Call to let other hunters know you are there?
 

My buddy and I have talked about this a lot. I wish the NWTF or just turkey hunters would come up with some type of call to let other hunters know that you are there and working a bird. If you hear this call you would know there is another hunter there and you should leave. Many times we have been working a bird, and had another hunter move in on us or would have gone after a bird but thought another hunter might be working that bird.

It could be a any thing like owl call, then crow, then owl. It could be a peacock, screaming hawk, coyote, buck grunt or goose call 3 times n a row.

It would make sense to have an easy call that anyone could do, like a locator call. If word got out and everyone used it, it would make it safer and less stressful, to know for sure its a person not a turkey. Not saying everyone that heard it and knew it was a person would respect that and leave, but we can hope.

What do you think about this, and possible call?

John

NWTF's Turkey Hunters' Code of Conduct


Take a look at our Turkey Hunters' Code of Conduct before hitting the spring woods. As a responsible turkey hunter, I will

• not let peer pressure or the excitement of the hunt cloud my judgment;
• learn and practice safe hunting techniques;
• hunt the wild turkey fairly;
• know the capabilities and limitations of my gun or bow and use it safely;
• obey and support all wildlife laws and report all violations
• respect the land and the landowner and always obtain permission before hunting;
• avoid knowingly interfering with another hunter and respect the right of others to lawfully share the out-of-doors;
• value the hunting experience and appreciate the beauty of the wild turkey;
• positively identify my target as a legal bird and insist on a good shot; and share responsible turkey hunting with others and work for wild turkey conservation.

Trouble is b64 ~ the above I posted has always been there.
Many as of late leave these ehtics in the truck once their foot hits the ground.

I still move on if I see another truck and knowingly try not to interfere with other hunters. Always will. I still strive to get that bird as close as I can and have passed on more shots than you know.
And many need to learn the difference of a man calling or a hen calling......many can't tell the difference and this will cause trouble.
And I can't tell you the times I have had hunters stalk my decoys! So that is always a lookout for me!

Can't stresss it enough - Be safe out there!

JW

Also be careful if they are moving in towards you. If they are headed straight towards you a big "hey don't shoot Im right in front of you!" before you move so you don't get shot at by accident. Yes I know you shouldn't shoot at movement but some people just don't get it.

wish there was a universal call that would identify a hunter. I have been stalked more than once in sprng and fall season. it is a scarey situation to be stalked. One thing I don't understand is that a hunter would stalk a hen calling in the spring when they are hunting gobblers?! A good decoy setup could add to the excitement!

Good idea, I suggest the goose call, there shouldn't
Be any geese on the ground in the Turkey woods
And you would think that would clue in all but the
Densest hunter that someone else is nearby.

Your idea is a fantastic idea. I usually do a type of whistle to alert my buddies when they are walking up on me, or I on them. A standard sound to alert people yet not put game on alert. For now I'll stick with 2 quick whistles, which my freinds recognize.

Good idea in theory, but not true in all parts of the country.

When he walked past he might have received a good 'ol fashioned cussin'. I KNOW when someone shot that close that I would have lost ALL my religion and told them in no uncertain terms my true feelings.

As for me I give three LOUD distinct yelps. I change the cadence and make sure that there is no doubt.

I have unknowingly set up on birds that another hunter was on. I didn't realize that I had gotten as close as I did until I could hear them calling. Terrible part is I did it twice to the same hunter.

The first time was all on me. I was not familiar with the territory and approached the bird from a different direction. I didn't realize how close it put me to the other hunter. The second time I had gotten in earlier and did not see a truck parked at the first road. I hunted another bird and ended up back on the bird from the first trip. The other guy had come in after me but didn't know I was there. He was already working the bird and I ended up within about 50 yards of the guy. When I realized it I stopped calling and waited for my chance to slip back out. Before I did though I gave him a "heads up" yelp, a call that wouldn't bump the bird but would also say "My bad!". Anyone that has turkey hunted enough knows the difference.

I think you guys are missing the point!

There will never be no universal I am here call or warning - nothing - Period!!!!

It is up to us as hunters to understand when and where and why......and then be safe and ethical about it!

It is just like a red Hexagon STOP sign you find on any Danergous Intersection.
The Shaoe is Universal to all of us as we know what S.T.O.P. means....but you still have some who coast to slow down, never really come to a stop and then turn right or left and Others who blow right thru it hardly given it a second glandce or a thought and then others who Pay Heed to what it means.
They come to a STOP and look both ways before proceeding.......so which one are you???

So wish what you want.........universal call won't ever happen! It is up to you to be safe out there and I'll say it again......DON'T LEAVE YOUR DARN ETHICS IN THE TRUCK!

JW

universal call
 

how about carrying a plain ol' whistle, a dog type or whatever, a whistle used on dogs pheasant hunting does not bother pheasants, not likely to bother turkey, just might bother another hunter if he or she had any brains

Sometimes you have to hunt the hens to get the gobbler. You may have to call in the hens to get the gobbler. This is fine if you are on private property, but if you do this on public land, you are inviting trouble. To me it's easy to distinguish a caller from a real hen, but the problem lies with inexperienced hunters. Just be very careful when turkey hunting, especially on public land. Just like driving, hunt defensively.

JW is 100% correct here. If I know someones there hunting Im going to move on. Now if someone comes in on me while Im working a bird, neither of us will kill that bird. I'll make sure they know Im there by telling them. I wont do it using a call or anything like that. It is our responsibilty as hunter to be safe and polite to each other.

I use a pretty difficult call when I'm hunting to alert others to my presence. It's tough to master (took me at least 8 months before I could make it sound right), but is invaluble in the field.

Basically, you cup your hands around your mouth, and exhale from your diaphram, which vibrates the vocal cords. Use your mouth to change the tone and pitch of the sounds.

