In just a few short weeks, the Youth Spring Gobbler Season will be held on April 20th, and a week later the month-long regular season will begin on April 27th. We still have time to work on fine-tuning our calling techniques to lure a spring gobbler into range.

Most folks, especially as school students, probably were subjected to learning a musical instrument of some sort, be it a piano, clarinet, violin or were perhaps part of a school band. Hours upon hours went into practicing the instrument of choice, and more time spent in these practice sessions yielded a greater proficiency. Well, the very same is true of the various turkey calls that are at your disposal. Whether it is a box call, a slate or pot call, or the numerous variations of mouth calls produced today, the more time you take now to practice the various sounds you need to make, the better your chances of fooling an old Tom. From yelps to purrs, putts and clucks, you need to become proficient and comfortable with all sounds, including the gobbling of a mature bird and the kee-kee-run of young gobblers, or jakes.

The good news is that you really don’t have to be perfect. If you have spent much time in the woods, particularly during the fall turkey hunting season, you no doubt have come across some pretty awkward sounds made by turkeys. Several times I have heard a “turkey” call in the woods that was so out of the ordinary that I was sure it was another hunter in the area. Then, shortly thereafter, a real live hen turkey would walk into range, making that same sound — it was her all the time!

It is a big mistake to use a calling sequence similar to what you see on various outdoor TV shows. What I mean is that the show is edited down to 20 minutes of show time from hours of actual time in the field videoing the hunt. During the 20 minutes that airs, it appears that to be successful, you must call continually. But, in reality, there is a lot of time spent in between calls if it is to sound authentic. It simply does not sound realistic when you call continually. Instead, make a series of calls, and then pause for 15-20 minutes before making more calls.

Vary the calls and series of sounds rather than be redundant in your presentation. Real live turkeys in the woods do not just yelp all the time, nor do they purr or cluck continually. Mix up the sounds and vary the volume. It is OK to make a louder call on occasion in an attempt to reach a greater distance, but most of your calls should be soft and relaxed to sound more natural.
Quit while you are ahead, meaning that when the gobbler is coming your way in response to your calls, take a break. He already knows exactly where you are and you are much better off letting him become curious and remain interested in just where you are. Don’t spook him off by over calling. Put down your call and focus on getting your gun ready!

Finally, resist the temptation to go to your favorite hunting location before opening day to make a few calls to find out if there are any receptive gobblers there. All too often all you end up doing is educating the birds in the area to your presence, reducing your chance of success once the season opens. Yes, you need to practice and fine-tune your calls, but do so at home — not anywhere that you or anyone else intends to hunt!