Luckydog. I don't know if you have ever hunted turkey or not but they are the trickiest of all birds. I know someones gonna pipe in here and say "I just went out and clucked and the ole Tom came runnin in so I blasted him!" Well it does happen, not very often, but it is luck, not skill that did it!
1) First thing to remember is that calling in a tom is going AGAINST nature. The hen clucks when she needs bred, The tom then gobbles, telling her, here I am, come on, I will take care of you. He may even fan and strut to attract her. If he is already with some hens it is near impossible to call him away from them. He will just keep gobbling to attract her to join his flock. After he breeds with a hen she then leaves the flock to make a nest for her brood. I believe the best time to hunt is First season, BEFORE he has attracted any Hens, and last season, AFTER the hens have been bred and they go to nest.
2)Now for calls. First get a good owl hooter, to locate the gobblers. Get to the area about 1 hour before sunrise, Stop and listen, sometimes a horny gobbler will
gobble at any loud sound, you car door closing, a plane flying over, another animal, crow cawing, goose honking etc. I usually wait about 10 min before I "hoot" to see if some other sound makes him gobble. After you hoot and he answers then get as close to him as possible, say 100 yds. Know your terrain and get in a position that will let him walk straight to you with no fence rows, creeks, steep hills. roads, etc. in his way. The easier his "walk", the better chance you have to call him in. Set down and get comfortable before you call. Take a good seat cause you could be there a while and if you move he IS gonna see you. I like to set just over a small hill or ridge so when he comes in to view he is within range.
3)Decoys. I have never used decoys, because the problem is if he sees the decoy, he MAY stop and start strutting to attract the hen and if he is out of your range then he will get spooked if she don't respond to his strut.( See number 1) On a side note I have heard the "mating turkey pair" decoys to be very successful, when the gobbler sees the jake nailing his hen, he will comer a runnin!!!
4) Calls. Here are my favorite calls. I have a HS Strut "super raspy" slate call with the two holes in the slate, this is my #1 call. Second I have a Knight and Hale "Ol Yeller". This call works very good in rainy and wet weather. Third I just purchased a Quaker boy water proof "Easy Yelper". This call can be operated with one hand. I will tape it to the barrel and operate it with a pull string while aiming in the direction of the "gobble". I have also added to my gear a Primos "gobbler". I am hoping that it may work the same way that the "mating" decoys work? I dunno!! PS you can't have TOO many calls, like fish'n rods!!!
5) Calling. It would be best to get a tape to learn the differet calls the hen makes. The ones I use are the purr,and the cluck.
Purr, this is the first call you want to use early in the morning, when you first set down, the hen normally does this while in the roost just after waking up. Slate in left hand striker in right , like your'e holding a pencil, If youre a lefty reverse it. Slowly and lightly drag the striker across the slate,,,, PUUUURRRRR...
Cluck. This is the one used to attract other birds, use this about 10 minutes after you purr and a good 30 minutes before sunrise or "flydown" time. The gobbler should respond to this cluck. Work the striker in a small circular motion, like you're making the letter "O". Work accross the slate top to bottom and make three or four "O'"s in succession, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.... If he answers this call then SHUT UP, he knows you are there he even knows exactly where you are, too much calling will spook him. Don't call again till he flys down, you should be able to hear him fly down. After he hits the ground you may cluck again, lightly, Then put the call down and get you gun up in the direction of the gobble. This is where that easy yelper might come in handy. If he is coming in gobbling then GOOD!!!! Sometimes they come in and don't gobble at all, sometimes they circle around you and come in from the behind you, sometimes the walk away gobbling and will not come in at all!!!! This might be where the "gobble" call would come in handy?? If he gobbles but will not come in, he may be with hens or he's just stubborn!!! Just hold your position and cluck lightly ever 30 to 40 minutes to keep his attention. Its now a waiting game. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!
P.S I hunt in Green County and have two permits, a first season and a fifth season AND I have been skunked more often than I have scored!!!!!!! But its always FUN!!!!!
