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School Me on Turkeys! Going to Kansas

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    School Me on Turkeys! Going to Kansas

    As my previous thread says. My kid brother is graduating high school in May, and I wanted to take him on a bowhunt before he heads off to college. Ive lined us up on a Turkey hunt up there with a landowner I know. I went a couple of years back and shot two nice toms but did so over corn. We are not against this to get him on one this trip because he has never even seen a turkey, but we would like to try some calling and/or decoying first.

    Other than shooting those two at a corn feeder I do not have experience turkey hunting. With our schedules we are going to have to go early so we will be there the first weekend of the archery season. We will be able to actually hunt April 14-16th.

    Is a box call my best bet for a beginner? Can you call them in this early? Is a decoy effective and if so what decoy do I need this early tom/jake/hen?

    I really appreciate any info guys!

    #2
    I would try to learn their patterns as they will be in a routine and likely to still have several toms in one group. Calling would be good this time of year but you will have to figure out how aggressive to call or not. Soft calling may be just as good.

    Its tough to really "know" what to do until you get there and figure out the turkeys mindset. My main advice, get a pop up, set up on their routine highway, call in the first part of the day, make a move if nothing happens and get on a gobbling bird. Get yourself an instructional CD (primos makes one) with a mouth call and practice in your vehicle....all this time. You will get the hang of it, trust me. Also, Lynch fool proof box call is a good box call for the beginner. Keep it calked and do not get it wet.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by MVD View Post
      I would try to learn their patterns as they will be in a routine and likely to still have several toms in one group. Calling would be good this time of year but you will have to figure out how aggressive to call or not. Soft calling may be just as good.

      Its tough to really "know" what to do until you get there and figure out the turkeys mindset. My main advice, get a pop up, set up on their routine highway, call in the first part of the day, make a move if nothing happens and get on a gobbling bird. Get yourself an instructional CD (primos makes one) with a mouth call and practice in your vehicle....all this time. You will get the hang of it, trust me. Also, Lynch fool proof box call is a good box call for the beginner. Keep it calked and do not get it wet.
      Good advice ! I would suggest just a hen decoy unless you think you're truly on a dominant gobbler. Young gobblers seem to shy away from any male dekes.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by MVD View Post
        I would try to learn their patterns as they will be in a routine and likely to still have several toms in one group. Calling would be good this time of year but you will have to figure out how aggressive to call or not. Soft calling may be just as good.

        Its tough to really "know" what to do until you get there and figure out the turkeys mindset. My main advice, get a pop up, set up on their routine highway, call in the first part of the day, make a move if nothing happens and get on a gobbling bird. Get yourself an instructional CD (primos makes one) with a mouth call and practice in your vehicle....all this time. You will get the hang of it, trust me. Also, Lynch fool proof box call is a good box call for the beginner. Keep it calked and do not get it wet.
        I'm assuming the calk is something you can buy separate?

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Justin Spies View Post
          I'm assuming the calk is something you can buy separate?
          I believe he meant to say chalk. You use chalk on the areas that contact each other when making the clucks and yelps. Keeps your call sounding right. A slate call is easy to use also. Keep your calling to a minimum and only use it to get them coming your way. If they're coming, I quit calling until it's obvious that they have quit coming. Too much calling can put them off. Be assured that once they hear the call, they know exactly where you are !

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            #6
            Originally posted by Drycreek3189 View Post
            I believe he meant to say chalk. You use chalk on the areas that contact each other when making the clucks and yelps. Keeps your call sounding right. A slate call is easy to use also. Keep your calling to a minimum and only use it to get them coming your way. If they're coming, I quit calling until it's obvious that they have quit coming. Too much calling can put them off. Be assured that once they hear the call, they know exactly where you are !
            Is slate or box better for a beginner?

            Comment


              #7
              I can only give experience based on my turkey hunting in South Texas:

