Turkey Hunting

are you good at hopping fences?

Youtube is a great source for learning how to call. You can find tips with some of the best callers in the country. Find some that do the most basic calls to start with. Find you a good box call and a slate/glass/aluminum call. Learn to run those first before trying to use a mouth call.

"The diaphragm call is the greatest turkey conservation tool ever invented."
David Hale

First lesson of turkey hunting.

1. Turkeys are assholes.

Calling is way down the list of things you need to learn how to do to kill a turkey. Get within earshot of the bird, yelp once, and shut up.

The hardest thing nowadays is locating land that has a turkey on it.

I don’t hunt them much anymore; but, I’ve got quite a few grand slams, royal slams, and world slams behind me now.

This is going to sound a bit stupid; but, the key to successful turkey hunting is having birds on your property.

I wasted a lot of time hunting properties that did not hold birds. Moreover, if you do have a property with them, it is important to nurture them.

This means not shooting Jake’s. It also means getting after predators like coyotes.

Beyond that, learning three simple calls (the yelp, cluck and purr) will get the job done in most areas. Spending time patterning your shotgun is incredibly important. There’s a few things more depressing than finally getting the opportunity and missing the shot.

Other than that; it’s a damned disease. They get in your blood. I went hard on them for a decade plus. Eased off once it became clear that many of my favorite places were seeing a drastic decline in Turkey populations.

Planning to do Florida and Kansas next season.

I've killed over 150 gobblers and calling is such a small part of my success. Scouting is way more important in my opinion. Don't over call

Way back in the day I listen to Ben Rogers Lee, Bought his Jet slate that I still have today and killed my 1st turkey using it,learn yo yelp with a mouth call(diaphragm) I listened to cd's for hours, hunt in the fall, and locate some birds scatter em, and sit and wait they'll get back together in 10-15 minutes when they start calling practice what they sound like I did this many many times My hunting bussies would listen to me all the time. When all else fails get a box and practice on that too, I still have my original bos call I bought at Steinbergs in the 80's

If you have a wife I suggest you practice in your truck!

Been hunting turkeys for over 50 years. Most hunters sound better than real hens. It's more about rhythm of call and location, location, location.