This forum.....

Ain’t what it used to be. I’m tired of hearing about baiting and decoys and TSS and bottomland camouflage.

Here is a real turkey question...... do you ever call to a turkey in a tree and if so how and why?

I'll do a few tree yelps and sometimes a fly down to let him know I'm there, but other than that I'm not saying anything until he's on the ground.

Yes. Just loud enough he knows I’m there and to kill him.

Depends on how close I am and which way I think he wants to go. In the ideal situation, I'm under 100 yards, and in the direction he wants to go. In that case, no calling until his feet hit the dirt

What about early season with hens in play?

Ill give a few soft tree yelps just loud enough to hear typically then wait till I know he is on the ground for anything else

Nope. Just shine the light in his eyes and limb launch him. No calling at all needed.

If i call it probbly be a few soft clucks and purrs, then id fly down an sit there an scratch an listen an see what he do when he hits the dirt...may need to take evasive action

I'll generally give a few soft yelps off my old lynch box. But late last year a good friend I hunt with got kinda pissy when I'd do that. It's been the downfall of quite a few birds in my lifetime.

just enough to let him know where I am.

Depends on the hens.....

That box wouldn’t know what a “soft yelp” was if it got knocked in the head with one

Yea I guess maybe one day I'll finally figure out how to kill a turkey. Shame I didn't grow up in the turkey woods like some did

Like others have said depends on the bird, where I think he’ll go, where any hens may be, & how I feel that morning.

I start by owl hooting at the truck. Then I hoot and crow call until I’m within 100 yards of him. I then sit down and start cutting real loud. When I think he is on the ground I start purring really loud and gobbling. Then I get up and head to work. At night I just have a few beers and get on forums like this and give turkey hunting advice.😀

Soft clucks and yelps early then a fly down if there are hens close by. I want him to think I'm the first hen on the ground and hopefully he'll fly down in my direction.

Hens talk, I talk. They quiet, I’m quieter. Works occasionally.....

Tree yelps and a fly down generally. Ive played the quiet game too much to have them fly down with another hen and go the other way before I can play catch up. Usually it works out in my favor.

Hahahaha!

I agree. There is a wealth of knowledge held close at heart by the members of ALdeer. Experience, tips and tactics that would benefit many members and allow them to become more successful hunters. But, I'm reminded of PCP's the read about posting pics and stories of successful big deer harvests, probably ain't gonna happen. The most we will get is a question posted by A7F, if a bird falls shot off the limb, will anybody hear it?

I agree with original post all folks want to talk about is TSS and patterns.

Depends on the bird, but there's plenty of times where I get a bird shonuff fired up while he's on the limb, then go quiet.

Only after he gobbles a few times. 1 soft sequence. Less is more...

I match the hens. If no hens one before flydown to let him know where I'm is.

Depends on the camo pattern I am wearing. If it's Obsession, I just walk right up to the tree and shoot him as soon as his feet leave the branch. No calling even necessary.

Everyone is saying the right things now, but how many of you are just playing follow the leader and how many had to learn the hard way? I never had anyone teach me how to turkey hunt. I went a few times with high school friends that could call, but they didn’t know jack about turkey hunting. I spent a lot of years yelping at them bastards up in a tree. It’s hard not too, when you don’t know any better and that thing keeps gobbling at every noise you make. You just know he’s gonna land in your lap any second....only to see he likes the other direction 99% of the time. Heck, I’ve done the same thing on the ground a bunch, over calling till they disappear. I’ve also been on birds 100 times where they go silent, I get impatient or bored and get up to move on and get to hear a putting turkey hauling arse out of there. So BrentM, there is another topic... how many will admit that they can’t shut up or be patient? I don’t know how many turkeys I’ve killed, but I would guess it is somewhere around 150. It helps a bunch when you get to travel to several states where you can stack them up quick. But even with a fair number of birds killed, I will continue to make a lot of the same mistakes over and over again. But yelping at them in a tree for 2 hours, isn’t one of them. I’ll just belly crawl closer with a fan and limb launch him with some TSS!

I've lost the battle more times than I'd like to admit. My father was big deer hunter so I wasn't introduced to turkey hunting until my early teens. I've learned everything I know the hard way with a few tips from folks here and there. To me that's what so neat about turkey hunting. I can give you all the tips you need but most situational stuff can't be taught. You either luck up or learn the hard way. I love it.

Depends on if I hear hens and where they are

I want to be the first hen he hears, however it depends on the morning and how active everything is

Depends on a wide variety of things. But... Yes.

The main reason this forum has changed I think is when someone gets on here and asks a question, everybody’s answer is “look at the sticky at the top”. Delete that thread and i think some discussion would return. Or just edit it to say “you must have a 50/50 pattern with tss, corn is not legal within 20 miles of you, and decoys work all the time, sometimes”. That may just shut it down totally.

I'll admit to being impatient. Never been worth a damn at deer hunting them. I move until I strike one. Now, once I've been answered a single time, I can sit for hours if need be.

As for calling to them in a tree. I think people let a lot of killable birds walk off by taking the "no calling to a bird on the roost" "don't overcall" tips, to an extreme. There's a difference between aggressive calling and over calling. There's times to be silent, and there's times to throw the kitchen sink at them. There's never a time to call constantly over extended periods of time.

