WHAT CH'ALL BE USIN FER UR TURKEY CALLS?

[SniperWolf]

I use Woodhaven mouth calls with "yellow venom" being my fav due to its ease of use and maintenance. I also use a slate and crystal type pot call with a purple heart striker singing the notes of turkey love. I do not use a box call as I am pretty good with the turkey talk using either a mouth or pot call.

The best advice I can give as far as calling is to YouTube videos of wild turkeys doing their thing and try to mimic the calls. Seeing turkeys do it live when you're out in the field will validate what you've learned and hopefully practiced. The other advice is this. Don't over do it with the calling. Keep it simple, it works.

Get yourself a top end decoy as well. I spent the money and bought one of those Zinks Avian turkey decoys and wow did it ever get a lot of attention. I picked up one of their tom decoys to try out this year I can't wait.

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[strum]

I use Woodhaven mouth calls with "yellow venom" being my fav due to its ease of use and maintenance. I also use a slate and crystal type pot call with a purple heart striker singing the notes of turkey love. I do not use a box call as I am pretty good with the turkey talk using either a mouth or pot call.

The best advice I can give as far as calling is to YouTube videos of wild turkeys doing their thing and try to mimic the calls. Seeing turkeys do it live when you're out in the field will validate what you've learned and hopefully practiced. The other advice is this. Don't over do it with the calling. Keep it simple, it works.

Get yourself a top end decoy as well. I spent the money and bought one of those Zinks Avian turkey decoys and wow did it ever get a lot of attention. I picked up one of their tom decoys to try out this year I can't wait
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ok SW I looked into to the woodhaven calls .ordered the Yellow Venom .
I have been using a Flextone lil nasty but im not to thrilled with it. also I looked into and ordered from Goosenbat game calls . one called "Bacon"
so far this season I have only been taking the mouth calls..i decided that way ill be forcing my self to get em right I can say the mouth calls sound the most natural and I like the idea of being able to use em with out taking my hand off the gun ..and let it rain ..no worries

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Just a side note..the Flextone that I said I wasn't too thrilled with ..
I used it this morning .. bird in freezer now ..go figure

[nyexhunter]

I use a variety of calls. Mostly box calls because so easy to use. Also have slate and mouth calls. My favorite box call has a bottom that's made out of plastic and one side is a raspy hen sound and the other is a young hen sound. The main thing with box calls or most other calls for that matter is to get the cadence down. It's good to have different calls, because sometimes they are more attracted to one sound that they have never heard before. I have a mouth call that I am not very good with, because I never practice with it, that is extremely high pitched and it sometimes draws them in. I also have a little egg shaped plastic push button type call that makes low putting or chirping sounds and when the Toms come in within 80 yards or so, I use this to close the deal.

I had a gobble call - a ribbed tube thing with a diaphram in it that would make a good gobble sound when I used it. I don't use that any more because it attracted hunters/tresspassers as well as turkeys. Other hunters are the number one thing that will screw you up if there are turkeys nearby where you are hunting.

Turkeys are not very smart; although people buy magazines, read books and buy expensive decoys in an effort to be more successful. You do not need to spend a fortune to get a turkey.

I find that the main thing with Turkey hunting is you need to be patient.

Get a good low slung chair (such as the turkey lounger by Cabelas or a lawn chair with the seat about 3" of the ground).

Get some leafy type camo mesh netting in a good pattern, in the spring a greenish/brown color is best - in the fall more brown/gray. Put this around you and brush in, so only your head is above the cover. Set back from a field about 5 yards from the edge next to a tree or by some bushes. If you are in the woods set up by a path or open area that you know they are traveling.
If you have time you can also use sticks and pine boughs and leafy branches to create your ground blind the day or week before you hunt. You can also use a big tent type blind, such as what is used for deer. Turkeys have great eyesight so keep movement to a minimum and make sure you are behind your camo cover when you move.

