# Spring Turkey



## AnglinMueller

Hey guys. This is only going to be my second season turkey hunting(didn't get one last year but saw a few come in pretty close). I live in southwest Ohio and I'm pretty much limited to hunting only public land. I was hoping that some of you gentlemen/ladies on here might be able to give me some advice/tips on the spring turkey season i.e. calls to use and when to use them and what to look for while scouting and such. Thanks in advance for any help folks.


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## buckeyebowman

Well, if you're confined to hunting public land, I would suggest that you do a ton of scouting and keep your voice down. By keeping your voice down I mean don't call too loudly. 

If there's snow down out there now, get out and look for tracks. Once the snow is gone it's questionable whether you'll find any sign except in the softest spots or a dropped feather once in a while. Look for the thickest places they frequent. Find a place that you think is likely for a setup. If you do set up there and are tempted to call, keep your calls quiet! 

I belong to a hunting club that has plenty of turkey on it, but it might as well be public land! There are all kinds of yahoos out there just cranking away on turkey calls as if they believe that the gobblers out there are all hard of hearing! The birds have gotten extremely call shy. That's why I say find the thick stuff, and be subdued in your calling. Quiet hen purrs, clucks and yelps are better than hammering away as loud as you can. Birds have no sense of smell, so gobblers have to locate hens through sound and sight alone. That's why we use calls and decoys. But they've learned to be wary of calling that is a bit too "obvious".

Also, if you can be out the evening before a hunt and "put some birds to bed", that can give you a leg up. That means being in the woods when the birds fly up into their roost trees. Believe me, if you are anywhere nearby you will hear it. As you will hear them fly down in the morning.

But that's not the only way to do it. Occasionally you'll get a gobbler that let's his presence be known. You call to him, but he won't deviate from his path. That means he's following hens. Your only hope is to move and try to cut them off. You have to be versatile. I wish you luck.


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## meats52

I agree with everything buckeyebowmam said. Another thing you can try if you have a gobbler that's got hens with him that answers your call but is not coming is to just sit there for a while. A lot of times a gobbler, after he takes care of the hens he's with, will come back to where he heard you call from earlier. Gobblers are very horny in the spring and once he breeds with the hen that he's with she goes to her nest and he goes looking for another hen. Another thing some mornings you might not hear any gobbles but that doesn't always mean that there aren't any turkeys there. I've had mornings when I didn't hear a gobble and still saw turkeys. You have to have patience when turkey hunting. Last thing if you don't have a mouth call get one and learn how to use it. They come in handy for the last couple hundred yards when you know one is coming to you. Your gun should be up and you should not be moving.


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## AnglinMueller

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll have to buckle down and learn to use the mouth calls now. I've tried them a couple times but never could get it to sound right. Gives me something else to work at while I'm waiting for the season to start anyway. I'll try to get out this weekend while we still have snow on the ground and do some scouting.


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## STRONGPERSUADER

Great points! Get a mouth call and practice a lot then practice again. Also, you can be aggressive with calling without calling too much especially early season. I've had em hammer me after long loud aggressive cackles, had both toms and hens come in with that. But as said, sometimes if not most of the time you have to coax them in. I've had them come in plenty of times without gobbling also. Important to stay very still at all times especially if one answers or gobbles on the roost. Head to toe camo. They will make you in a New York minute. But that's the challenge of spring turkey hunting. Can't wait. Good luck!


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## meats52

AnglinMueller said:


> Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I'll have to buckle down and learn to use the mouth calls now. I've tried them a couple times but never could get it to sound right. Gives me something else to work at while I'm waiting for the season to start anyway. I'll try to get out this weekend while we still have snow on the ground and do some scouting.


 Years ago when I started using a mouth call I would have it with me all the time, even if I wasn't hunting. I would just put the call in and practice. Sometimes I would practice in the house and my wife would look at me like I was crazy, but that's how you learn. A lot of times if you have a gobbler coming all you need is a cluck or putt from your mouth call to keep them heading in your direction. Keep practicing and you'll get it to sound right.


