HOW TO LOCATE SPRING GOBBLERS

The slamming screen door shot a wave of echoes down the ridge. I hadn’t meant to slam it and I sure didn’t intend to locate five or six gobblers 100 yards from the house. While I learned that a hot tom, especially when he’s on the roost, will shock gobble to just about any loud noise, he can also be quite picky as to what makes him sound off as the day progresses.

Think about what a gobbler might hear throughout the course of a day. If you’re way off the beaten path, it’ll be the sounds of nature: crows, hoot owls, coyotes, Canada geese. If he’s a suburban gobbler or lives close to a major roadway, it might be the honk of a horn, slamming of a car door or a barking dog. Natural calls will work in a more populated area but don’t go deep in a forest and expect to locate a gobbler by laying on the horn.

Hoot Owl

Perhaps the most famous of the locator calls, a hoot owl tube lives in the majority of turkey hunters’ vests. It can be used throughout the day though just at sun up when the turkeys are waking up. The beauty of hooting is that it will cause other owls to call back creating a network of locators. Even if you don’t own an actual call, mimicking the hoot owl by mouth is not overly difficult.

Crow Call

It’s no secret that crows have a tendency to drive every species in the woods crazy, especially the hot tom. The crow call has always seemed like your middle of the day turkey locator, though it’ll typically work anytime gobblers are near. Like the hoot owl, crows may answer the call and flock to your location. Once they do, shut up and listen.

Canada Goose

Once a Canada goose gets started, it won’t quit. If you’re hunting near water, then this is a natural call that will drive a gobbler crazy. It’s liable to drive you crazy too, but if you can mimic a honker, the chances of locating a bird are pretty good.

Coyote Howl

This seems like the most surprising locator call of all. Why, we ask, would a turkey want to give away its location to a predator? For whatever reason, toms will shock gobble to the coyote call. While we don’t use it that often, other hunters seem to have some success with it. Who knows, maybe you call a coyote into shotgun range.