Atoler,

There is a lot of debate on this forum about calling and how helpful it is in killing turkeys. I'm sure you know as any turkey hunter knows, there are a whole bunch of different things that you can to help you kill a turkey (knowledge of the land, set up, woodsmanship, when to move and when not to move etc.) any of which can come in handy in different circumstances. However in saying that when I was younger I did dabble a little bit in the contest calling and people on here are exactly right in that contest and hunting are two completely different things. However, practicing for contest did help me a ton not necessarily in my contests but in knowing how to really work your call and make all sorts of sounds on a call. I'll be the first to admit that contest calling does not sound like realistic turkeys in my opinion and the only true way to sound like a turkey is to watch and listen to the vocalizations of turkeys in the wild. Because many of us have jobs and are busy we only have a limited amount of time in the woods and that can be hard to do, however I have found that the Denny Gulvas DVD's that you can order through Midwest turkey supply are some of the absolute best dvd's that you can watch and learn to help you understanding the sounds and vocalizations of turkeys in the wild. Watching those DVD's has really helped my calling and helped me to sound more realistic in the woods. If you take time to watch those DVD's and really study the cadences and vocalizations of a turkey along with a lot of time with a call in your mouth, it will help a lot. Although calling is just a small part of turkey hunting and I learn something every time I go in the woods, I truly like to have as may tools in the tool box when trying to outsmart and old gobbler and I truly believe that practicing and paying a lot of attention to turkey vocalizations has helped me tote a few more back to the truck than would have otherwise. (sorry for the long post)