TURKEY TUNE UP!!!
By Montana Grant

Posted: March 18, 2023

Now is the time to begin Gobbler preparations. The Spring turkey season is just around the corner. This means that a dedicated and successful turkey hunter is getting rigged and ready to chase those wiley Spring Gobblers.

Part of this plan means practicing your calls. Calling in the house is fine if you live alone but if you are married or have company, forget it. You will drive them crazy. Most of my calling practice is outside or in my truck. I play turkey sounds on my stereo and mimic the calls.

 My favorite Turkey Tunes are from Rocky Jacobsen’s Rocky Mountain Game Calls. Their diaphragm calls are the best on the market. The domed feature positions the call exactly where it needs to sit on the roof of your mouth. This avoids that tickling feeling that many callers hate. Change the volume and pitch. Listen to Rocky’s advice and direction.

If you are not using a diaphragm call, you are avoiding the best and most natural calls that you can make. The whines, and purrs are perfect with a mouth call. Soft and sexy is the way to go. Rocky says that “you need to tell a story when calling.” This is true with turkeys and elk. Using a diaphragm turkey call will make you a better elk hunter.

Turkey hunting is just like elk hunting except that the critters weigh different amounts. When I elk hunt, I use the mouth calls to talk turkey with my hunting buddies. In this way, I can know where they are making natural sounds.

The other thing that you need to do is sight in your shotgun. When shooting a Gobbler, you need to aim at the bird’s head. This small target requires a pattern that will converge where you aim it. Most shotguns tend to shoot high and to the right. Make a life-sized head target and place it at 20 yards. Mount a red dot scope or iron sights to your shotgun. Take a few shots and see what is going on. Make the proper adjustments. You need at least a dozen BBs in the head or neck area to kill the bird.

Normally, I shoot a buffered turkey load. This means that the BB’s are packed in a silicon sand that holds the load together for a longer distance. Use the legal sized pellets as designated by your state. I rarely shoot further than 20 yards. The whole point is to call the Gobbler in close. Killing a bird at 50 or more yards is risky and misses out on the best part of turkey hunting.

Organize your gear. Scent is not important for turkey hunting. The Gobblers superpower is their vision. Camo and staying still are critical. A mouth calls allows you to call without moving, for the final few yards. Place all your gear in a storage tub. I suggest a great seat cushion for those long waits. A comfortable head net is also important. Lots of guys use face paint but it often runs and dissolves as you sweat. A sturdy lightweight boot with a liner sock and comfortable calf high sock helps. Also consider wearing compression gear. This will help with circulation when you sit still for long waits.

Gobble, gobble, cluck, cluck!

Montana Grant

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