Hello, I was wondering what the turkey hunting community thinks about the following: I am looking for input about hunters calling before the season. Do you think that it should be ok to use turkey calls before the season? I have talked too many hunters, and the feel that locator calls are fine, but the use of turkey calls are a no no!! Some feel it should not be legal, before the season. The others feel that locator's should belegal.
WHAT'S YOUR OPINION??

i wont do it before season..locators yes, but actual calling , no, even though i have done it, and i have never been busted by any of the birds i called, but it's not worth it, they catch on..... all it's doing is eduacting them

Hey Turkeyhunter1,personally I don't feel like it is wise to play with turkeys before season.I usually like to let turkeys gobble on their own in the mornings anyways,and before season.That way he has no clue at all when he does hear me.

If you do call to a tom too much before season it may hurt you down the long road.I don't think locator calls do that much damage to your chances though.

On Ft.Stewart where I do most of my turkey hunting it is against the law to have a turkey call of any kind in your posession unless it is during turkey season.That means if it is in your truck you are in trouble,not exactly that you have been caught with it in the woods(but that is a ticket too).

Do I agree with that?Yes I do.I wish all public land was that way.There are too many nasty,and greedy people in the world,and if you allow them to tote calls,alot of them will go ahead and poach.That's just like leaving an ATM open.

I think calling before the season is bad, bad bad. I hunt a lot of different areas. Some far from the road and generally unknown by other hunters. those birds ussually respond well to calls, and I have had some great hunts. I also hunt areas that others"know about" because there are lots of birds in the area. The birds in these areas respond to calls well, (gobble) but almost always hang up at 80 or more yards out. I think they have just seen to many hunters before season when they have come to practice calls. The guys calling move a little, bird spots a man where hen calls were coming from and they wise up. Once in one of these areas I was calling for a young hunter on youth day. We had set up on a bird we had seen in the back corner of a field. We had gone a long way around to call from a direction that was no where near the road. The bird responded and I thought we might have something going. Then we heard a truck driving along the dirt road about 200 yards away. The truck stopped , door closed and we heard a series of hen yelps. The gobbler didn't make a sound. the truck door closed, truck started up and off it drove. That was the last we heard or saw of that tom.
My advise for what it si worth, scout with binoculars during the day. Also use your ears early in the morning when the birds are on the roost. You can move and find a lot of roost sites before season by going out before dawn and moving around. Use locators if you don't hear birds on their own. But walk away from the truck. Those birds can hear a long way off when they are sitting up in those trees.

I'll have to leave this one alone...

The only time I use a turkey call before season is Turkmas eve. I put em to bed and wake em up the next morning.

To me this gets blown up more than it should. Is it "smart" in your hunting area before season, probably not, but just let people do their thing. Just because I dont do this on my land doesn't mean someone else shouldn't be able to where they hunt. And public land is gonna be hard to hunt either way.

no i dont do it, and i dont think you should. they will gobble on there own. i like to listen for the hens more than the gobblers. i like to listen and see how the hens sound. do they just yelp do they cut, how many yelps, how many hens are in this area. how much doesshe call to that gobbler, what is that gobblers reaction to her calls and so on.why go in there and start messing things up. but it happensevery year then hunters get upset when they go out in the season and the birds are not talking much..

Personally, like right now in the field, I track and I record the movements of the flocks, and look for those bigger, badder Toms. Other than that, I record the number of Jakes, Hens, and the little ones to figure loss and gain throughout the flocks. This year should be great for number increase, because of my controlling of the coyote population. But I personally never call before I hunt, unless I am wanting to locate a flock and track the birds by some sound and tracks. With just a simple locator call, I do not overuse my calls and over-present myself and my movement in both the roosting and hunting areas.

I think scouting should be done with eyes and ears i use locator calls at roosting times if i have to but ido not use any turkey souynds i agree with the advice earlier about listening to the hens calling and how the gobbler responds