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Pre season calling

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Cooter

Cooter

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What's everyone's thoughts on pre season calling? Not locator calls, I'm talking turkey calls.

After hunting public ground for a few years I came to the conclusion that pre season calling can make toms less receptive to calls.

I would go out about four weeks before season would start. Birds would gobble in the tree. Then for another hour or more after hitting the ground.

As season got closer more and more hunters would start showing up to scout also. Quite a few would walk around calling.

By opening day it seemed the birds would gobble in the trees. Then maybe five/ten minutes after hitting the ground. I assumed this was do to over calling. The only other possible thing I can think it could be is that the are hen'd up.

Now that I hunt private and the other hunters and I don't do any pre season calling birds to seem to keep gobbling for an hour or more some days.

What would be the benefit to pre season calling? The only things I can think of is making sure the birds like your calls and will respond, and to practice?

What are your thoughts?
 
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Wouldn't a locator call be better than a turkey call to find out if there are turks in the area? It wouldn't bring them in to your location.
 
I never call before the season, never!!!

That's just a personal rule that I always follow. I can't count the amount of times that I've heard of a hunter telling me how he had called in birds before the season only to get skunked when the season hit.
 
More than likely the early guys on public ground were bumping the turkeys. More harm than good. They really don't like being bothered. Old birds don't gobble much anyway.
 
I have heard both sides of the story.

I love being outside and if I can I will work a bird

to within feet of me in preseason. Why (not to be a smart arse) but

to say I did it. I just love calling and seeing birds strutting up close.

If a turkey actually has a brain the size of a pea, you do not spook it but

let it walk off like nothing happened I say no harm no foul.

They will not remember it two or three weeks down the road.

That is just my opinion though.
 
risto2351 said:
If a turkey actually has a brain the size of a pea, you do not spook it but

let it walk off like nothing happened I say no harm no foul.

They will not remember it two or three weeks down the road.

.
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Here we go with the pea sized brain again:) Its true that its that size but hard to admit I've been out started buy it.

I still think you can educate them even with a pea brain.
 
I won't turkey call pre season for every reason described above. If I really need to hear a bird to know its there (beyond the sign on the ground), then I go to locator calls, or slam my truck door if I'm that close to my truck.
 
Cooter said:
Here we go with the pea sized brain again:) Its true that its that size but hard to admit I've been out started buy it.

I still think you can educate them even with a pea brain.
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I have been outsmarted by them many of times myself and

it will happen again. I do not think it is because of being call shy

or remembering the calls. IMHO

Like I mentioned I love just seeing them and if I do spook the birds on my

place it does not bother me at all. (I do not do it on purpose).

To me it really is not about the kill but just being out there seeing them

and hearing them gobble.
 
If you haven't been outsmarted by a turkey you haven't hunted them. :)

I'm sure that a guy could call the same bird up in consecutive days but I try take out any advantage a turkey has on me.

I will start scouting in a few weeks. Scouting to me is listening in the mornings from a distance and checking areas with binocs. The night before the opener I try to roost a few and hope for the best in the morning.
 
I have never done it but always thought about going to a state park or refuge somewhere there are turkeys but no hunting and working some birds maybe try too video them
 
It's my guess that most of the people walking around on the public before season actually hunt on private ground and are just using the public ground to sharpen their skills.. I've killed a lot of public land birds and most are during 4th season... I believe they get call shy to an extent, but I think the lonliness of the hens leaving them to sit on their nests later in the season trumps any overcalling or being bumped during the early season and they will get fired up as much as ever during those last couple weeks.. all that being said, I never have and never will call during the pre-season.. scout correctly and you will never have to call at all
 
AIRASSAULT said:
It's my guess that most of the people walking around on the public before season actually hunt on private ground and are just using the public ground to sharpen their skills.. I've killed a lot of public land birds and most are during 4th season... I believe they get call shy to an extent, but I think the lonliness of the hens leaving them to sit on their nests later in the season trumps any overcalling or being bumped during the early season and they will get fired up as much as ever during those last couple weeks.. all that being said, I never have and never will call during the pre-season.. scout correctly and you will never have to call at all
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Killing a fourth season bird on public ground is an accomplishment heck I struggle on private ground some years
 
[QUOTE="risto2351]

To me it really is not about the kill but just being out there seeing them

and hearing them gobble.[/QUOTE]

I'm with you there. I like to work them also. Hearing them gobble and seeing them in close and strutting is awesome. That's why I don't take calls with me when scouting pre season. I've even called to with my voice and had them come in and bust me. So it takes a lot of restraint to not call to them.

However I'm not the only one hunting the ground. So calling to them or pushing them out of the area wouldn't go over well.
 
Cooter said:
I'm with you there. I like to work them also. Hearing them gobble and seeing them in close and strutting is awesome. That's why I don't take calls with me when scouting pre season. I've even called to with my voice and had them come in and bust me. So it takes a lot of restraint to not call to them.

However I'm not the only one hunting the ground. So calling to them or pushing them out of the area wouldn't go over well.
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Totally understandable and I agree.

I would not want to blow them out of there either especially

if I was not the only one hunting it.

The time to youth season is slowly ticking away.
 
Well I hope that I see them again. :D

Last Sunday I saw a nice little flock of 7 - 8 toms by my house.

I put up the DSD jake and did a couple of sequences of calls and in they came.

They did not like the DSD jake one bit.

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This guy here beat on him for over a half hour.


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In my backyard also. Sorry about the dirty window sills. :eek:


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They just left the poor DSD there by himself.

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Best blind in the world. :way:

Right inside my house. I hope they don't remember it. :rolleyes:
 
That's sweet!

First pic I can't hardly tell which one is the DSD.


P.S. Quit rubbing it in:)

-}}}---------->
 
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