Set your decoy(s) out about 15 yards from you in the field or path. I usually carry my decoy and camo netting in the back of my turkey vest inside a black plastic garbage bag. I stuff the black garbage bag inside my decoy to keep it puffed up. I just use one hen decoy, mainly because I'm in an area with other hunters and I want to be safe. One of my friends hunts from a treestand and puts out a Tom as well and has very good luck.

If you are using a shotgun, a scope makes life much easier. You don't need anything special, a Bushnell Banner in 1.5 - 4X or something similar in low power will work.

Again, patience is the key. Bring water, snacks etc. to make the morning enjoyable. Also, like deer hunting - dress warm and in layers. You want to be as comfortable as possible.

I try to be in the woods before daylight and have had good sucess right at daybreak. However, if I don't get one right away and hear them calling I do not get discouraged - this is where the patience part comes in. I have shot most of my birds between 10 and noon (in NY you can't hunt past noon in the spring). If you have called out in the morning, Toms somehow file away your location and will eventually come around to check it out. If you sit tight you will get a shot at one.

Another thing to be aware of if you are hunting a farm field is if the farmer is spreading manure. Cow manure from a dairy farm will draw turkeys in like a magnet, so locate close to where this is.

The above are just some things that might help you in your efforts this spring. Be very careful as well, as there are some very reckless hunters out there; make sure that if you see or hear someone coming toward you that you shout out to make sure that they are aware of your location.

Today in suburban Monroe County, NY we had about 10 turkeys in our back yard and one of the Toms was strutting and fanning out, so May1st, the start of the NY season is not that far away. Best of luck in NJ.

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I got the Wood Haven Yellow Venom yesterday.
So far in the last 4-5 years of learning and trying mouth calls this one is the best sounding.
I don't think its a beginner call but that said its not hard to run.
Ill certainly be using it my next hunt.
And ive ordered a call called Bacon from Gooserbat game calls.
I guess if I don't like it I can put it on an egg samich
The thing I have found is that there is a gazzillion calls out there and all of em claim to be the best. I think ive called turkey with every call (box-slate-mouth) I have so I know they all will work. But the mouth calls for me is the way to go.

[Big58cal]

I take a vest full of calls when I go. Mostly I use a pot call. I've also got several box calls that I take. There's always a mouth call or two mixed in there as well.

The main calls I use are made by Cane Creek Calls. They're down here in Eastern KY. Super nice folks to deal with and they make some kick-butt calls. Just ordered another one last night. http://canecreekcalls.com/

I've also got a copper pot call and box from Gobble Getter Calls from up in PA. Mr. Harros makes some good calls up there. http://www.harrosturkeycalls.com/

I like to use custom calls made and tuned for turkeys in different parts of the country. The reason being is that if you use a standard production call or a company that is local to the area, you're going to sound like every other person in the woods. Early season it doesn't make a lot of difference, but later in the season when the birds are getting call shy, sounding different than every other hunter that has been calling to them will generally bring the birds in.

Take a variety of calls and strikers with you in the woods. As others have said, a bird may gobble at one, but not the other. I've had this happen more times than I can count. The main strikers I've got are Bloodwood, Purple Heart, Hickory, Oak, and Acrylic. You'll get a different sound out of each.

Most of my calling is done with glass pot calls, but I keep a diaphram call tucked in my cheek if I have to make a yelp or something when the bird is in close.

[amythntr]

....any body use any of the Flextone products...quite frankly I purchased some of their blow calls and their pot call and find their products so far to be totally garbage...Is it me or are their products crap?


Anthony

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....any body use any of the Flextone products...quite frankly I purchased some of their blow calls and their pot call and find their products so far to be totally garbage...Is it me or are their products crap?


Anthony

watch out now,, Michael Wadell will be putting the bada bing on ya
so far I tried the flextone cluck and purr blow thingy..it sucked I took it back ..
used their mouth calls and not impressed ..although they work I have found better

[amythntr]

....any body use any of the Flextone products...quite frankly I purchased some of their blow calls and their pot call and find their products so far to be totally garbage...Is it me or are their products crap?


