Rookie Turkey Hunter

[Jerbear]

    I live next to the Klickitat Wildlife area.  The turkey season this year is not like years past.  The weather is keeping them tight lipped.  I was out this a.m. and called over a pretty wide area.  The crows were quite loud.  I used two different calls.  Not a sound.  This has been a frustrating year.  The weather is supposed to break next week, so perhaps it will get better.  Will send you a PM later today.
Jerbear

[Coasthunterjay]

A crow call works good for us most of the time during the day, but I think a coyote howl works better 
MS

sorry NO!

if you wqwant to locate them at a far distance....maybe....and at night while there roosting maybe...during the day while your hunting.
NO! a coyote call will defenantly help you to locate the turkeys for about 2 seconds while they gobble and then they will beet feet and get the hell out of there. I have nown coyote calls for locating turkeys to scare them and shut them up more so than actualy help you so as for a beginner turkey hunter i would stay away from them.

Otherwise. as for locating turkeys, i have really liked a crow call. (i like the M.A.D. crow call. has a good deep cahhh to it and you just blow as hard as you can three times and it is bullet proof)...it wont really spook a turkey, but irritate the hell out of a turkey, because crows will pick on turkeys and are a nusence to them.

As for an owl call. they work, but i have also noticed that you can spook alot of birds sometimes with using this and then you will loose them, because they will go quiet....better used early morning before dark if you decide to hunt that early.....with an owl call you might get one or two reactions from a set of birds as you move in, to set up for a good call (if you hear a bird i feel it safe enough to move closer to it, but not onto it....especially if i cant see it) just get closer so that you can start working your box call or slate, what ever you have and see what happens. but dont use a owl call repeatedly in one area...... or you might make talking turkeys shut up.....

But from what i have seen which was shown to me recently to work the most repeatedly time after time, Very very, well. was a peacock or woodduck call.....works very well....

I have used this call in canyons, for long distances, short distances, everything and when you  cant get birds to react to a crow call or an owl call, use a peacock call and GOBBLE, Gobble, gobble, will be all you hear.........

But use several locating calls. If one doesnt work, then try another, then move on to another bend, or canyon. every turn locater call.........if you find an area that just looks good. lots of sign everywhere. sit there for a half an hour and turkey call, every 5 minutes or so.. hit the box....not crazy calling, just enough to maybe catch a group of birds walking by....and get there reaction. then move on and wait again, but make sure you walk away from where every other hunter has been...the farther you get off the beaten path the more birds you will get into......remember turkeys move fast, so you can either get them into you quickly or you can scare them away quickly....

AND MAIN THING, BE QUIET, NO TRAIL TALKING OR LAUGHING. SAVE THE TALKING FOR WHEN YOU GET TO THE TRUCK.....TRUST ME ON THIS ONE.....AND IF YOU CAN HEAR A TURKEY, BUT CANT SEE IT AND YOU KNOW IT IS GETTING CLOSER MOST TIMES IT CAN SEE YOU SO MAKE AS LITTLE MOVEMENT AS YOU NEED TO(HOPEFULLY NONE), AND MAKE SLOW MOVEMENTS.......

HAVE FUN, AND MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SHOOTING AT, WHEN YOU PULL THE TRIGGER!

[Machias]

I would have to disagree with you.  Birds that gobble at a yotey call do not gobble, and then go, "oh crap, I just gobbled at a coyote, I'm outta here!"  I have listen to birds and coyotes go back and forth for over an hour.  The birds did not leave the area. This was well after flydown.  For me a crow call is the ticket, if I need a gobble, I can usually pull one out of a gobbler with it, but have on occassion used a coyote call.  I killed my biggest bird ever when I flushed two mallards off of a small backwoods pond.  They circled, quacking wildly, and as they got overhead of this gobbler he sounded off.  But I have used the occasional coyote call and then set up and called in a bird.

