New to Turkey Hunting??

TNGRIZZLY_":3hoy69yr said:
I am new to this, I tried it a long time ago but no luck. So I got a 12 ga so I know I need some turkey shots and I am thinking about a box call. What would be a good locator call? Thanks
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I have always used a crow call. I have just hunted for three years. Love it. Best advice I got was to pattern your shotgun so that you know how far out you can shoot. Good luck!
 
Go with a crow call and learn to hoot with your mouth. I got away from locator calls until I started hunting with a guy from Knight & Hale. After seeing the response he was getting with the call, I now carry a K&H magnum crow call in my vest on every hunt.
 
I'm with Roost on this one. I never bother with a locator call. It will shut up pressured public land birds quicker than anything. You can use your box call for locating, and I would have a slate call, and maybe some other variety of waterproof pot call with a waterproof striker for those drizzly days. For shot, I can't say enough good about Winchester longbeards.
 
A production owl and crow call both work well, but like any other call, it takes more than just blowing them. Practice, practice, practice!

With that said, most mornings a locator call won't be necessary. But when they are, they are gold!
 
Same don't waste your money on a locator call imo. Get a good pot call as well you can do almost anything you want on one and the are very effective.
 
I love my primos power crow call but I don't use it very often. Just something nice to have and yes I have got shock gobbles on pressured public land with it. But keep in mind lots of people blow crow calls and especially owl hooters, some of which just sound like crap. I never use owl calls because turkeys gobble on their own in the morning and I almost never hear them gobble at real owls. But yes they can and will sometimes gobble at any sudden noise.

What you need to worry about is learning the turkey call, and make sure you shoot the shells and know your gun's limits. Also be stealthy and try to set up as close as you can get without being spotted by the gobbler before you make the first call. It's always better to set up closer to call one in, but you will also learn the hard way when you get too close and see a red head running away. Sometimes they do come in from a long ways off too, so set up wherever you are comfortable calling from and make sure there aren't fences or other obstacles blocking his travel to you (scouting the woods well before season will help you find such obstacles and terrain features)

A box call is a great start because it's easy and can be loud or quiet. Yelps and soft clucks are all you really need to start, worry about other vocalizations later. Most birds die to the simple yelps anyways.

Last but not least, stop calling once you've got a bird to answer you once or twice. He gobbles to bring the hen to him, and you'll have to make him impatient and come looking for you. If you keep answering, he thinks you're coming to him. Gobblers might take an hour to quietly come in behind you, or they might come running in gobbling and strutting, or they might get hung up behind some stupid obstacle, or they might have hens and only gobble to try and bring you to the group. That's what's fun about turkey hunting, there are many variables that come into play and I warn you it is addictive. Good luck


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catman529":170lt8op said:
I love my primos power crow call but I don't use it very often. Just something nice to have and yes I have got shock gobbles on pressured public land with it. But keep in mind lots of people blow crow calls and especially owl hooters, some of which just sound like crap. I never use owl calls because turkeys gobble on their own in the morning and I almost never hear them gobble at real owls. But yes they can and will sometimes gobble at any sudden noise.

What you need to worry about is learning the turkey call, and make sure you shoot the shells and know your gun's limits. Also be stealthy and try to set up as close as you can get without being spotted by the gobbler before you make the first call. It's always better to set up closer to call one in, but you will also learn the hard way when you get too close and see a red head running away. Sometimes they do come in from a long ways off too, so set up wherever you are comfortable calling from and make sure there aren't fences or other obstacles blocking his travel to you (scouting the woods well before season will help you find such obstacles and terrain features)

A box call is a great start because it's easy and can be loud or quiet. Yelps and soft clucks are all you really need to start, worry about other vocalizations later. Most birds die to the simple yelps anyways.

Last but not least, stop calling once you've got a bird to answer you once or twice. He gobbles to bring the hen to him, and you'll have to make him impatient and come looking for you. If you keep answering, he thinks you're coming to him. Gobblers might take an hour to quietly come in behind you, or they might come running in gobbling and strutting, or they might get hung up behind some stupid obstacle, or they might have hens and only gobble to try and bring you to the group. That's what's fun about turkey hunting, there are many variables that come into play and I warn you it is addictive. Good luck


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Thanks catman, a lot of good info to try and think of.
 
Listen to cat that is some spot on advice for your first year... The other thing I will say is don't be scared to "try" something, and have fun! The nice thing about a gobbler vs a mature buck is if they bust you they're much more forgetful than a whitetail (at least on private land)


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tree_ghost":3ud6h1h1 said:
The nice thing about a gobbler vs a mature buck is if they bust you they're much more forgetful than a whitetail (at least on private land)


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yea turkeys are paranoid and good at busting you but they are also kind of dumb


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catman529":25ikdbqm said:
I never use owl calls because turkeys gobble on their own in the morning and I almost never hear them gobble at real owls.
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That's interesting. Do you have many owls in your area?

Even when we hunt in middle TN, I always get the first gobble from my owl call. I do it when I don't want to wait on them to start on their own and aren't sure where they roosted, because I need to get them located as early as possible to get the best setup.
 
catman529":3r8gfq90 said:
I love my primos power crow call but I don't use it very often. Just something nice to have and yes I have got shock gobbles on pressured public land with it. But keep in mind lots of people blow crow calls and especially owl hooters, some of which just sound like crap. I never use owl calls because turkeys gobble on their own in the morning and I almost never hear them gobble at real owls. But yes they can and will sometimes gobble at any sudden noise.

What you need to worry about is learning the turkey call, and make sure you shoot the shells and know your gun's limits. Also be stealthy and try to set up as close as you can get without being spotted by the gobbler before you make the first call. It's always better to set up closer to call one in, but you will also learn the hard way when you get too close and see a red head running away. Sometimes they do come in from a long ways off too, so set up wherever you are comfortable calling from and make sure there aren't fences or other obstacles blocking his travel to you (scouting the woods well before season will help you find such obstacles and terrain features)

A box call is a great start because it's easy and can be loud or quiet. Yelps and soft clucks are all you really need to start, worry about other vocalizations later. Most birds die to the simple yelps anyways.

Last but not least, stop calling once you've got a bird to answer you once or twice. He gobbles to bring the hen to him, and you'll have to make him impatient and come looking for you. If you keep answering, he thinks you're coming to him. Gobblers might take an hour to quietly come in behind you, or they might come running in gobbling and strutting, or they might get hung up behind some stupid obstacle, or they might have hens and only gobble to try and bring you to the group. That's what's fun about turkey hunting, there are many variables that come into play and I warn you it is addictive. Good luck


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Times a million spot on advice.
 
PalsPal":1nt49jaj said:
catman529":1nt49jaj said:
I never use owl calls because turkeys gobble on their own in the morning and I almost never hear them gobble at real owls.
Click to expand...

That's interesting. Do you have many owls in your area?

Even when we hunt in middle TN, I always get the first gobble from my owl call. I do it when I don't want to wait on them to start on their own and aren't sure where they roosted, because I need to get them located as early as possible to get the best setup.
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there are tons of owls, sometimes they hoot back and forth in the middle of the day. I haven't tried hooting first thing to get a gobble, but just listening to the woods wake up the birds usually gobble quite a bit on their own.


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