Anthony

watch out now,, Michael Wadell will be putting the bada bing on ya
so far I tried the flextone cluck and purr blow thingy..it sucked I took it back ..
used their mouth calls and not impressed ..although they work I have found better

...and i thought it was me...mine is going back too!...Michael Wadell, "bada Bing This!"

[amythntr]

....any body use any of the Flextone products...quite frankly I purchased some of their blow calls and their pot call and find their products so far to be totally garbage...Is it me or are their products crap?


Anthony

watch out now,, Michael Wadell will be putting the bada bing on ya
so far I tried the flextone cluck and purr blow thingy..it sucked I took it back ..
used their mouth calls and not impressed ..although they work I have found better

...and i thought it was me...mine is going back too!...Michael Wadell, "Bada Bing This!"

Anthony

[Tom]

I have not hunted turkeys for a few years. But all my go too calls are Old School (purchased many years ago). I have two slates and many different strikers. The different strikers make a different sound on each slate which makes for a variety of sounds. For windy days I still use my Box Call. I always have a couple of mouth calls in my vest.

I was once given some advice many many years ago, ..... it is not so much the sounds you make, but the rhythm you make .......and after so many years, I think it is the best advice given to a turkey hunter.

If you ever want to have some great fun, if when calling and you get interrupted by a hen which seems to think she is the Boss, ......... tell her off with your calls. I did this one day for almost a hour until I was about to give up and a Boss Tom came to see the fight, he lost .

Yes, listening to a hen around your blind is the best lesson you can get.

But to teach your parrot to call turkeys I think is cheating LOL Is your parrot gun shy.

Tom

[amythntr]

...Strum...All of their products are terrible to say it nicely...Even their glass pot call is terrible..I am gonna stick with what I have....a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich on a brick oven Italian roll with roasted peppers...those toms just cannot resist the smell

Anthony

[strum]

...Strum...All of their products are terrible to say it nicely...Even their glass pot call is terrible..I am gonna stick with what I have....a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich on a brick oven Italian roll with roasted peppers...those toms just cannot resist the smell

Anthony

what im finding is the production stuff is usually just that. production stuff but you can get by. now that samich is calling me it..don't shoot!!!

[amythntr]

...Strum...All of their products are terrible to say it nicely...Even their glass pot call is terrible..I am gonna stick with what I have....a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich on a brick oven Italian roll with roasted peppers...those toms just cannot resist the smell

Anthony

what im finding is the production stuff is usually just that. production stuff but you can get by. now that samich is calling me it..don't shoot!!!

...I made two...one for me and one for me

... wouldn't mind if it was just OK...but the sound generated from their garbage have brought in swarms of bees and locusts...and I see frogs in the distance...reminds me of the Biblical plagues...

Anthony

[greentag]

get a david halloran crystal mistress pot call,they sound awsome,he was the youngest guy to ever win the dd adams award for pot calls,anything he makes is pure turkey,also you cant go wrong with anything woodhaven makes,i have a ton of calls ive collected over the years,mainly custom calls and there cherry classic crystal,and vision alum call are two of my all time favorites,for mouth calls,woodhaven black wasp is my favorite,its a split v cut,easy to blow and sounds just like its got feathers.cane creek that was mentioned above from down here in ky are top notch too,they arnt as expensive as alot of other custom calls,there mr.death mouth call is another one of my favorite mouth calls,the only one i like better is the black wasp,as far as box calls,theres a father and son that builds some of the best boxes out there,ss custom calls,they may cost a little more than something say at walmart but it is defently worth it.turkey hunting is alot like fishing,you would not go bass fishing with only one bait,turkeys are the same way,one day they may not like one call but love another,,and vise versa the next day,just gota find that sound that he likes.as far as pot calls go take a few calls and a several strikers of different wood,they will all have a different pich and sound on your calls,good luck,turkey hunting can be addictive,and so can call collecting once you learn them all.