Is it the call or the caller?

[fairchaser]

Turkey hunters are notorious for collecting turkey calls of every shape and kind. If I ask which is the most important the call or the caller. It's like asking which wing of the airplane is most important. I have lots of calls from box calls to slates to diaphragms. It seems to me that being in the right place at the right time and saying the right things is the most important. But, I want to hear from the experts if the call makes THAT much difference!

 

[catman529]

The only importance I know of to the call itself is that a bird might prefer one particular call over the other on a certain day. But in general, regarding most horny gobblers that aren't picky about the voice of that hen, the person doing the calling is for sure the most important. I've heard calls in the woods that were too obviously people because the rhythm and tone didn't match a turkey at all...simply sliding the top over a box call doesn't get you a good sequence of yelps unless you listen to the real thing and practice until you make the same sounds. Even if it's a cheap call that doesn't sound too good, you can still make a few yelps at the right time and fool a gobbler.


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[7mminatree]

Just being at the right place at the right time is the key. However heavily pressured gobblers sometimes are just not callable. That's when good woodsmanship can make all the difference in the world.

 

[turkeyhunter]

The caller is more important than the call it self. Turkey hunters have a variety of calls to help locate birds . Once bird is located hunters will use the call that they are best with. Knowing where to set up is more important than the call in my opinion. Then the hardest of all is knowing when to move or stay. The best caller with best call can make a turkey gobble his head off and never kill it. I have a lots and lots of calls but I only carry 3 around in the woods. Top end friction calls do sound better , but arent going to kill birds for you.

 

[Mike Belt]

Who knows? Some of the worst turkey sounds I've ever heard came from turkeys. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between those of hunter and turkey. Considering that you can take a rusty piece of barbed wire scraping on a fence post and call a bird in it sort of makes a particular brand of call obsolete. One day birds will work and hammer back while using a certain call and the next they won't respond to it at all. I will say that there are particular calls in all shapes and sizes that sound good and realistic but I think it all boils down to being in the right place at the right time on the right day with the right birds. I think most hunters hear or see a gobbler and try to fool him into thinking he's talking to a love struck hen when what they really need to do is fool the hens into responding without trying to lead a gobbler away from competition. If you can pull in the hens the gobbler will usually follow.

 

[turkeyhunter]

I agree Mike. I once heard the worst "caller" in the woods one morning. About 70 yds from me. I became angry I was like what is this idiot doing. Well it started moving. I got more angry, I thought this dude is gonna walk right over me. Well what I thought was the worst caller in the world , turned out to be a hen. She sounded just like a kid at walmart playing with turkey calls! lol. I remained seated and ended up with fine hunt.

 

[TheAirMan]

I would have to say the caller. Yes there are real hens that sound horrible but on average someone with a good sound and rhythm will win out over one that sounds like a dying cat. Also, it doesn't matter if you have the "best" custom call made. If you go out and light in on it like your playing the opening of Thunderstruck, it's probably not going to turn out good.


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[Andy S.]

It depends on the person and the turkey. I've seen guys that are incredible on a call, but lack woodsmanship, and vice versa. For me, I wouldn't trade my woodsmanship and knowledge of setting up on birds for all the custom calls in the world. YMMV

 

[Andy S.]

I agree Mike. I once heard the worst "caller" in the woods one morning. About 70 yds from me. I became angry I was like what is this idiot doing. Well it started moving. I got more angry, I thought this dude is gonna walk right over me. Well what I thought was the worst caller in the world , turned out to be a hen. She sounded just like a kid at walmart playing with turkey calls! lol. I remained seated and ended up with fine hunt.

I had same experience at LBL about 20 years ago. I was getting frustrated because I thought "who is this jackleg walking through the woods squawking on a diaphragm", only to see a flock of hens top the hill with the boss hen calling like crazy (sounded like chit). The old bird I was after eventually gobbled his haram up and off they went. I never did kill that bird.

 

[elknturkey]

Both

 

[Gravey]

I agree Mike. I once heard the worst "caller" in the woods one morning. About 70 yds from me. I became angry I was like what is this idiot doing. Well it started moving. I got more angry, I thought this dude is gonna walk right over me. Well what I thought was the worst caller in the world , turned out to be a hen. She sounded just like a kid at walmart playing with turkey calls! lol. I remained seated and ended up with fine hunt.

I had same experience at LBL about 20 years ago. I was getting frustrated because I thought "who is this jackleg walking through the woods squawking on a diaphragm", only to see a flock of hens top the hill with the boss hen calling like crazy (sounded like chit). The old bird I was after eventually gobbled his haram up and off they went. I never did kill that bird.

Worst call I've ever heard was a real hen. I was shocked and caught off guard because I just knew it was somebody that didn't have a clue and I was wrong.

 

[AllOutdoors]

I agree Mike. I once heard the worst "caller" in the woods one morning. About 70 yds from me. I became angry I was like what is this idiot doing. Well it started moving. I got more angry, I thought this dude is gonna walk right over me. Well what I thought was the worst caller in the world , turned out to be a hen. She sounded just like a kid at walmart playing with turkey calls! lol. I remained seated and ended up with fine hunt.

