What call do you start out with?

[MK M GOBL]

My usual is to roost from the night before, I check again in morning (Owl Hooter) and go from there... Timber hunts are different than my field sets. I am less vocal in the timber as I am "on the bird" and call a bit more from a field set as I am calling them to my location. Every bird is a different game and in how he responds, and then there are the hens to deal with, when needed I am calling to them. I call to the situation and over the years have learned what seems to work for me and the area I hunt. I have no set "calling" sequence I do go by a "contact" call while in the tree and after flydown is when I work the bird.

MK M GOBL

[Marc]

The call I start off with depends on the hunting situation...

If I am running and gunning, and looking for a bird, I will often use a box call, cause it is loud and realistic.  Once I get a response, I then try to decide if and how I will move closer to the bird.  Depending on how close I get will depend on the call I use...  Once I am on a bird, I always have a mouth call in, but I might try either a box or scratcher to coax him in closer.

In the morning, the last couple seasons, birds have been very vocal on their own in the morning.  I try to get as close as possible to the roost...  If I do not hear other hens, I tend to call more subtle (likely a scratch box).  If there are hens calling, I tend to call to them, and far more aggressively.
Unfortunately, the areas I hunt all have a very high hen to Tom Ratio (I counted 4 jakes and 2 Toms with 60 hens ealier this winter).

I have had very poor luck calling in toms, cause they are always with hens nearby at first light...  Only success I have had is calling in the hens...  Later in the season, with hens on the nest, I have had some success calling to a lonely Tom, and calling very subtle, and sparse...

[LI Outdoorsman]

Usually Ill have a bird roosted and know his location before setting up...i prefer to let them gobble on their own and my go to early morning call is light tree yelps on a slate. If i get him answering and coming my way Ill try to switch over to a mouth call and see if he still likes it..after that its game on till hes in gun range

[deer655]

Boy, I have been doing it wrong for years according to most of the post above. I hunt the mountains in sw Virginia. I hunt a ridge above a pasture which has a deep valley over to another tall hill. The toms will most often roost on the other hill. After he gobbles once I will softly hit a soft note on my pot call. Most often he will instantly answer. I will wait till I think he is getting ready to fly down and litely call again. Most times he will fly across the valley and land above me on the highest part of my ridge. Then its game on as he slowly comes down the ridge toward me. I have hunted this property for so long I dont use any locator call. More often then not they will be on that hill across from me. When he hits the ground I usually just stick to a diaphragm call.

[Boilermaker]

First call out of my vest is typically a tree talker or a purr pot.  I'll usually let out a few soft clucks or a tree yelp if I hear birds or are in close on a roosted bird.  Keep it soft.  Keep it real.

[TauntoHawk]

If you're talking about AM locating I just let them wake up natrual unless it's well after gobbling time and I haven't heard one then it's an owl hooter, then a crow, then a fly down cackle spaced out if I'm not getting any answers.

If you're talking about set up on a bird what call comes out first to work the bird it's a scratch box and a mouth call in.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Cut N Run]

I very seldom use an owl or crow call in the morning.  I let the gobbler naturally fire up when the crows get going.  Most turkeys don't gobble from the roost in the evenings around here, probably from coyote pressure, so they can be hard to roost.  A couple of the properties I hunt are small and narrow, so gobblers don't often roost on them.  When I hunt there, I wait until I get a gobble from the ground, get closer to set up, then cutt back excitedly on a long box, which usually gets a good response.  As he works closer, I let him stew by not answering much, calling away from the direction he's coming from on a mouth call.  When he comes looking for the hen, I mix in clucks and yelps on a pot or mouth call.  Leaf scratching & quiet clucks usually helps seal the deal when he's inside of 150-200 yards.

In big woods, I try to get closer to the roost and work him from there with a slate or mouth call.  If he goes the other way, I try to circle ahead of him to a favored area and call from there.  Distance dictates which calls I use.  Closer = quieter calls, long distance = long box.

I almost never tree talk, because I'm seldom close to a roost.  Excited cutts, kee kees, and yelps seem to draw best in my experience.  I should admit that I hunt woods 95% of the time and I don't have much experience hunting open fields.

Jim

[renegade19]

My buddy does a Barred Owl without using a call that has them following us around the woods on occasion.  He's my go to early morning locator.  After the sun is up and shining, a Pileated Woodpecker/Peacock call has worked really well for me.  As far as turkey calls, Hooks "Enforcer" is my go to.  Pot calls somewhere along the line if needed.

[BottomLand54]

this has been a joy to read keep on posting guys

[wvmntnhick]

Love me some locators. Early morning it's a Harrison owl hooter. After good light is a Gibson crow call. I'm generally hunting small pieces of ground here and I like to know where they are before I cross an open field. Bumped them off the roost too many times here and once they are across the next field, it's much harder to call them back. I've had to backtrack and walk a hard cap road past a couple houses to get back on the property I hunt just to get the terrain in my favor and not blow birds out of the trees just to have a chance. I've sometimes gotten there a touch later on purpose just to give them a chance to get on the ground in hopes of using the ground cover to help me slip in. The main chunk I turkey hunt is small with very few trees and completely surrounded by open fields. Trying to call them across an open field here is almost impossible and I don't have access to the neighbors farm so discretion is imperative. Once I know where they are and can get set up, I've been known to get aggressive faster than most. I want that bird thinking I'm the hottest lady on the block and in the next 3 counties. Not going to say it always works and often times it doesn't. But, when it does, I'm guaranteed a show. Going in easy isn't my style and I'm sure I'd kill more birds doing that but killing the bird is secondary when more fun can be had. That's why I like a loud, raspy box and either my Yingling slate or brass call soon as that bird hits the ground. I'm cranking it up and getting his temp set as high as it'll go. Got a Jeff White box in an auction this year and planning to run it hard come April 16th.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Greg Massey]

I just let mother nature wake the woods up... i will use a crow call up in the middle of the day if needed ... Lonnie Sneed tree talker is my start off call....  If you don't have a tree talker from Lonnie , your missing out on a great simple 20 dollar call.....

[Gooserbat]

Owl,
Turkey wing
Ghost cut diaphragm
Usually in that order

[Kylongspur88]

If I don't have one roosted I'll sit and listen. Try to get close but not too close and maybe give a few yelps. After that clucks and leaf scratching once he's on the ground.