I'm sure answers will vary some especially when every situation is different. I know it's the biggest mistake a lot of hunters make. How much is to much? My problem is I get frustrated when a bird will not move and I can't move based on terrain. Not only gobbling, but double gobbling at just leaf scratching. The more frustration that builds the more I call.
The definition of overcalling is "more than he wants to hear".
When asked why he calls so much, Ray Eye said "I got tired of not killing birds"....
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Over calling on Thursday can become just right on Friday and not enough on Saturday. It's about trying to figure out what they want and giving it to them. And that means lessons learned the hard way by spending time in the turkey woods.
Quote from: MEbeardlover on April 03, 2015, 08:37:50 PM
Over calling on Thursday can become just right on Friday and not enough on Saturday. It's about trying to figure out what they want and giving it to them. And that means lessons learned the hard way by spending time in the turkey woods.
+1 :z-winnersmiley:
Calling so much a bird that's coming stops to gobble and strut so much he thinks... This is a great place to stop she'll come to me now
I think the answer to that question can only come from a turkey.
If you have a hot bird that does not get get stolen by a hen, that hangs up, chances are you called too much...
Right or wrong, if there are other hens answering (either with, or going to the tom) I tend to call a lot more, and a lot more aggressively. Only time it seems that I get a tom when there is another hen around is when I can call in the hen...
There are those times when I called in a bird that I think others might not have... But it is those times when I did not call in a bird that others could have, that keep me trying to improve my game.
Then again, those birds that do come in hot to aggressive calling, are the ones you remember... You are cuttin', and yelping, and that bird comes in gobbling and struttin'.... That admittedly is a lot more fun than the bird that tentatively gobbles twice, and comes in quietly an hour later...
I call too much, and I move too quickly... Cause I like that hot bird.
I don't like to call out of frustration. Only call when you need to communicate something to that gobbler.
:funnyturkey: I agree with Silvestris and MEbeardlover.
I like to call once to every three gobbles, or no note than 5 minutes apart. Seems to work for me. I also keep it simple with clucks, yelps and a few purrs mostly.
Quote from: Gooserbat on April 05, 2015, 03:55:00 PM
I like to call once to every three gobbles, or no note than 5 minutes apart. Seems to work for me. I also keep it simple with clucks, yelps and a few purrs mostly.
Very surprised from a call maker :lol:
Quote from: WildTigerTrout on April 03, 2015, 08:47:37 PM
Quote from: MEbeardlover on April 03, 2015, 08:37:50 PM
Over calling on Thursday can become just right on Friday and not enough on Saturday. It's about trying to figure out what they want and giving it to them. And that means lessons learned the hard way by spending time in the turkey woods.
+1 :z-winnersmiley:
X 2
Quote from: Gooserbat on April 05, 2015, 03:55:00 PM
I like to call once to every three gobbles, or no note than 5 minutes apart. Seems to work for me. I also keep it simple with clucks, yelps and a few purrs mostly.
There ya go..I'm the same way..listen to hens in the woods 99.99% of the time hens call very little, when on the ground, and when they do it's soft yelps,feeding purrs and soft clucks..Hens just don't call a whole bunch most of the time..when I hunt I call like a hen..soft purrs, clucks and soft yelps about every 20-30 minutes, this series will last less than 15 seconds...once I have a bird working my call I let him tell me what's next...but rest assured I'm playing " hard to get".
Quote from: owlhoot on April 05, 2015, 04:18:07 PM
Quote from: Gooserbat on April 05, 2015, 03:55:00 PM
I like to call once to every three gobbles, or no note than 5 minutes apart. Seems to work for me. I also keep it simple with clucks, yelps and a few purrs mostly.
Very surprised from a call maker :lol:
Not to sound smart but I was and still am a turkey hunter before a call maker. When calling turkeys less is usually more, however you still have to call enough. That's something that only experience will teach you.
Mudhen mentioned Ray Eye in an earlier post. It was Ray Eye's article a few years back that emphasized the peck order that dominates the lives of both gobblers and hens. I've used that information to take my three-gobbler limit annually in Illinois since that time, including at 7:30 this morning on opening day of the first season when a 23# tom came across a 20 acre picked soybean field to challenge my Pretty Boy, me taking him at 25 yards. It took about 30 minutes of scattered hen yelps followed by gobbles from my Primos tube with the real bird gobbling back before curiosity got the best of the real bird and he came on a dead run the last 100 yards. I've got 3rd and 5th season tags to go and plan to this same technique to entice other gobblers. I may switch to a Funky Chicken later on to reduce the intimidation factor. While I don't take many on the fly down, the next three hours after that have proven fruitful, usually after his hens have headed to their nesting sites. If you are not taking advantage of the turkey's peck order, you may be limiting your opportunity.
I think of it a lot like duck hunting/calling. Except at a slower pace. I give them just enough to know where the Hen is but I don't completely give it away. If he is coming your way and doing what you want let him come. If he gets off track then I may make a call. Once he gets close enough to see me (the hunter) I try not to call that much to give my location away. I feel like every situation is different and you have to learn how to read the turkeys reaction more than trying to control them.