I have always refrained from yelping unless I am hunting to avoid educating gobblers, but it sure is tempting sometimes.

I actually did this morning. But never hardly do. Mainly wait for the crows, owls, or geese to get them going. This morning I just had to try a new slate and crystal pot. But the guy with me was 50 yards or so in the woods off the road to hear how they sounded and I in turn did same while he ran them. Actually the slate got 2 to answer.


Earl

I really never do...

I always say the first time he hears me I want it to be his last!

Occasionally use some yelping to locate gobblers during the evening when the season comes in.

I don't need to, it seems like i have enough competetion doing it for me this year!! this place is loaded with hens hope they all get breeded need the gobbler ratio to go up.. I don't know the satistics like they say more does or worst to have then more bucks??

Rarely if ever, although I do always have a box and a wingbone in my truck. When my son goes with me I occassionally let him call to get one to gobble so its more fun for him. When I'm by myself I owl hoot "a lot"; if they won't gobble at my owl hoot or on their own then I usually don't hear them.

I wish more people up my way would leave their calls at home. Public land turkeys get enough pressure during the season, they don't need it pre-season. Personally I wish they'd outlaw pre-season calling; I heard a rumor that is true in Kentucky but I've never looked it up.

-Eric

I don't but wouldn't look down on folks that do. Just seems to me birds gobble enough on their own. I dont carry any locator calls anymore, quite a few years ago. I guess I can hoot and make a crow call decent enough with my voice if I had to. But there always seems to be an owl or crow or rooster to get em to tell on themselves. It used to bother me when other folk called to turkeys before the season, but I aint sure it makes that much difference if they aint spooking em, etc. Knock on wood but turkeys aint got a long memory.

T.W., I don't know about that. Calling from the road or vehicle will definitely shut turkeys up. I've witnessed it many times, truck aproaches stops, turkey shuts up. Silence followed by calling, no answer, wait, truck starts up and leaves, out of hearing distance a while, turkey starts gobbling again. I'm sure a single call in the woods won't spook but calling from roads, yards, etc sure can. I have tried a turkey call in the absence of sign while scouting a place but I only do so from a place turkeys are likely to be and then if responded to or not, leave. fwiw

Hey Bird Dog,

I had that exact scenario happen here on public land in PA a few years back. Bird was gobbling hard on his own first thing, but was across a big hollow from me so I was waiting to see if another bird would sound off closer before heading across. The state forest road that runs through the area runs right down the bottom of the hollow and was between me and the bird. Not long after the bird started roost gobbling a truck came down the hollow on that road and as it approached a regular pull off where people always call from the bird stopped gobbling. The hunter got out and spent the next 5-10 minutes running through his entire arsenal of calls including owl, crow, box, and mouth calls with no response from the gobbler. Finally he gave up, slammed the door and drove off down the hollow. I could still hear the gravel popping from his tires when the bird started gobbling again on his own.

That is a 100% true story and I am not stretching the truth or manipulating the story in any way. IMHO this proves that turkeys do become "conditioned" if you will to not respond to calls from certain areas, and supports the idea that calling pre-season or in season from the same place that everyone else does (generally the easiest listening spot) can be counter productive.

That morning provided an interesting and unexpected lesson that I have never forgotten, and certainly changed my opinion on calling from roads or places where everyone else does the same thing.

That's just my two cents.

-Eric

Same experience here at home with boats on the lake... if the boats are motoring up and down it's no problem and the turkeys keep on talking. If the boat stops close by the birds will often shut up until the boat fires back up andn leaves. We've had an occasional problem with people hunting and trespassing from the lake. The turkeys have figured that out as well.

They are capable of learning. There is a description in "Illumination in the Flatwoods" by Joe Hutto (he imprinted himself on wild turkeys chicks as they hatched and spent about a year with them) of turkeys remembering a place where they encountered something dangerous (a rattlesnake on a pile of logs) and getting agitated whenever they came near the log pile subsequently. This is a fascinating book, especially for a turkey hunter.

Yeah I reckon if I were a turkey I would be leary of turkey calling trucks, boats and people too? Thats never a good method whether before, during or after the season. Maybe I missunderstood the question?

I am sure yall have seen enough turkeys die, that had been shot at the day before, earlier the same day, watched their running mate die, been busted, been called to from every possible angle and hunter for three weeks etc.

TW, no argument from me. Although I think turkeys, like men, are capable of learning, they are also capable, like men, of getting into trouble by thinking with their little head instead of with their big head.

I would never yelp to locate your birds before the season starts. Just my opinion, but if you have been hunting the land long enough, usually the birds are in the same spot every year. Like the guy said before "The first yelp they hear should be their last"! Good Luck!

uh probly 99% of the jack wagons running around in the woods weeks before the season opens

I consider this a capital sin.