Fall Forecast: Mild to Moderate
A Chat with Bob Eriksen, NWTF director of conservation operations
Calling Fall Wild Turkeys
Q: Does a turkey respond to calls at all in the fall? If so, what kind?
— Rod Jones, Huxley, Iowa
A: Wild turkeys use their voices to communicate and are vocal throughout the year. They will respond to calling under a variety of circumstances. The classic fall scenario involves easing through the woods, locating a flock and scattering the birds. Once they are separated they will call to get back together. You can use their desire to regroup to your advantage.
Q: I’m a new turkey hunter. I’ve hunted spring turkeys but did not know how to call them. Now I will hunt fall turkeys in Cisco, Texas. Again, I’m not sure how to call. I have a box call and a rubber gobbler call that you shake. I have watched turkey shows and enjoy them.
— Steve Callaway Tyler, Texas
A: Your box call will be the best tool for the fall season. Fall turkeys can be pretty vocal and your box call can mimic many of the calls the birds make. The best fall calls using your box are lost yelps, which are a long series of plaintive yelps, or assembly calls with more “authority” than lost yelps and clucks and purrs.
The box call also can produce reasonable gobbler yelps. Gobblers yelp in short series and draw the individual yelps out so they are longer and coarser than hen yelps. Gobbler clucks are deeper and more resonant than those of hens. You might want to invest in a slate call or a diaphragm mouth call and learn to produce kee-kee runs for calling younger turkeys in the fall. Calling can work for you after you break up a flock or at times the entire flock can be called to your location. One of the best techniques is to listen to what the turkeys are saying and reply back to them using similar calls. If they are yelping loud and strong, you do the same.
Ideally you should know whether the flock you scattered consists of hens and young or old gobblers. Your calling should be tailored to the type of flock. Mixed flocks will respond to kee-kees or lost calls, lost yelps, assembly yelps and clucks and purrs. They will call frequently in many cases and at times you literally cannot call too much. Gauge your calling frequency by the frequency of their calls and make sure you sound like you are pleading with them to come your way.
Old gobblers are another ball game. They have no compelling reason to get back together other than liking company. Gobblers will wait longer than young birds and hens before calling and regrouping. Sometimes they will find each other using single clucks or one or two yelps if they call at all.
Q: Is the kee-kee the best call to use for fall hunting?
— Charles Hall, Athens, Tenn.
A: The kee-kee and kee-kee run (a kee-kee with a few yelps at the end) are great fall calls when you are dealing with flocks of hens and young turkeys. You can use this call when calling blindly after finding fresh sign or after breaking up a feeding flock. Hens will often respond vocally to kee-kees alerting you to their presence. You can produce kee-kees with a mouth call and some slate calls. A few call companies manufacture a whistle call that can be used to kee-kee.
Q: If you shock a gobbler in the fall, will he gobble?
— Glenn Key, Remington, Va.
A: Gobblers will shock gobble occasionally in the fall, but are much less likely to do so in the fall than in the spring. Crow calls and coyote howlers are probably the best options for eliciting a gobble in the fall, but don’t rely on gobbling to locate fall flocks. Instead, listen for other vocalizations, especially yelps, clucks and purrs.
Q: If you were hunting turkeys in the fall in central Florida, would you call more aggressively than if you were hunting in the spring?
— Tracy Cook, Debary, Fla.
A: Many spring hunters in Florida call sparingly, maintaining that Osceola gobblers don’t want to hear aggressive calling. The decision on the intensity of fall calling you should use depends on the composition of the flock you are trying to bring in. By composition I mean is it a flock of jakes, a flock of hens and young or a gang of old gobblers?
If you are dealing with a bunch of jakes, using aggressive assembly yelps and lost yelps can be pretty effective. Call loudly and make a few series of calls before being quiet and listening. Call frequently and throw in some aggressive purring occasionally. On rare occasions this technique will attract an old gobbler or two that you did not know were close by.
For flocks of hens and young, kee-kees and lost yelps can be attractive. Again, frequent calling can attract the flock from a distance. In general, aggressive calling will not be too productive for old gobblers scattered in the fall. They are more likely to approach aggressive calling as a group than as individuals.
Q: I’ve never given much thought to hunting turkeys in the fall before. In my part of the state, there is no fall season so I spend my time hunting deer, squirrels, doves, etc.
My uncle recently invited my boys and me to hunt some out in west-central Texas. What works best – group-type calls with decoys or just ambush them like deer (to and from roost to water, etc.)?
— Scott Dawson, Clarksville, Texas
A: There are a number of ways to approach fall turkey hunting. The thrill and challenge of turkey hunting is calling the bird(s) into range. A classic method is to move slowly using binoculars to search ahead for a feeding flock. Then, using terrain and vegetation to shield movement, the hunter attempts to approach close enough to rush the flock and scatter the birds (do not run with a loaded gun).
In west central Texas, this method might be a bit more difficult to employ given the relatively open nature of the habitat. Instead, the best method would be to locate a roost while scouting before the season and determine which way the flock moves after flying down. Avoid disturbing the birds on the roost. Rather, intercept them after they leave the roost and either “ambush” the birds or, better still, scatter them and call them back together for a shot.
If you can determine a routine for the flock another alternative would be to set up some decoys along their regular route of travel to a food source or water source and attempt to call the flock. Use your decoys to reassure them that things are okay.
Q: In the fall, which is more productive: a hen call or a gobbler call, and why?
— Gerard Labbe, Alexandria, La.
A: In the fall, the largest turkey flocks are comprised of young birds (jakes and jennies) with hens. You are more likely to encounter flocks with hens while hunting, so hen calls will likely be more effective. In addition, those mixed flocks tend to be more vocal than gobbler flocks and more responsive to calling.
Your calling should be geared to your objective. Are you concentrating on trying to call old gobblers or young birds? Is the sign you are seeing from a mixed flock or a small flock of toms? If you scattered a flock, were you able to get a good look at their tail fans to get an idea of whether you were dealing with young birds or adults?
Q: I have never hunted turkeys in the fall and I’m thinking of doing it this year. What is the best way to call them in? And which calls work the best? If I find their roost and they fly down, should I scatter them and then start calling? Thanks for your suggestions.
— Jim Cole, Bloomingburg, N.Y.
A: By all means, if you locate a roosting flock early in the morning, scatter them by running at them as they fly down or by moving noisily toward their roost. The key word here is “scatter.” You want to startle the birds enough to make them flush in all directions. If they fly off as a group, your work is not done. Go after them and try to flush them again. When the birds flush, take careful note of the size of the birds, look at their tail fans to determine whether you are dealing with adult or juvenile (young of the year) turkeys and settle down near where they scattered.
You also should determine, if possible, whether the flock was composed of gobblers or hens and juveniles. Once the birds are scattered, set up against a large tree to break up your outline and rely on your camouflage to hide you. Wait for 15 to 20 minutes before calling a mixed flock or a gang of jakes. In general older gobblers will not call for more than an hour — sometimes much longer. When you get a response, pattern your calling after the calls the birds are making. Lost yelps, assembly yelps and kee-kee runs are the most commonly used calls. Scattered turkeys also will respond to clucks and purrs.