Even though I killed one last year, I have realized that I don't know much about turkey hunting, and how to do it right.

I still aint no count...guess ill just have to keep practicin

Glad I don't turkey hunt.

Great post...I never even got invited by friends and had to learn what turkeys sounded like listening to a Ben Rogers Lee Cassette...Heck, the first couple of times I tried to blow a mouth call, I had the diaphragm backwards and no wonder I couldn't get a sound out! I have ruined too many hunts to count and even walked off on the first bird I called in that was drumming because I didn't know what that sound was and thought the bird had left! Patience is the number one thing I have had to work on and more birds are being called in/killed due to becoming more patient, using less calling, and learning better set up strategies. I do like to give a lil tree yelp to one on roost, but I hunt super aggressively and have no problem slipping as close as I can to the roost...If he gobbles at that, I'll put the call down...I may do a flydown just with my hat and no call sometimes, and sometimes I'll even do a cackle with it...It varies on how I read the birds to be acting/their mood...Like you said, I ain't gonna sit there and yelp for 2 hours with em in a tree just to hear them!

To answer Brent's question... Depends and I'd just like to have the opportunity to make the wrong decision another time this year

Are we talking push over private land birds or WMA birds that are called to 7 days a week?

“Pushover private land birds” hahahaha, I’m in 3 different hunting clubs, private leased land. Each club has a few dedicated turkey killers. Trust me, they aren’t pushovers.

yea I have 6 turkey hunters in one club thats only 1k acres, most people couldn't buy a turkey on that place.

I hunt almost solely management areas. With that being said, I aint gonna talk about how I kill my birds

I may be wrong, but I think if those fellers were really dedicated turkey killers , those turkeys wouldn't live long enough to get very sharp.

You're not wrong pal!!

That all depends on the situation. Like is he facing the opposite direction fixing to pitch on the other side of a body of water or something. I'll fly down cackle if a bunch of hens are involved mainly to piss them off and get them to head/pitch toward me. Having a good fly down can be a deadly thing especially on light pressured birds. Must of the time old long spur ain't gonna fall for it but if he does you'll make it to work on time.

Yep private land birds ain't always a push over. Like my situation my birds have been keeping up with the Kardashians or something because they are freaking gay.

Lol.

I’m not as accomplished turkey hunter as many on here but Mr. Ezell told me years ago that if you weren’t saying some real specific to him, keep your mouth shut. I try and remember that. But I will occasionally call depending on the situation. With a tree full of hens around I typically keep my mouth shut until I can determine if I’m going to be in the game or not.

I guess this is to answer both BrentM and foldemup questions. The first several years (started in 2010 or 2011) I turkey hunted I was on my own and learning the hard way. I called if I heard a turkey gobble, if he answered I'd call more.....didn't have much success. It was just too hard to not call when I was being answered. I called too often and most likely too loud. I've had the opportunity to hunt with some turkey killers over the past 4-5 years and learned a lot about when to call and the volume of the calling. I've not had a lot of success on birds early in the mornings being quiet or calling. Most of the birds I've had in range are between 0830 and 1200. Overall, I just realize I'm not a turkey killer but it's still enjoyable to be in the god's outdoors and look for deer sign/sheds.

I’ll be the one to say it........ most people that kill turkeys right off the roost early season are doing so because they happen to be sitting in a green patch that gobblers and hens have already been pitching out into or going to first thing in the morning ever since before the season opened.
I’d rather hear a turkey Gobble a couple times on the ground than 100 times in a tree

I'll take em as the opportunity presents itself
I don't care if they gobble or not.
hunting is hunting.

Shitstirring is always fun on a Friday afternoon.

Land mines and trip wires?

Yep ya caught me

It's hard to get to the birds when you bury your 4 wheeler in a muddy spot in the road.

Ah shut up and get dressed for your date with perchjerker.

Funny!

I NEVER call while he in ina tree. I will scratch to let him know I'm here. Less is more when talking to a nice mature PBT

You are correct they don’t last very long.

no I just low crawls over to the tree and get in pre-blast position

I like to do some calling to them on the limb for sure.

Scrape a tree a little with a wing or my hat , then a few soft yelps like a hen waking up and moving around on the limb.

Even if they are hammering at me, Ill still wait a little while and then do the same thing.

If they gobble at the "wing" the next time that I do it and before I call..It is ON. That joker is usually a lone crazy 2 yr old bird looking to die.

If they hit the call instead of the wing , Ill do a it again a few times...little wing brushing then a few soft tree yelps. Letting him know Im still here and interested if he is. If hes an old bird hes played this game before so I tone it down.

If I hear a hen fly down, I flydown cackle right away, flapping my wing or hat against my leg and get my gun up. I hate when they follow a hen away.
If I dont hear one, Ill fly down cackle when I think its time and can see well enough to shoot and aim at my decoys and wait and see what happens.

Ive flown many gobblers down right after a flydown cackle. I also like to do 3 -4 flydowns, some with 1 -2 cackles,..but most with just my wing or hat. Then some light clucking when I hit the ground, like a hen shaking off the night.

I like to call on the limb at them to let them know where I am, that im interested, and to take their temperature and see just how hot they are.

My actions after that solely depend on theirs.

My problem is generally setting up on one while he is still roosted. If I do get set up on a roosted turkey I usually always do some light tree talk.