fall\spring turkey calling?

[whyohe]

ok ive only really begun turkey hunty last 2 years and have heard too many confusing things about the differeces between calling turkeys between fall and spring. so my question here is what do you do different in calling between fall and spring turkey? if you recomend a vidio or somthing let me know!!

[ozarkwhittler]

In the spring you are attempting to lure a tom turkey by imitating a hen or several hens. Also you may be provoking the fighting spirit by imitating a Jake. In the fall the usual method is to scatter the flock and then imitate the turkey gathering call. But, keep in mind that all you can do is make good calls. It is up to the turkey what response they make. I have made what I thought were great calls and watched the bird go away from me. In fact, I have made yelps and watch a gobbler sound off and still go away from me. All this and more is what makes the game so exciting. There are no absolute rules that the birds obey. With a brain less than the size of a peanut they are fun to play with. And then there are those times when you simply make a series of yelps and a gobbler sounds off and comes in on a run or even wings in. Enjoy the challenge and when you least expect success you learn that you are a master.

[Chas062]

In the fall I roam around with KEE KEE call in hopes of a lost bird responding or we try and break up a flock and then KEE KEE to get hen or gobbler to come in. In the spring I try and yelp like a hen in heat trying to lure a tom in or sometimes a jake, usually a gobble gets the old heart pounding.

[E.T.]

There is no fall turkey hunting here yet in my location but approximately 5-weeks in the spring for trying to get a Tom bird to bring home. Calling like a hen seeking a Tom is fun and getting an answer starts the heart and adrenaline flowing as Chas06 pointed out. But the biggest mistake hunters make is when no bird is seen or heard from for a half hour or so they move on. If you got an answer then the Tom is well aware of the location and can appear a good hour later looking for the hen that did not come to him as he is used too.
Another good point a friend of mine has made is if you are not seeing hens moving about then the odds of a tom being nearby aren’t good either.
The other point he’s made is that if you are hearing birds and are on a well located travel route and not seeing them the chances are the birds are spotting you first.
The unpredictability with turkey hunting makes this hunting a challenge one just has to win at least once.

Ed

[whyohe]

just to let you know this past fall season i had kicked some turkeys out o fthe roost and they esponded to my calling but weould not come in close enough for a shot and that a fog bank rolled in didnt help cause i could hear then less than 40 yards away but could not see.i dont have any decoys but im thinking of getting some and using them too. wha tdecoys do you like to use?

[shallowrio]

The Kee Kee and Cutt are the primary diferances. The Kee Kee is seldom used in the spring and a Cutt is seldom used during the fall season. A Gobbler Yelp is used during the fall and A Hen Yelp is preffered in the spring.

Hope this helps, Steve

[MountainMan]

E.T., what is a "well used travel route", where are they located, and how do you go about identifying them?

In my two seasons of spring turkey hunting, I've called in a few toms, but I usually don't see very many hens roaming around. For that matter, I probably only see hens or toms one out of every three times afield. I'll hear them, but don't have them within the 20 to 50 yard visibility of my hunting grounds very often.

[E.T.]

Mountainman

When my deer hunting partner also my Turkey hunting partner who lives out in the country scouts for turkey activity a lot of tracks are sometimes seen along farm field perimeters where they often emerge from the bush to feed or travel to an adjacent bush lot. By coming across such tracks he now chooses a location for a few morning observations before the start of Turkey season. If the birds have not been disturbed they usually follow their same routine of activity many successive days. By doing this he always tags his Tom.
As I live in the city and can only hunt a few days here and there he usually gives me a couple of choices of such location when I arrive where he sees bird movement. Last year I actually hid inside a hay-bale pile left at the side of a field. I had 2 hens walk by within 15ft of me and heard a Tom calling behind me in the bush about 60-80 yards is my best guess. Okay I felt like this was going to happen as the hens were feeding off last years bean field right out in front of me. As time past the hens moved down range to my right and once they were about 50-60 yards out a Tom appeared out of the bush near them. Just my luck that the Tom didn’t come a little earlier when the hens were a little closer. All I could do was watch him fan and prance before the hens to see if one was interested. After the birds moved off and the morning hunt was over I met my partner and told him what happened. Also before we left we examined the area the hens were feeding and it was grand central station for tracks.

To make a long story short he tried the spot I previously sat and tagged a nice tom a few days later trying to impress some hens. Go Figure.
So where ever a lot of fresh track activity is seen usually means birds in the area visiting this spot. If you see hens you can bet there is a Tom not far away that is going to meet them to see if he can get lucky. But if the hens are spooked from your presence don’t expect a Tom to drop by.

This rule of thumb normally applies at the beginning of the breeding season. When we see next to no hens is when most hens are bred off and are off nesting in a secluded location. Then calling is very effective from some of these locations the Toms have visited has also paid off as breeding partners are hard to find at this point in time. This approach has really paid off each year more for my partner than me as he lives nearby and can invest a little more time out there.

Ed

[ozark]

I have observed that turkeys travel away from there general roosting area in the morning and return the the general area in the afternoon using a different route. During the breeding season both sexes need to spend some time eating and often spend long periods just preening their feathers and resting. In my area the travel routes are toward the sun. East in the morning and west in the evening. Gobblers often follow along behind flocks but also go in pairs or several with no hens present. I have taken single gobblers that were not vocal but simply walking from one likely spot to another. I have seen single hens or pairs of hens going to the sounds of a gobbler. I think that the primary reason for the gobbler sounding off is to let the hens know where to come. It is also the purpose for strutting and fluffing out so he can easily be seen by potential mates. Some are really concieted and seem to be of the opinion that if she is ready she will come to him for action. He comes in close enough to her calls to insure that he is heard and expects her to then come her part. I try to sound like a flock rather than a single lovesick hen. I have had pretty good luck with this stragedy. I sometimes gobble and have hens come looking for me. I would like to hear from others about the best method of using decoys. Only once did I have a gobbler come to my decoy strutting and sounding off.