I will add this, back in my home state of MO, when the peacock call came out everyone thought it was the rage, because it worked, until everybody and their brother was blowing the thing.  The second spring it got very little reaction from the birds.  Someone up above mentioned they leave their crow call at home, I would suspect those birds in his area have been crow called to death.  Not many guys use the peacock call here, I suspect that is why it is good at pulling gobbles out of birds.  Keep in mind, I see it alot here and drives me nuts, don't be out calling before the season, these birds wise up quick.  In MO by the second week, in general, gobblers will not answer a box call.  Try a soft slate and bada bing, the silent bird a few minutes ago opens right up.  They are sensitive to pressure and over calling!!

[Coasthunterjay]

Birds that gobble at a yotey call do not gobble, and then go, "oh crap,

thats not what i was saying, i was sayig that a yote call will scare them.....and i have seen this personnaly, and then seen the turkeys that we were after running away........

[Machias]

I understood what you were saying Jay, I just don't believe turkeys associate the howls of a distant coyote with danger, in my experience.

[tlbradford]

They are sensitive to pressure and over calling!!

100% agree.  Too much of a good thing is particulary true with turkeys.  I rarely use a crow call anymore because there are a ton of crows where I hunt.  An elk chirp works well for me.  I also use a coyote chirp that has been great the past year.  I prefer a real high pitched noise to get them to shock gobble.

I have had turkeys feed close to a stand when coyote hunting on numerous occasions when I started the stand off with a howl, so at least in my areas, I have not seen turkeys run away from a coyote vocalization.

For beginners, here is a web sight with some of the best written articles on turkey hunting tactics and behavior I have come across on the web. 

http://www.trmichels.com/  Turkey Hunting Articles are about a 1/4 of the way down on the page.

T.R. Michels does his homework and explains things in a great way to help you apply it to turkey hunting.  I reread a few of my favorite articles at the beginning of each season as a refresher course. 

Alex Rutledge has some great articles on the HS Strut website as well.

[Intruder]

While I'm not sure if turkeys ever get frightened by the calls of natural predators I certainly think that turkeys can get educated to shock calls be it a crow, yote, owl, whatever.  I tend to try and be more subtle.  While I still use a crow call occasionally I tend to use duck and goose calls too. 

Kenny Morgan.... a call maker, guide, and turkey hunting author from LA. claims that using shock calls that sound like predators can scare em.  At the very least he claims that it puts them at a higher state of alert (if that's possible).  There may be something to that.... but I am convinced that they do become conditioned to a scenario where they hear a shock call and then a bunch of yelps shortly after that.  Especially if it's associated with the sound of a 4-wheeler driving around      

[rblau]

Update.

We did end up making it out to Klickitat last Saturday, but were not successful.  We neither heard nor saw any birds (except a pheasant).  I did learn a lot about the area and will be much more prepared the next time I head out there.  I was unsuccessful with a crow or owl call, so I am going to be looking into boxes an slates in the next few weeks.

While out there, I did see a small herd of elk (6) and could make out one bull.  I also saw about 10 deer.  All in all, it was good to be out in nature and learn about the area and the habitat.  There are some really nice folks out there near Lyle.  We will be heading back out towards the end of May, perhaps we will be more lucky then.

Ryan

[wastickslinger]

Jay, the whole point of a crow, owl, coyote, or whatever is to scare them into a gobble. It is called shocking. You shock them and then you take a different approach and call them in. I have killed many turkeys. I bet 50% of them were first located with a coyote. 

[bowtechforelk]

Ryan I am from SW and I have been to Klickitat a couple times. I am planning on making a trip on Saturday.

[Coasthunterjay]

well i wish you all the best of luck, with what ever locator you decide to use...........

[wastickslinger]

I agree, what ever works go with it. I have got out of my truck and slammed the door and had one gobble. After a scramble set up he was on a rope and in my lap in a matter of a few minutes. You just never know.

Jay, let me clarify about the howler. I usually give a few barks and it does the trick. I dont go off on a howling spree, unless they are roosted and I really want to make em gobble.

[tlbradford]

Jay, let me clarify about the howler. I usually give a few barks and it does the trick. I dont go off on a howling spree, unless they are roosted and I really want to make em gobble.

A "quick" sound is what I prefer, no matter what it is.  You don't want to be calling when you should be listening.  wastickslinger, what are you doing slamming your door?