COMPETITION CALLING VERSUS CALLING DURING A HUNT

Cluck and Purr and the Assembly Call

EDITOR'S NOTE: Chris Parrish of Centralia, Missouri, has entered turkey-calling contests for 19 years and has hunted wild turkeys for 24 years. The winner of five Grand National Turkey Calling Championships, four World Turkey Calling Championships, two Mid-American Turkey Calling Championships, the U.S Open, 10 Missouri State Championships, two Illinois State Championships and many regional titles, Parrish won the 2002 Mossy Oak/World Turkey Calling Championship.

QUESTION: When do you use the cluck and purr?
ANSWER: I give this series of calls on stage almost exactly like I give it when I'm hunting. Clucking and purring is a very contented and very soft call. I'll very softly roll the call over into a purr and then cluck a few times after the purr. I believe I have a real advantage if the stage has leaves on it. Then I can move around in those leaves and sound like a contented hen, clucking, purring, scratching and walking in the leaves.

QUESTION: And you use this call the exact same way in the woods?
ANSWER: Yes, I'll give this call the same way in the woods. I will use this call when a gobbler comes in and hangs up at 50-60 yards expecting the hen to come to him. I'll cluck, purr, and scratch in the leaves to make the gobbler think I'm a contented hen not very excited so he will come closer and show me what a proud bird he is. I'll also use this call when I see the gobbler is with hens. I want that flock of turkeys to think I'm just another hen on the outskirts of the flock feeding. Then the flock will move over to where I am to possibly feed on the same thing I'm feeding on. This is also a very effective call to use late in the season when you are hunting gobblers who have had a lot of hunting pressure.

QUESTION: What is the assembly call and how do you use it in competition?
ANSWER: The assembly call is a call given by a hen when she is trying to reassemble a scattered flock. I will usually give this call in competition the same way I would give it in the woods. The assembly call is basically a series of yelps. The yelps are given with a lot of authority, feeling, and pleading. I'll start off with some very soft high notes then build the call into some aggressive yelping. I'll try and make the tone of the call deeper. Then I'll give the call with some higher pitched notes like a hen that is about to run out of air before she finishes her call. And, I won't vary this call at all when I'm using it in the woods.

TOMORROW: PARRISH'S FAVORITE CALL