MASTERING TURKEY TALK WITH WILBUR PRIMOS

The Yelp, The Cluck and The Putt

EDITOR'S NOTE: Turkey hunters understand the basic language of turkeys, but perhaps not the subtleties of that language. Often the subtle variations in the volume, rhythm and pitch of a turkey's call mean just as much as the kind of call it is. Sometimes these variations may mean even more. The most skillful turkey hunters -- the masters of the sport -- know how to add these subtleties to their calling. This week, avid deer and turkey hunter, Wilbur Primos of Jackson, Mississippi, the founder of Primos Game Calls, will share some of his secrets to use turkey talk effectively to attract even the most stubborn birds.

The Yelp:
In meaning, the yelp is probably the most-complicated turkey call. The yelp can be a coy, contented call that a hen gives when she walks around feeding on grass, bugs or acorns. A hen giving this contented yelp is like a woman saying, "I know you're over there, and I know you think you're hot stuff. But you don't flip my switch at all." The yelp can also be an excited invitation to a gobbler. This excited yelp is like the response a woman may give when she's waited for an hour and the telephone finally rings. She'll grab it and say, "Where have you been? I've been waiting for you!" Both these types of yelps will call a gobbler into gun range. The contented yelp may bring a gobbler in just as quickly as the excited yelp -- often even quicker. Many gobblers are like certain men. When a female is coy, they just have to come running to show off their stuff. They assume that if the hen can actually see what she's missing, she'll be much more excited. So they often fall for that coy, contented yelp.

Yet another type is what I call the prospecting yelp. This is the call a hen gives when she's just trying to locate a gobbler. You can use it a few times while walking down a logging road or over a ridge, just to let a gobbler know that you're in his area and that you're available. This signals to the tom in much the same way as a woman walking down the street in a short red dress signals to men. When a gobbler answers your prospecting yelp, then you can decide whether to call him in with the coy, contented yelp, or the excited, come-on-over-big-boy kind of yelp.

The Cluck:
Turkeys cluck for various reasons. There's a contented cluck the hen gives when she's out in a field chasing grasshoppers or other insects. Then there's the cluck that means real excitement, which the hen gives in a series when a tom gobbles. This excited cluck can get hunters into trouble. If a hunter doesn't know how to give it properly, or if a turkey misinterprets it, it can sound like a putt. Actually, the putt is a variation of the cluck, but the putt means "Danger! Get out of here." To prove this point, I once played a turkey-calling tape to a yard full of turkey poults. Every one of them took off and hid, because for some reason they interpreted the cluck as a putt. To tell the difference between the cluck and the putt, notice the pitch and the sharpness of the call. If it's high-pitched and very sharp, it's a putt. If it's not so high-pitched and has a flatter sound, then it's a cluck. There's a fine line between the cluck and the putt. For that reason, I never use a cluck to call a gobbler unless I follow it with a series of yelps. Then there can be no mistaking the call, because no hen is going to putt and then yelp. If I want to use only a couple of really excited clucks, I'll always throw in one or two yelps at the end. That way I won't frighten off the gobbler.

The Putt:
The putt is the alarm call and is given when a turkey is upset or frightened. It sounds like a pair of 2 x 4s being slapped together. I've seen turkeys putt at snakes. I've seen them putt and leave a field when a deer walks into it. I've watched a turkey walk toward a hunter, see his silhouette, give one or two putts and walk off. The hunter didn't even move. The turkey didn't know exactly what the silhouette was but realized something wasn't right. If the bird had seen the hunter move, he probably would have given several excited putts and either flown or run off.

TOMORROW: THE KEE-KEE RUN, THE GOBBLE AND DRUMMING