my question is, if you hunt public land and you know where the turkeys are within a couple hundred yards. do you risk using a locater call to try to pin point a gobbler or do you try to get as close as possible with out blowing your cover?

If I know the area & they are there I let them start off before I use a locater call. I sometimes use a hooter but not very often, I like using a crow call but most of the time I try to let nature start things up first then I use the locator calls.

Here in KY it sounds like a million owls are in the woods opeing morning! thats why I stay away from a owl hooter, I use the crow call with great luck & very few hunter bother to use them around here.

I never used it when I hunted in Mississippi, but a peacock call drives them absolutely nuts out here in Washington. Some people have good luck with a hawk screamer, too. I usually prefer to let Mother Nature get the show started on her own. The other thing to think about is letting other hunters hear your bird. If you don't have to get them to sound off to set up on them, don't do it.

We don't use one because we know where they are roosting just not which way they will fly down in the morning . We don't have any pulic land hunting available here so not many other hunters . The birds seem to stay in the same trees all the time .

Like the rest of the guys, I just let the day begin on it's own. Most of the places that I usually hunt are privately owned land, so I roughly know where the roost areas are at. When hunting a new place, I would do the same thing as well. Get there well before first light, walk to the edge of the woods and wait till you hear one sound off on it's own. In my neck of the woods they will start gobbling anywhere from 5:25am - 6:00am, so after hearing that first gobble you would have about 15-20 minutes to get closer to set-up on them before starting the game. This is pertaining to hunting in NY state, out west is another story, I never been there before so these tactics might not apply.

Good question!! What we usually end up doing is to scout enough so we know where the birds are likely to be. Also, we're ready and prepared to go deeper into the woods looking, knowing that not many hunters will follow. Figure out where are most of the others are scouting and find another place deeper in the bush. Look at topo maps, etc. and try that.

Start earlier and get in deeper before ever trying your locator and your chances of having another hunter on the same bird are reduced since most start their hunts from the road.

Romans 8:28

I also wait for the first gobbles of the morning. Then move in on the tom or start calling from my current position. Most of the time I know the area pretty well and that really helps to get up on a bird.