretty good on, I buy 6-10 of them to make sure I have plenty to practice with in the off-season, have multiple to hunt with next year, and keep a few spares for just in case. Most calls of the same model sound similar, but they are man made & you might get a lemon from time to time.  I store them in the refrigerator to keep the reeds from deteriorating.
 
I like a Q.B. boat paddle box call for long distance calling or in windy conditions, a Willow Ridge pot call for still air or closer birds, and a K&H UHT 001 mouth call for almost anything that will answer it. I have a few other mouth calls that I can sound decent on, but I can make that UHT 001 sound pretty realistic. 
 
Since you're bowhunting without a blind developing a good purr should help seal the deal on gobblers.  It is a good close confidence call that can help convince a gobbler that there's a hen around he just hasn't seen yet. Stick with it all year and see how much it helps next Spring. Good luck.
 
Jim