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Hunting with a scratch box

Started by Kwgoke, April 29, 2016, 11:23:42 AM

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Kwgoke

How do you guys usually use a scratch box to hunt? I'm very new to scratch boxes and am hunting public land where the birds are chased pretty hard and seem to be pretty call shy. I'm hoping that the scratch box will have a different sound than what the other hunters are using however I'm hesitant on how much to actually use it so I thought I would ask the experts. Due to the pressured birds, my initial reaction is to just stick to clucks on it with the occasional purr (as soon as I can do that a bit more consistently). Any thoughts?


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TauntoHawk

I will give you my opinion but you are more than willing to disagree. I hunt public land in PA and NY regularly, both are know for decent/high amounts of hunting pressure. I do not buy into the notion that the only way to kill public land birds is a ultra finesse hardly call style. Its really hard to kill a bird that never hears you, if it takes aggressive calls to find a bird or get him fired up i'm gonna give it to him regardless of public or private. I change nothing about my calling approaches between public and private the only thing I change is I never use decoys or gobble calls on public and that's more for my safety than anything with the turkeys. If a birds is close or coming i'm gonna keep it soft and if i'm looking for a bird or trying to fire up a disinterest one I will fire away with aggressive calling. I was able to killed 3 public land birds last year using scratch boxes on all 3 but I called the same as would any turkey. Two were right off the roost where i floated some tree yelps to get a gobble, answered his gobbles with a little excitement and got quiet once on the ground a few cluck and purrs got him heading the right direction and the call was put away once the bird was in sight. The 3rd was a late morning bird I struck with aggressive box calling, once I knew he was headed my direction but hung up on the other side of a deep ditch trying to get the hen to him. I answered with some light scratch box calling and when he gobbled I cut him off with a few popping cutts and he crossed the ditch and came looking.

A good scratch box can be very realistic, I don't think of them as a call that sounds less like hunters but as a call that sounds more like turkeys.

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KentuckyHeadhunter

Well said.  Back in the day they didn't even use strikers. They used the top or bottom of the stock on the gun.   There is a reason they have stood the test of time and continue to kill gobblers.  There is something in the sound.  Often times a box call will give you too much yelp rollover and the gobbler can mistake it for a Jake or other gobbler.  A scratcher is undeniably a hen (most of the time).  Take the advice above on calling.  Use it like any other call and do what you would do.  On windy days they may be less effective due to volume as well. 
Loyal Member of the Tenth Legion

Kwgoke

Thanks guys! Good info! I will elaborate that the main reason I've been thinking about sticking to clucks and purrs is because I have yet to hear a hen yelp when I've been out. I've had a couple go by me and all they were doing was clucking, so I've been thinking about trying a more subtle approach because of that. Although you have a great point about being hard to kill if they don't hear you!

Marc

#4
I just got my own scratcher from Lonnie Gilbert...  The cutts/clucks are loud on that thing...  Seems like a great call to search up a gobbler or instigate a shock gobble...  I got a response from quite some distance off this morning with the call.

I too am having issues learning to yelp decently on the call, and as my season ends tomorrow, I am hoping that the yelping will become second nature by the time next season rolls around...
Did I do that?

Fly fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.