On these boards I always see where folks say they use X call when they want to give them something different.. Either a suction yelper, scratcher, tube, or some different wood combo on a box or striker pot combo..
To the human ear a mouth call in proficient hands is the most realistic as evidenced by the GNCC..
So when somebody kills something with a "different" call is it that the call sounds different or is it actually mimicing the sound of the wild turkey better than what it is given credit for.. And if this call is so effective why not just begin with the "different" call and kill him day one..
With this being said, I have never used a call because I believe it was "different" On pressured to un pressured birds I take what calls I believe are the most accurate at reproducing a hen..
Shootum, that may be why your in on such a small amount of kills every year. You have to give them tough and call shy birds something different instead of the most realistic in order to get to watch them flop. I heard it on tv one time from a group of pro's, so it must be true.
This year I'm filling up the game pouch in my vest with different calls, the gobblers are going to think I'm a whole flock of "different" birds, some with nasal infections, colds, whooping cough, hair lip and even lipless. I bet they won't be able to resist.
Quote from: guesswho on March 05, 2011, 05:24:30 PM
Shootum, that may be why your in on such a small amount of kills every year. You have to give them tough and call shy birds something different instead of the most realistic in order to get to watch them flop. I heard it on tv one time from a group of pro's, so it must be true.
This year I'm filling up the game pouch in my vest with different calls, the gobblers are going to think I'm a whole flock of "different" birds, some with nasal infections, colds, whooping cough, hair lip and even lipless. I bet they won't be able to resist.
:TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
I carry several different types of pot calls and strikers; a couple slates, a couple glass and an aluminum this coming year. I really don't believe in giving them something different, one day they will gobble at a particular call and won't say a word the next. On one place I hunted, they would only gobble at a Cody call, NOTHING ELSE, ended up killing two birds that weekend. Go figure. :toothy12:
I'm a friction caller and standard gear for me is a couple pot calls including crystal and slate with 3 strikers all of which change the tone of the pot calls along with a couple different sounding box calls...
May sound like a lot but it's a light load to carry in a vest.
I have found birds with one call only to have to change to another to work the bird.
And believe this or not ....on several hunts I've had people with me that sounded really good on a mouth call but the bird would not respond well.......I pull out a slate, crystal, or box and the bird would fire up and come in.......I know this works both ways but so far it hasn't
Sometimes what absolutely sounds best to us might not be what it takes to get a turkey in so I really believe from past experience having a few different sounding calls is worth the trouble
I can make certain calls better on one type of caller than I can on another. It is hard for me to make a good sounding gobbler cluck on my best mouth callers, but I can make a good cluck on a scratch box. Time of day and weather conditions have more to do with what call I use to make what sound I want to make and the response I am trying to get. I am beginning to think that frequency(as in sound) and pitch play a bigger role in getting a certain birds attention than I use to.
Couple of years ago I was hunting an area that i knew held birds. After i had spent almost 2 hours and tried nearly every call in my vest, i had nearly given up. I was getting ready to leave, but decided to give it one last try and pulled out the last call in my vest. When i hit that call, not one but two gobblers answered me and came in. They even flew across a small creek and both were double and even triple gobbling every time i hit that call. Why that particular call? I have no idea, but on that day nothing else worked. BTW, I killed one and missed the other one. ;D
Every turkey I have ever called in was brought in the final steps by a mouth yelper. I have 100% confidence in it day in and day out. Now there are times I get better responses from other calls, but what I have learned is typically its due to range. Once I postion myself in their safe zone, they respond to a mouth yelper as good as anything.
As a novice last year I did have success (or luck) with a simple Tom Gaskins cedar scratch box. On the first set up we had turkeys across a small farm in front of us (we were on a wooded ridge) at day break and they would not fly down. I started calling every once in a while and they did respond but stayed in the trees. What was fun was the birds that came to the call behind us chatting all of the way in to our location. One of the guys with me went up higher on the ridge and actually saw them but could not get a shot off. So for $25.0 on a call I had a good time. I also had a pot call and a long box but I never used them.
my buddy lives in sullivan county. he swears by woodhaven calls. he says he can use all kinds of calls and as soon as he hits the woodhaven box call ..bang.. they start up... so i think yes somethin different does work.. somethin the birds don't hear often ( or never ) and peeks their curiosity
I'm a big believer in it, especially on hard hunted birds. The birds at my lease hear a lot of the same things from the other guys, so I've gone to surfaces and calls that nobody else uses like aluminum and copper, as well as a trumpet. I feel it gives me somewhat of an advantage to have a different sound, especially since I get to hunt a lot less than the other guys, so I try to make the most of the time I get to be in the woods
Quote from: guesswho on March 05, 2011, 05:24:30 PM
Shootum, that may be why your in on such a small amount of kills every year. You have to give them tough and call shy birds something different instead of the most realistic in order to get to watch them flop. I heard it on tv one time from a group of pro's, so it must be true.
