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John's Journal... Entry 76, Day 1

The Biggest Mistake Turkey Hunters Make

click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Eddie Salter of Evergreen, Alabama, makes his living as a professional hunter, caller and seminar speaker. He's a longtime, personal friend and has helped me learn how to hunt turkeys more effectively. Salter works with Hunter's Specialties.

Question: Eddie, what's the biggest mistake most turkey hunters make when they go in the woods and hear a turkey gobbling in the morning?
Answer: A lot of times turkey hunters call too much to a bird on a roost and get the bird all worked-up. Then that tom will sit up there waiting on the hen to come to him. I always suggest you do a little bit of tree calling and wait for the tom to hit the ground before you feed him a lot of cutting. That's when I get excited. I think some of my success when turkey hunting has come because I always wait until the bird hits the ground before I try to pump him up and get him excited.

click to enlargeQuestion: So, one of the mistakes that turkey hunters make is calling to a tom too much when he's on the roost gobbling, right?
Answer: That is correct.

Question: Now the other thing that happens if you're hunting on public lands is you sometimes call in other hunters if you make a tom on the roost gobble a lot, don't you?
click to enlargeAnswer: You do, and I always try to stress that when I'm doing seminars. But, if, you've got a bird gobbling, especially on public grounds, I think in early season you need to be aggressive. What I mean by aggressive is if you start calling that bird and he cuts your call off, then that bird is telling you he's very killable. So many times hunters will sit and call and call, instead of being aggressive and perhaps using a crow call to make that tom gobble and then move on that bird. After 25-30 minutes if he's cutting your call off before you complete it, he'll end up gobbling up another hunter or a hen. Then you'll be sitting there and thinking you've messed-up because you've called too much or maybe think your call wasn't good. Actually, that didn't have anything to do with the fact that the turkey didn't come. He simply gobbled up a hen or another hunter because you sat there and made him gobble.

Tomorrow: How Many Calls Do You Need for Turkey Hunting

 

 

 

Check back each day this week for more about Eddie Salter -- Expert Turkey Caller And Hunter ...

Day 1 -The Biggest Mistake Turkey Hunters Make
Day 2 -How Many Calls Do You Need for Turkey Hunting
Day 3 -What about Decoys
Day 4 -Using Multiple Calls at One Time
Day 5 -How To Get A Hung-Up Gobbler Unhung

John's Journal