newbie needs some help.

[ohihunter2018]

Hello guys

I have tried turkey hunting several times but never seem to have any luck and would like some insight. Below I will list how I go about turkey hunting and my calls.

I hunt a public land state forest that goes from open hardwoods, pines, thickets, etc. Mostly rolling hill country in central Ohio. I will generally drive down on a weekend morning a week or two before season and try and locate them using an owl hoot or crow call and do some walking around to get a lay of the land. The Morning I hunt I will arrive in darkness and park and begin walking down the road and hit the owl hooter a few times looking for a shock gobble. If I get a response i will sneak into the woods and setup and once the sun starts shining through i give a few yelps on my Primos laminate box call or my Quaker boy box call. I generally start with small soft yelps and get louder towards the end with about 6-7 yelps and sit quiet. 75% of the time I get a response and I think what's screwing me is i will continue to yelp at him. Sometimes I get more responses and sometimes I do not. Sometimes he is on the private land and sometimes on private across the road and sometimes 2-3 gobble in different areas.

I picked up a cheap HS strut pot call with plastic striker too but cant get a response out of that call. Would I be better off walking these roads and hitting the locator call until one shock gobbles and try and close the distance or just sit down somewhere and call?

Are my calls okay or should I upgrade?

I'm not too sure on purrs, cuts, etc. Can i just yelp and when I get a response stop calling or continue to call? How often should I call? Should I switch up calls every now and then?

What type of terrain should i scout or call from? There are flat hilltops, thick bottoms, pine rows, hardwoods. There is also a major river that runs through there and a lot of small streams.

Thank you for your help.

[g8rvet]

Yelps are great, but purrs, cuts and the more quiet sounds kill birds.  So does scrathing in leaves and sounding like a hen (or two). 

I only use a locator if I am hunting a brand new spot and nothing gobbles on it's own.  I prefer to let them wake up on their own.

Hopefully some more experienced public hunters will chime in with some tips for you.

[Happy]

Man there's a lot to cover here. First thing is you are hearing gobblers=good for several reasons.
A: There are turkeys in the area.
B: your calling must not suck.
Next step:
you are hearing a gobbler but what are you going to do about it? Can you precisely locate where he is and get closer? Do you know where he is likely headed? Is he really interested or just giving a courtesy gobble?
This is where it gets interesting, the answers to the above questions will influence what you need to do to actually get him in range but here are a few basic "rules" to follow.
1:Closer is better. Until you scare them off anyways.
2: Being where a turkey already wants to go increases your odds of killing him drastically.
3: Calling is only good as long as the bird is closing the distance to you. Every turkey is different and you have to figure out the balance between overdoing it and not doing it enough.
Different calls aren't going to magically kill birds for you. Experience, using common sense and good decision making without panicking will go a long ways. I am sure some others who probably have forgotten more than I know will chime in but that is what I have for some quick suggestions.
Good luck

[daddyduke]

I get into the place where I know birds are and wait. If one gobbles I will sound off with a few Loud yelps and get softer if they gobble back. The reason I always start loud is because I've had multiple times that the bird gobbling stays put and birds much farther away come running in. Plus by starting loud and then getting softer, sounds like the hen is moving away. Hope this helps.

[zelmo1]

Calls and calling are very subjective, as the posts here will reflect. Volume is very important in my mind. Quiet kills turkeys, soft calls work best for us. The call doesn't matter, as long as it sounds turkey ish, lol. Movement scares turkeys away. Being still is a big key. Fid them, get their attention and make them hunt for you. Keep at it brother, you will find your tactics with effort. We all learned that way. Good Luck, Al Baker

[Spikeit]

I always try to setup above where the birds are if at all possible. I would also try to position myself on the same side of the water as they are. It can be difficult to get them to fly across.