1. New Turkey Calls
2. Hunting Turkeys In The West
3. Bowhunting Tips For Wild turkey

Imagine for a moment 28,000 wild turkey hunters, all in one building, all trying out turkey calls! This cacophony of sound rattles off the rafters at every National Wild Turkey Convention the last week of February. If you're a wild turkey hunter and you've never been to this convention, you're really missing out on one of the most fun events ever. Some of the highlights include the world turkey calling championships, hundreds of turkey hunting equipment exhibits, informational forums, and great fellowship. There isn't a year that goes by that I don't make some excellent contacts for turkey hunting trips, find a new product or two that I'll add to my list, or learn some new technique that helps me pursue that elusive bird.

New 12,000 - 15,000 HZ Range Calls

In recent years talk of the convention was the new, higher pitched calls. Turkey biologists have found that calls in the 12,000 to 15,000 Hz range will make a turkey respond better and hear your call at a greater distance. Most of today's turkey calls operate at the much lower frequency range of 5,000 Hz.

Using spectrograms biologists have found that the hen turkey often hits notes as high as 15,000 Hz when they are "cutting" and very excited. Call makers jumped on this new finding and have tried a variety of materials to make calls higher pitched. This was the year when they flooded the market.

Aluminum seems to be the material of choice for the new, higher pitched calls. Quaker Boy had the "Aluminator" out a couple of years ago and last year M.A.D. Calls put out the "Super Aluminator." These are surface friction calls (like your old slate calls). This year Primos introduced the new "AlumiSlate" and Knight and Hale put out the "Silver Queen." Along with the new aluminum calls, new strikers for these calls have been added, too. The new strikers are made of carbon, acrylic and plastic. The great thing about these new strikers and calls is that they will work just as well wet as they will dry. The old slate calls had to be perfectly dry to work well. They were useless in the rain. But some of the new striker calls will actually work while submerged under water.

Graphite is popular in calls, too. Primos uses it on their box call called the "Graphite Prospector." But the paddle on this call is still wood and will not work well in the rain. Primos also uses graphite in the "pots" of their slate calls like the MiniMite.

Carlton Calls uses a different approach for higher sounds on their new "Copper Pot" call. They use glass or slate on their friction surfaces with the pot made of copper. They claim the copper makes the sound "jump" out of the call better. Wood or a composite will actually absorb the sound while copper reflects it, they claim.

So, is all of this just a fad or are the new calls better? In the spring of 1996 many tests were done in the field trying to answer one simple question: "Would turkeys gobble more or better at one frequency than another?" Calls in the 5,000 Hz, 10,000 Hz, and 15,000 Hz range were used. All calls were regulated to the same decibel output. These tests found that the further away a turkey is, the better he will respond to the higher pitched call. And one of the most interesting finding was that once a turkey responded to the higher pitched call, he would not respond again to the lower pitched call.

The test was tried 279 times with 93 responses. Thirty-nine percent of the birds responded to the 5,000 Hz calls, 44 percent to the 10,000 Hz calls, and 88 percent to the 15,00 Hz calls. So this is no sales gimmick. If you want to locate more birds this spring and get them to respond, get one of the higher pitched calls and add it to your arsenal of calling weapons.

This year the new, hot calls are much more "toned-down." In fact one of the hottest new calls isn't a call at all in the usual sense of the word. the hot new product for 1999 and beyond is the Primos' "The Real Wing" It's a small handle with real turkey feathers stuck in it so it looks like a real turkey wing. Using this product you can beat the "wing" against your pant-leg or in the air to simulate a turkey flying out of a tree. the "wing" can also be used to scratch softely in the leaves. Often this sound will bring in the wariest old gobbler.

The other "hot" product is M.A.D.'s "Spit-N-Drum" call. This is the sound that you hear from a big old tom as he is puffed up and tail fanned ready to breed. This is a close in call to bring that big tom in the last extra few stpes you need to make a killing shot. Both of these new calls come with a video to show you how to use them.

Article #2 HUNTING TURKEYS IN THE WEST

Hunting turkeys out West means that you have to employ many different tactics that you do hunting Eastern birds. The Mirrium species, which is the most common bird found in mountainous regions, reacts differently than Rios, or Eastern species. Just by virtue of the fact that they live in mountain regions means using different setups.

The most important thing to remember is that turkeys in the mountains will always roost facing the sun in the mornings. This means they will be located generally on east facing slopes. These east facing slopes can actually be on the north side of a ridge but there is a finger coming out of that ridge that faces east. Turkeys always want to face the sunny side of ridges. In the afternoons, they will move over to the west facing slopes. So concentrate your locating efforts on slopes that face the sun.

After hearing a gobble, move toward the bird staying on the uphillside and set up within about 100 yards. This could be closer or further, depending on the thickness of the cover. But whatever, don't get close enough for the bird to see or hear you or the hunt is over for that bird. Another thing you want to remember is that sounds in the mountains can be deceiving. A ridge or valley can make the sound seem closer or further away. It's best to err on the side of staying farther away then trying to get too close.

