Does anybody have any tips for how to call 'em in? Thanks and Gig 'em in advance.

Looking to bag my first bird this year.

Easy answer for me is decoys. I had a lot of success without them, but they really help increase the odds of bringing in shy birds.

Thanks! I got me a decoy, and a mouth call, but I don't know what I'm doing with the call. I guess I need to practice.

I followed this channel a while back.

Start with a box call, much easier.
Learn a basic yelp, 3-7 notes. Call sparingly
Wear camo head to toe.
Be still. Be patient. Hunt the edges of fields and don't move around very 10 minutes. Gobblers can and will come in silently on occasion.
Full choke in your shotgun, #5 shot & pattern your shotgun first.
Locate gobblers the night before by locating them on the roost with a shock gobble by using a barred owl call. Or a car door.
Set up a decoy as others have mentioned.

There's a ton to be said about hunting turkeys. Just get out and do it.

The feeder calls them in, they usually show up around 9:30 or 10 a.m.

Apache said:

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Start with a box call, much easier.
Learn a basic yelp, 3-7 notes. Call sparingly
Wear camo head to toe.
Be still. Be patient. Hunt the edges of fields and don't move around very 10 minutes. Gobblers can and will come in silently on occasion.
Full choke in your shotgun, #5 shot & pattern your shotgun first.
Locate gobblers the night before by locating them on the roost with a shock gobble by using a barred owl call. Or a car door.
Set up a decoy as others have mentioned.

There's a ton to be said about hunting turkeys. Just get out and do it.

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this is great advice

add a slate call and scratch the surface up good - it is the easiest call to make sound good imho

Buy a couple of different shape mouth calls to find one that fits your palette. Practice morning and night on your drive to and from work - ignore the weird looks you will get at stops lights

Apache's advice about calling sparingly can't be over stated. When a bird answers you, it is a blast to keep calling when he answers you immediately. But the more you call, the more the bird thinks you are coming to him - that is what hens normally do. If you call sparingly, they will eventually come looking for you. I finally learned to get quiet after they answered - if they ever gobble after you stop calling and they are closer , you have them.

Just be prepared to get addicted

I just sit on my front porch and wait. Lik clockwork!

Yep, they're not the smartest animals out there to hunt.

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Yep, they're not the smartest animals out there to hunt.

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I definitely would not say they are "smart", but they are not easy to hunt with a shotgun when calling them in. Much more challenging (and fun IMO) than how the average Texan hunts whitetail.

Doc Hayworth said:

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Yep, they're not the smartest animals out there to hunt.

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That'll make me feel dumb if I don't get one.

I confess that I call more often than sparingly, but it still works well. If I have a tom hang up and get stubborn, I move away and call again. Obviously, it has to be a situation where you are not visible to him. This technique gets them over my neighbor's high fence, which is always a goal just for fun.

Truthfully, you have to read the situation. Sometimes calling more often works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes crows help cause a shock gobble, and sometimes mockingbirds answer a yelp with a yelp. A good yelp call is something that you obviously need to be able to make, but a good, slow series of perts (which is a round up call) can be the most effective. If hens arrive to your calls, they will show you how to pert.

If the tom you are working finds a real hen first, be patient. He will get horny again once he finishes his cigarette.

Can't wait for Saturday!

Apache said:

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Yep, they're not the smartest animals out there to hunt.

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I definitely would not say they are "smart", but they are not easy to hunt with a shotgun when calling them in. Much more challenging (and fun IMO) than how the average Texan hunts whitetail.

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this is usually posted by deer hunters who shoot turkeys from under a corn feeder - which isn't turkey hunting imho - that's just collecting camp meat

AgDad121619 said:

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Apache said:

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Yep, they're not the smartest animals out there to hunt.

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I definitely would not say they are "smart", but they are not easy to hunt with a shotgun when calling them in. Much more challenging (and fun IMO) than how the average Texan hunts whitetail.

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this is usually posted by deer hunters who shoot turkeys from under a corn feeder - which isn't turkey hunting imho - that's just collecting camp meat

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Burn! Lol not an option for me. I would if I could though.

Echo the other responses that less is more on calling. Decoys are a must, turkeys see extremely well. If you can get out the evening before that can be super helpful. Toms will sometimes work up some elevation, and then call at the roost they are going to. We have a hill next to a pond from where it was dug out. Otherwise flat creek bottom. That spot is always a great place to do some evening scouting to see if they are in the area.