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## Waterline

When it comes to mouth calls, you might have to try quite a few to find the one or two that fit your mouth and sound the best. But don't fret. About 20 or more years ago I was hunting alone and I was set up just off the crest of a ridge with a gobbler sounding off down over the other side on what I later found out was an old logging road. I would give a call and he would gobble about 150 yards away. I kept expecting him to pop up over the hill any minute but the standoff went on for what seemed like an hour. I'm sure I tried different calls and even quit calling altogether for a while trying to get him to commit. Finally, I pulled one of my older mouth calls out and decided to give it a try. Probably because it had older, stretched and maybe even cracked diaphragms, it was the loudest and worst sounds I have ever heard! It was so bad my face turned red with embarrassment right then and there worried that some other Hunter may have heard such a pathetic call. Well it wasn't but a few minutes later that I noticed what looked like a long turkey neck with red wattles and a white head standing motionless about 30 yards away. Yep it was that turkey and he must have literally run up that hill to get there so fast. That was one of my most memorable success stories. So the moral of the story is keep practicing so you don't embarrass yourself but never forget that not all turkeys sound the same and sometimes they just need to hear something a little different. Using the correct rhythm and cadence may sometimes be more important than having the perfect pitch.


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## AnglinMueller

Thanks guys. I really appreciate all the help.


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## weasel

I have never figured out a mouth call I have tried several different ones and even cut them down. all I use is slate and glass calls and have killed several birds with them I use 3 different ones when I go out hunting so I sound like a group of hens. I call pretty aggressivley until I get them coming my direction then I shut up and get ready. I always go out two weeks before the season and listen for birds in the morning before day light and count how many are there . and never call to the birds before the season.


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## meats52

A mouth call is not mandatory for turkey hunting , but it is a added bonus if you have one and can use it. Sometimes it can make a difference between a gobbler that walks by you out of shooting range or one that is standing 25 yards in front of you especially if you are hunting without decoys.


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## meats52

One other thing that I forgot to mention is that you should pattern your gun. You might have done this already since this will be your second season but I wasn't sure. I call it patterning your gun but others might call it something else. You need to know the maximum distance that you are confident your gun will kill a turkey. You can buy head and neck turkey targets and put them at different yardage and see how much shot you put in the kill zone. Knowing the range of your gun is good to know so you have your best chance to kill one and not cripple it and have it get away.


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## icefisherman4life

The smaller amount of reeds on your mouth call the easier it is to use. Also when i was young and first started turkey huntin I would go out and scout and i would take my calls and call to the birds and they would come in. DO NOT DO IT. As much fun as it is to see them and do that it educates the birds for when the season comes in. And makes it way harder to call them in. Also i believe it was said already. When you have one coming in and its within 100 yards limit your calls to purrs and putts. and use those very sparingly. The secret is to make them find you. Putting them to bed the night before is a huge help also. When scouting looks for areas with lots of scratching and look for droppings. I have alot of luck hunting in the rain for turkeys. If it rains hunt a field. Turkeys go to fields when it rains. Ive gotten 4 turkeys while hunting during thunderstorms. They gobble at the thunder. its actually really awesome. good luck


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## Kenlow1

Agree with all the info given-lots of good tips. I am no expert but have killed my share of long beards. Like stated previously, one of the most important things in turkey hunting is to limit your movement. Just because you may not hear that turkey gobble, that doesn't mean there isn't one close by. I have shot several gobblers after being set up for 1-2 hrs and was getting ready to move when I caught movement 30 yds away-yes he came in silent. The best advice I can give you is to move your eyes, not your head. If you do move your head, very slowly. Turkeys pick up movement. Decoys are good to use too as they will focus the gobblers attention away from you and on the hen or hens. I would not however use a gobbler decoy on public land, just too dangerous. An old timer probably gave me the best info when I was just learning to turkey hunt. You don't have to be an expert caller but more important to have good woodmanship. Knowing the lay of the land, where an obstacle is such as a creek or stream or deep cut. Turkeys may "hang up" and you may have to use available cover and brush to put yourself in position to get in range of the turkey. One of the best calls is not a turkey call at all. Had a gobbler hang up out of range once and he would not budge, I quit calling and we had a Mexican standoff. The old timer told me to use my hand and scratch in the leaves, it worked like a charm! The gobbler thought the hen or hens were losing interest since I had quit calling and he heard the scratching in the leaves simulating feeding turkeys. He had to come check it out and caught a load of 3 inch magnum #6 shot copper pellets.


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## jmyers8

As stated right above some scratching off the leaves can be deadly late in the morning.. Mix that with just a couple simple clucks about every half hour and just sit..eventually when the hens are layed up he will come looking for that. I've gotten quite a few that made that mistake it usually works best around ten or after when the hens are on nest.


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