After you have moved within a reasonable distance, set up. Find a location that will allow the bird to come in unsuspecting. Turkeys do not like to move through heavy cover to a caller. They prefer more open areas. Set up your decoys (if legal in your state) and then back off find a hiding place. I'll have more about specific ways to set up for bowhunting in my next column.

The main thing to remember in setting up on a bird in the mountains is to get at the same level or slightly higher than the bird. Although some birds will move downward from their roosting site, most birds will move upward. The reason for this is that the bird flies off a hill into a tree to roost and they come out of the tree the same way. Going downhill they have further to glide before they hit the ground making it more probable they will encounter trees, brush, etc.

I like to be out very early in the morning and use a owl call or crow call as a locating call. DO NOT USE A YELP OR ANY OTHER TURKEY CALL FOR LOCATING! After locating my bird and getting set up, I let things quiet down for awhile and then use a soft tree call (see Stu Kecks column on turkey calls for an example). If the bird responds, he's heard you and knows exactly where you are located. He may gobble several times in the next few minutes but you keep quiet. Soon you may hear him fly down. Or, if you don't hear him fly down his calls may seem much further away because he is on the ground. This is the time to give the bird a yelp.

Again, if he gobbles back or even double gobbles, this bird is probably going to come into you. The best thing to do now is keep quiet and wait on the bird. If he's hot, he will gobble as he moves toward you, giving away his location. Yelp back at him once in awhile but not a lot. I like to play the "coy hen" game. I don't want that gobbler to think I'm too interested or he will wait for me to come to him (which is the natural order of things). Sometimes you can turn your head and yelp so it seems the sound is moving away from him. This can bring the bird in faster. As the bird gets closer, tone down your calling. Soften it up. Instead of making yelps change to contented clucks and purrs.

If the gobbler "hangs up" you may have to use more aggressive calling to get him to come in those last crucial yards. That may be cackles, cutting, or aggressive yelping. But save those for the hung up bird. Remember, birds often come in quietly and will circle you. Be patient, be quiet, and above all, don't leave your calling location too soon. I like to wait at least a half hour because to many times I've spooked birds as I've moved my head, legs, or stood up.

In my next column, I'll write about how to set up for turkeys if you're using a bow. Good luck and God Bless, John

BOWHUNTING TIPS FOR THE WILD TURKEY

I thought I'd give you bowhunters some tips that I've learned over 20 years of turkey hunting with a bow. There's no greater challenge than bowhunting the wild turkey. What makes them so tough to hunt them is their great eyesight (they aren't colorblind) and their quick reactions. It makes drawing a bow on them almost impossible. There are only three times when you can safely draw on a turkey without him seeing you:

1. When he is fanned and his backside is toward you; and
2. When there is some obstacle between you and his sharp eyesight.
3.  When you are in a ground blind.

• When you have a turkey sounding off and coming toward you set up with the caller the furthest away from the turkey.
• Between the caller and the incoming turkey (about 10-20 yards in front of the caller) place a turkey decoy (if they are legal in your state). I like to set up a couple of hens and a Jake in a half-strut.
• The shooter hides himself about 10 yards futher towards the incoming bird from the decoy and off to the side about 10 yards. This puts the hunter about 20 yards from the decoy.

• The gobbler comes in, spots the decoys, goes to the Jake and breaks out in a fan and struts as he dances around the Jake.
• At some point his fanned rear will be towards you allowing you to draw and shoot. A good target is to try and make a "Texas Heart Shot" which will break his backbone and put him down quickly.

By far the best way to take a gobbler is with a blind. The blind can be some commercial product or just a piece of camouflage material strung around a couple of bushes that you can get behind. But a better blind is a commercial one that has a top on it so it remains dark inside the blind. This totally hides your draw and allows you to move inside the blind. Make your draw behind the blind and then ease over the top to shoot or shot through slits cut out in the blind. Blinds are by far the best way to go when trying to hunt a gobbler alone with a bow.

Now, where do you aim on the turkey to assure a quick takedown? As I mentioned the "Texas Heart Shot" is always a good one. Most hunters believe another good spot to shoot is at the wing butt (where the wing attaches to the body). But I've found that shooting back about two inches from that mark is better. I like to aim right above the drumsticks. that way you will break the hip joint of the turkey and still hit the vitals and maybe break a wing on the opposite side. The turkeys vitals are much further back than most people think and certainly much further back than the kill zone on a McKenzie 3-D turkey target.

After you've hit the bird, keep a close eye on him and determine the direction of flight if he flies off. They will almost always fly in a straight line. I also like to remain in the blind after the shot rather than charging out after the turkey. When the turkey is flopping on the ground he is getting weaker. If you charge out of the blind that might pump him up enough to make one big effort to take off. This is just the opposite of shotgun hunting. Then get on the bird as quick as possible.

I've also found that if you miss a bird and he starts to run off, start "cutting" to him and he may stop, gobble, and come back presenting another shot.

Don't be afraid to experiment. The rewards of getting a turkey with a bow are far greater than taking a deer or elk with a bow. You're a part of a select few that will have done it successfully.

Good luck and God Bless, John