Last year I had them fly into my decoys in that spot from the roost like a pair of ducks. Had to tamp down my duck hunter instincts and let them land and work around some first

How much land do you have available to hunt? I cut my turkey teeth in the east Texas national forests and a 1200 acre ranch in hill country so I spend most of my time running and calling to locate birds. When I went to Alabam and was hunting much smaller properties, I was moving way too much and kept bumping birds. Size of property also plays into decoy use - you don't want to haul around a big bag of lifelike decoys if you are walking continuously and I don't use decoys on public land for safety reasons - good way to get a faceful of lead from another hunter

MrWonderful said:

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Echo the other responses that less is more on calling. Decoys are a must, turkeys see extremely well. If you can get out the evening before that can be super helpful. Toms will sometimes work up some elevation, and then call at the roost they are going to. We have a hill next to a pond from where it was dug out. Otherwise flat creek bottom. That spot is always a great place to do some evening scouting to see if they are in the area.

Last year I had them fly into my decoys in that spot from the roost like a pair of ducks. Had to tamp down my duck hunter instincts and let them land and work around some first

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Having a turkey come off the roost right on top of you like that is incredible!
I've only hunted them a few times, and had that happen once. I was turned just enough that I couldn't get my gun up without spooking him. Called a couple of times and drew him back around though!

AgDad121619 said:

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How much land do you have available to hunt? I cut my turkey teeth in the east Texas national forests and a 1200 acre ranch in hill country so I spend most of my time running and calling to locate birds. When I went to Alabam and was hunting much smaller properties, I was moving way too much and kept bumping birds. Size of property also plays into decoy use - you don't want to haul around a big bag of lifelike decoys if you are walking continuously and I don't use decoys on public land for safety reasons - good way to get a faceful of lead from another hunter

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I have a few friends who will let me go. One is 100 acres over half pasture.

The other is even more land, but mostly wooded with a few clearings.

I'm sitting on 5 acres myself with a creek behind my house as the property line. I can go behind my house any time I want. I've got a deer blind near the creek. I've seen turkey near my place but never on my place. I think my dogs scare the turkeys but they are pinned up near the barn.

MrWonderful said:

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Decoys are a must

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Oh please.

I guess I've done it all wrong without dekes and just a diaphragm call.

SanAntoneAg said:

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MrWonderful said:

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Decoys are a must

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Oh please.

I guess I've done it all wrong without dekes and just a diaphragm call.

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Same. I hate dragging dekes around. Hardly ever use them.

Although, I did set one up once. Shortly thereafter, I started my normal walkabout hunt. Came back, and some poor blue-balled tom had cut the deke in half spurring it.

SanAntoneAg said:

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MrWonderful said:

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Decoys are a must

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Oh please.

I guess I've done it all wrong without dekes and just a diaphragm call.

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You can make it harder on yourself if you want, the three pack of foam turkey decoys for 40 bucks that weigh all of 2 pounds is worth it to me. Any time I'm calling an animal of any species that I need within 20-40yds of me, I'd like to have something for them to look at that isn't me.

You should see how many duck decoys I put out, would really get you going.

"Same. I hate dragging dekes around. Hardly ever use them."

Agree. But they should work well for OP with the land he has available to hunt - they are great if you aren't running and gunning

I have 2 hen dekes. They're very life-like. Love the way they look.

Any thoughts on how to position them? The hens I've caught on game cam aren't very close knit.

My thought is to just place them in 2 different spots where they are visible to the area where I expect the Toms to be.

Decoys are not "musts" but they sure make things easier & for that reason I'd recommend using one for the OP.

Afternoon visitors.

Ha! Just ribbing you.

I usually use a half dozen duck dekes…

What's the posture of your dekes? If you have a lead hen or a lookout, I typically set them closer into me. For instance, if I'm just back from the edge of a sendero or field edge, I place them so they're looking out into field with their back to me as if they just came from where I'm calling from. Don't think it matters so much with feeders, except that if I have an idea of where the Tom is coming from, I like more of the deke visible to the Tom so I'd place them broadside to where I think he's coming in. With a breeder or lay down hen, I'd set them broadside to me for a better shot and so he's not facing me. Just my $.02

Have had much success with both dekes and no dekes. Listen to the birds as you call them (sparingly). If I hear a gobble off my call I wait a couple minutes and call again. If he sounds like he's in the same spot try to figure out where that would be(flat open areas where the post up and strut). If so try to close the distance a bit then set up. Far better to stop and set up too far away than spook him so take your time, go 30-40 yards at a time and figure him out. If they're coming at you on the second gobble get your **** set and saddle up. Good luck!

Call 1/4th as much as you think you should. Curiosity kills the cat.

Sit in blind with cooler of cold beers. Place speaker on blind front and call through app on phone.

They come running!