This year I'm filling up the game pouch in my vest with different calls, the gobblers are going to think I'm a whole flock of "different" birds, some with nasal infections, colds, whooping cough, hair lip and even lipless. I bet they won't be able to resist.
That's the funniest thing I've read in a while!! :TooFunny:
Just what do you think a turkey with a hair lip would sound like?? ;D (I have tears rolling down my face trying to get a visual of a hair lipped turkey) :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
Quote from: RaspyD on March 09, 2011, 12:22:23 PM
Just what do you think a turkey with a hair lip would sound like?? ;D
I've got it down pat on a mouth call.
I change up calls frequently, but not callers. Does that count?
Every now and then you may find a bird with different sound preferences but that's only 4% of em. The rest can die to a normal sounding call. Even those 4% at the right time.
I think scenario's play a big role in the concept of bird's answering only to certain calls. He might be with hen's and not gobbling 5 minutes later he might be alone when your holding another call. I've saw tom's multiple times literally running full bore down roads in areas where turkey habitat is broken up. They were simply leaving one area going to the next. Maybe they didnt hear your first call's a few minutes later they can hear you. I do also agree sometimes frequency along with aggressiveness will trigger bird's when other tone's and sequence's will not.
I hunt w a guy who has been hunting turkeys since the early 70's, he uses 2 calls one is an original lynch 101. He calls in plenty every year w the Lynch, last year I woul call if turkeys wouldn't repspond to his, I would try my Crystal Mistress and wam they would cutt you off. So I alwasys been a fan of having multiple calls in my vest. Just never know what will spark them that day, I've heard some pretty nasty sounding hens that toms would gobble back too.
It all depends on the bird. I've been on toms that wouldn't gobble at certain calls, but would really fire up on others. I swap between slate, glass, and aluminum quite a bit as well as many different strikers. They all have a diff tone and some toms like one more than another. I use aluminum alot and admit it's much higher pitched than slate or glass, but many toms eat it up.
I agree with the post on hens sounding diff, it's no diff than mallard hens. Some hens sound terrible, but I bet they get as much romance as the others.
I called in a tom last year that sounded like he was choking on an acorn when he gobbled.
Buy the calls to have something to play with. Use the calls and get good with them. Every so often, use a change up. I'm using several calls at the same time. Mouth, slate, and box, a couple boxes or a couple strikers, find what they want and get them in. It's all in the pitch of the boss hen.
Back about 9 or 10 yrs ago I bought a long box call that was suppose to be "the different sound" paid about $80 for it and never had any luck with it. Doug Camp's Screaming Hen. Sounds good has a different high pitch. Has anybody used it and had luck with it? If so I may take it out of retirement.
"And if this call is so effective why not just begin with the "different" call and kill him day one.."
Spaulding, this calls for the old Billy Baroo - Judge Smails
in my extreme rookie experince we are slowly working 2 things together here...
gettin a bird to shock gobble vs calling him to the gun or working him.
you could be working a bird with and old $#%^ box call. The bird may not gobble everytime but may show intrest by drumming or going upright and looking ur way.
Throwing in a series from a boat paddle may get him to sound off but may not have changed the direction of the turkey or anything for that matter.
I could be sitting next to some one that has been slowly working a birds across a field with soft clucks and purs and pull out a boat air horn and get him to fir off numerous times. However I dont think he wants to breed the airhorn and shall continue on to the sounds of the sweet hen....
Now if there is any call or caller that can consistantly call a gobbler off 6 hens by consistant I mean 90%+ of the time and get him to break from the hens and get within 35 yds for facial accupuncture Im all ears
easier said.....
you cant compare a bird answering to a bird committing. 2 totally different things.
if and when you do switch and the bird answers you would then need to call him to the gun everytime for these statements to prove true...
if a bird gobblin to you over ur buddys call makes u happy just carry a coaches wistle.
;~)