              1. If you don't know the property well try to get out the night before your first morning hunt (at sunset) and determine where the turkeys are roosting. You can use an owl or crow call and the turkeys will usually respond. Start looking in areas where there are very large trees; that's where turkeys will want to roost.
              2. When I hunt I get in the general area the turkeys are coming from before the first light from sunrise comes over the horizon. Keep LST in mind, but the turkeys usually get down early and start calling just a quick to start trying to find there hens. You want to try to get the toms attention before he can find a hen. No matter how hard I have tried, nothing beats the real thing. If a hen intercepts your tom's course or gets his attention it will be more difficult.
              3. I have used decoys in the past, but I don't know if they work or I've just been lucky. I will be trying a hunt this spring without decoys to see if there is a difference.
              4. Hunting early in the season has produced the best results for me. Toms haven't gotten locked down on hens yet and they tend to respond better. (but usually only first thing in the morning)
              5. Cover is your friend. Keep all body parts covered, and sit in a pop-up or under the "shade" of low hanging limbs to better conceal you. Personally I don't like using pop-ups because if the turkeys aren't used to them I assume it would deter them. (This is an assumption as I have never personally tried)
              6. Watch out for coyotes. They hone in on a turkey call pretty well, and this past spring I had 2 at 10 yards (they came up from behind me and ended up next to me) before I could see them and run them off.
              7. I like using multiple calls to sound like different birds. You can use 2 box calls, box and slate, I don't think it matters, but variation seems to help.
              8. When you first start calling in the morning, start soft. There could be a turkey closer than you think. Most important is to keep your call volume respective to the distance of your turkey. Farther is louder, closer softer. And less can very often be more. If I call and a tom responds, then I call back. If his gobbles start to become less frequent, then I slow down respectively. Again, if you call and don't get a response for a few minutes start calling quietly again. Toms seem to cover a lot of ground when they want to and you don't want to spook him by blasting away on a call when he is within 75 yards. (Just because you can't see him doesn't mean a real hen wouldn't have)
              9. Lastly, be patient and listen to the birds. You can learn a lot quickly by listening to what they "tell" you.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by macguyverberry View Post
                I can only give experience based on my turkey hunting in South Texas:

                1. If you don't know the property well try to get out the night before your first morning hunt (at sunset) and determine where the turkeys are roosting. You can use an owl or crow call and the turkeys will usually respond. Start looking in areas where there are very large trees; that's where turkeys will want to roost.
                2. When I hunt I get in the general area the turkeys are coming from before the first light from sunrise comes over the horizon. Keep LST in mind, but the turkeys usually get down early and start calling just a quick to start trying to find there hens. You want to try to get the toms attention before he can find a hen. No matter how hard I have tried, nothing beats the real thing. If a hen intercepts your tom's course or gets his attention it will be more difficult.
                3. I have used decoys in the past, but I don't know if they work or I've just been lucky. I will be trying a hunt this spring without decoys to see if there is a difference.
                4. Hunting early in the season has produced the best results for me. Toms haven't gotten locked down on hens yet and they tend to respond better. (but usually only first thing in the morning)
                5. Cover is your friend. Keep all body parts covered, and sit in a pop-up or under the "shade" of low hanging limbs to better conceal you. Personally I don't like using pop-ups because if the turkeys aren't used to them I assume it would deter them. (This is an assumption as I have never personally tried)
                6. Watch out for coyotes. They hone in on a turkey call pretty well, and this past spring I had 2 at 10 yards (they came up from behind me and ended up next to me) before I could see them and run them off.
                7. I like using multiple calls to sound like different birds. You can use 2 box calls, box and slate, I don't think it matters, but variation seems to help.
                8. When you first start calling in the morning, start soft. There could be a turkey closer than you think. Most important is to keep your call volume respective to the distance of your turkey. Farther is louder, closer softer. And less can very often be more. If I call and a tom responds, then I call back. If his gobbles start to become less frequent, then I slow down respectively. Again, if you call and don't get a response for a few minutes start calling quietly again. Toms seem to cover a lot of ground when they want to and you don't want to spook him by blasting away on a call when he is within 75 yards. (Just because you can't see him doesn't mean a real hen wouldn't have)
                9. Lastly, be patient and listen to the birds. You can learn a lot quickly by listening to what they "tell" you.
                Very helpful. Thank You for the info and good luck to you.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Just take a stick, they are dumb and easy to kill.


                  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Christianhuff View Post
                    Just take a stick, they are dumb and easy to kill.


                    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                    We are taking pointy sticks!!!

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Justin Spies View Post
                      We are taking pointy sticks!!!


                      Those will work even better.


                      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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                        #12
                        Sorry....CHALK, haha, and yes, you can find chalk close by any turkey call section of academy or bass pro.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          there everywhere. i live here and there come in early morning and then again at around 330 to 4. they'll scare the heck out of you if you walk under them roosting in a tree.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Rakkasan2187 View Post
                            there everywhere. i live here and there come in early morning and then again at around 330 to 4. they'll scare the heck out of you if you walk under them roosting in a tree.
                            What part of the state do you live?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Rakkasan2187 View Post
                              there everywhere. i live here and there come in early morning and then again at around 330 to 4. they'll scare the heck out of you if you walk under them roosting in a tree.
                              This is a true story lmao me and a buddy were walking to a box blind just outside of Hico one season and our path led us directly under a big roost tree. Only we didn't know that before this moment. We get just under the tree and all h*ll broke loose!!!! All kinds of racket and had no idea what was going on at first. Just knew we were under attack lol my buddy had his rifle resting on his shoulder when this happened and he just started squeezing off rounds into the air lol thankfully nobody caught any stray rounds and you would be pleased to know no birds were harmed lol scared the bejeezus out of us both but him blasting away over his shoulder is a story he will never live down lmao

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