I had same experience at LBL about 20 years ago. I was getting frustrated because I thought "who is this jackleg walking through the woods squawking on a diaphragm", only to see a flock of hens top the hill with the boss hen calling like crazy (sounded like chit). The old bird I was after eventually gobbled his haram up and off they went. I never did kill that bird.

Worst call I've ever heard was a real hen. I was shocked and caught off guard because I just knew it was somebody that didn't have a clue and I was wrong.

Yep. I worked a gobbler an got him just within range to shoot. Then I got to hearing someone else calling to the gobbler. Sounded like a duck. The maker of the awful quacking sound finally revealed itself. The quacking hen made off with my Tom in tow.

 

[letsgohunting]

I agree Mike. I once heard the worst "caller" in the woods one morning. About 70 yds from me. I became angry I was like what is this idiot doing. Well it started moving. I got more angry, I thought this dude is gonna walk right over me. Well what I thought was the worst caller in the world , turned out to be a hen. She sounded just like a kid at walmart playing with turkey calls! lol. I remained seated and ended up with fine hunt.

The wrost "caller" I ever heard was a jake. Never had 1 yelp to me till that day. very cool

 

[REM7]

Few years back seen a flock of hens cross a clearing on my way out to the lease gate, so I just eased that way to see if something may be following. Sit down and hit called a few times and he gobbled off and was headed my way. While I was busy focusing on his direction one of the old hens came running in on me and she was not happy. Hen blown up in strut and looking for who was after her man I suppose. She left as he came crashing through the briar patch to meet the 870 business end. Would have loved to have that hen on camera.

 

[REN]

Just being at the right place at the right time is the key. However heavily pressured gobblers sometimes are just not callable. That's when good woodsmanship can make all the difference in the world.

this i have never agreed with. Toms get called at daily by real hens, IMO there is no such thing as an uncallable bird. You just have to work harder to get him to cover more ground then normal.

 

[catman529]

I agree Mike. I once heard the worst "caller" in the woods one morning. About 70 yds from me. I became angry I was like what is this idiot doing. Well it started moving. I got more angry, I thought this dude is gonna walk right over me. Well what I thought was the worst caller in the world , turned out to be a hen. She sounded just like a kid at walmart playing with turkey calls! lol. I remained seated and ended up with fine hunt.

The wrost "caller" I ever heard was a jake. Never had 1 yelp to me till that day. very cool

I hear the gobblers yelping in the fall sometimes. I had a jake yelping down in q bottom last spring that came in to check out my calling.


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[Boll Weevil]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned above is the impact NOT calling can have in killing a particular bird on any given day. As if their call had supernatural power, I've listened to hunters squawk seemingly nonstop...the more a tom gobbled the more the hunter called. Eventually said gobbler grows weary of the loudmouthed hen that won't come to him and wanders off in search of another. There's a certain "dialogue" that is quite often lost when working a bird to the gun...sometimes the best thing a hunter can do with a call is put it in their pocket.

 

[Andy S.]

...sometimes the best thing a hunter can do with a call is put it in their pocket.

Agreed. Setting up properly, calling sparingly and scratching in the leaves while staying attune to one's surroundings (focused and listening) will kill more birds than toting a dozen custom calls in the woods and squawking on them incessantly.

 

[Andy S.]

Along these same lines, I do believe there a few times throughout the season where the call may get all the credit, and not the caller. Take this hunt for example: Few years back I found a bird gobbling opening weekend (no foliage, visibility forever etc) around 10AM. I figured he had been gobbling a good bit before I got to him and was about to shut down soon, so I acted fast. I got as close to him as I could and could see him strutting and gobbling sporadically on his own in a pasture. I set up, called and he would gobble and look my way, come 10 yards or so strutting and eventually turn and strut away from me. After 15-20 minutes of this and me throwing several calls at him (sparingly), he finally started losing interest, broke strut, pecked the ground a few times and started leaving the field, all the time me watching his every move. As a last resort, with his back to me, I brought out my Daryl Slaton copper pot (very unique "crisp" sound) and made a few yelps and clucks on it, and he instantly spun, looked and starting walking my way, in and out of strut. I killed him 5-10 minutes later after he strutted my way for 80-100 yards. I am convinced that the "copper pot" was the silver bullet for killing that bird, but it is not 100% every day, which can be said for any call made.

 

[Mike Belt]

Posted on this before but I'll do so again concerning knowing when not to call. I was set up on the west side of a small field calling to birds still on roost in the timber on the east side. There were several hens and a couple of gobblers. As has happened pretty often, once the hens hit the ground they went away from the calling taking the gobblers with them. They headed to the far side of the timber and into another much, much larger field. I followed them to the edge, set up and called again. Away they went. No matter how many times I circled and set up whenever I'd call they would head the opposite direction. This went on for four different hunts with the same outcome. On the fifth hunt I set up on the far side of that field and waited for them to enter just as they had been doing. When they hit the field I called and they turned and headed to the other end...again!. On the sixth hunt I again was waiting and as hard as it was to not call I sat there in silence. They marched across the field straight to me and I tagged the boss gobbler and got to watch the smaller bird jump on him afterwards. Sometimes it's what you don't say that pays dividends.