What is the best approach to getting on some birds as the spring season approaches? Well, avid hunter and call maker Preston Pittman said it’s not blasting the woods with calls.
“Too much calling prior to season is bad,” Pittman said. “Listen for crows, woodpeckers, even sirens and jake-brakes on the highways to extract a shock gobble.
“If you are a good owl hooter, use that as one of the very best locator calls. Avoid any sound that imitates a turkey prior to opening day.”
And Pittman said there are some ways to work around the early nesting and gobbling of last season, if this year is a repeat.
“When hens are nesting, gobblers just act differently,” he said. “The hens will seek the gobblers soon after the fly-down. Gobblers become next to impossible to control after they hen up. Subordinate gobblers will respond to calling, but will not gobble as they approach.
“All a hunter can do in this case is hope to see it before it sees you.”
He said this situation is when perseverance is critical.
“Late morning or afternoon hunts are often fruitful once hens are nesting,” Pittman explained. “But don’t bet the farm that the gobbler will sound off before coming to your calling.”
While veteran hunters might hit the woods with several different calls, Pittman said novices are probably better off working with one type of call.
“The diaphragm or mouth call is so versatile and is not difficult to use,” he said. “Like anything it requires practice. It minimizes the movement of the hunter, lessening the chance the turkey will see you move.”
And, no matter the level of expertise with calling, volume is always an issue.
“Turkeys are not deaf; they have excellent hearing,” Pittman said. “Don’t call so loudly that the birds in the next county can hear you.
“Get into the woods and listen to turkeys and the sounds they make — that is the one point that I cannot stress enough. Let the turkeys educate you on the sounds they make.”
Preston Pittman offers a plenitude of turkey hunting information at www.pittmangamecalls.com.
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