What you're going for should sound something like this, "HEY! I'm RIGHT HERE! OVER HERE! DON'T SHOOT THIS WAY! THANKS BUDDY!"

I practice in my truck on my way to and from work, I've almost got it down pat.

Happened to me last year,got set up on a bird before dark. Working him toward us off a ridge above us,a guy riding down the road heard the gobble,pulls over comes at me and my buddy in a hurry,ran 2 Deer making a racket right up the ridge where the bird was. Flashed our lights at him,kept coming. He walked within 30 yards of us drove the bird away and did not even apologize when we stood up and said what's the deal man? He walked right behind us up the ridge and acted lik we did not exist. Morning over. My buddy who is not as forgiving as me wanted to follow him and ruin his day,but I said lets go,he ain't worth it. We both got great birds later on.

:party0005:

Some of the worst calling I have ever heard was from real birds. I'd like to know how you do it, seriously. Been hunting birds for along time and have been fooled both ways thinking a guy was a real bird and a real bird was a guy moving in on me.

Not saying it happens a lot some most of the time it's easy to figure out.But I was with my son one morning and was laughing with him about how bad this guys calling was and how he shouldn't be stalking in on me like he was. Getting ready to stand up and yell to him when all the sudden here comes the hen that was making all the noise.

Bornagain, I honestly think you could use an air raid siren and some guys would still move in on you.

JW, As far as moving on if you see another truck. How do you know which side of the road they are hunting on?:)

I would never intentionally interfere with someone else's hunt but if I left every time I saw another truck on the road I wouldn't get much hunting in.

There is not really any method in distinguishing the two. I can just tell by the pitch and cadence. Sometimes it's simple to distinguish the two. Of course hunting on private land I don't normally run into this problem. I have also heard some crazy sounds made by real hens, but I knew they were real. There was one that almost fooled me. At first I thought there is no way this is a real hen. Then I thought there is no way this is a hunter. It just sounded too strange. I stayed put and sure enough it was a real hen.

Ok almost all my mouth and friction calls have a little bit of a difference in pitch to them, and I know I can mimic a hens cadence exactly. Just wondered not trying to start an argument.

I've been lucky enough to hunt with a couple different
folks that were good enough at calling that I'm sure
I would not have been able to tell they weren't the
real thing. I've also heard others that were easy to
tell they weren't real.

I'm lucky enough to hunt an area where hunting pressure is
light enough so that if I see a truck parked I just head to
another spot a couple miles away---because you really can't
tell which side of the road they are hunting on.

I've had other hunters come into my calls and other hunters cut me off when calling to a gobbler...A universal call to let them know you are working a bird won't work as they know what they are doing...

After a few years you learn that making that bird gobble is not always a good thing...

I can also tell when it's a hunter calling and not a hen...Most hunters call too loud and too often...

Someone should have told that hen this morning that she was too loud and too vocal!:s4:

I don't know Charlie, I can just tell the difference. There is no doubt when someone is using a box call or friction call. Maybe the right person with a mouth call could fool me, but I wouldn't count on it. I once sounded so good I fooled myself.:wink:

There will always be IDIOTS.

I am talking about real ethical hunters. If you are working a bird and here a hunter coming in you do "THE" call to him, lets say bob white 3 times, and he leaves.

Or if you here a bird gobbling and are not sure someone is working him, you do "THE" call to see if its a hunter, if no hunter responds back with "THE" call, then you proceed to work that gobbler.

I know everyone is afraid of scaring off the bird, but if a hunter is coming in on you, he is gonna scare the bird anyway.


John

It's not as difficult as you're making it though.

"THE" call should be:

"HEY! DON'T SHOOT THIS WAY! I'M OVER HERE! WOULD REALLY RATHER NOT GET SHOT TODAY, I CAN BUY A 20 lb BUTTERBALL FOR 30 BUCKS... CAN'T SAY THIS BIRD IS WORTH DYING OVER. THANKS CHAMP!"

There. Problem solved.

Bornagain64,

I know what your talking about. Every situation is different
There are times when just plain calling out to the other
Hunter becomes necessary. There are other times when using
A call to alert another sensible hunter to let him know he
Needs to back off is reasonable. Problem is getting everyone
On the same page is apparently impossible. It's not even
Possible to get several people to agree on most issues on
This forum. Then you have the problem of the hunter
That isn't sensible or doesn't really listen or just can't
Hear.

Myself I'll continue to use an owl call or a goose call
Depending on the situation, until it becomes apparent
I need to resort to the human voice.

Happy Hunting

Problem is... you're trying to make an animal call that is somehow code for "Hey, there's a person here."

It's just not reasonable if you ask me.

You don't know the guys in the woods from Adam... how are you going to know if they know enough about wildlife that Geese shouldn't be honking around your area during a specific time period? Or that a specific series of bird calls is supposed to be some kind of mountain man morse code?

If you can tell someone is getting too close, let them know. As I tell my 1.5 year-old nephew... "Use your words."

Even he is getting the hang of it...

Pyloscide,

As I said every situation is different. What the
Original poster was suggesting was some
Sound that could become generally
Recognized as a warning--- I agree
It probably won't work---to many people
That just aren't with it or sensible etc.

However, I have used the calls I mentioned
Before to clue other hunters in that
We're sensible and listening to my
Location before they got too close.
I have also resorted to the human voice
On other occasions when someone got
To close.

I'm lucky, I live in Maine where we have a lot
Of sensible hunters.

Happy Hunting

Okay....At what point do you do this? If you think that the hen sounds coming behind you are from a hunter?(how do you know it's not a hen?)

When you see another hunter?(a little late if you knew he was coming from the get-go.)

Every situation is different. I once had a hunter coming down a ridge to a bird I was working. He was blowing a crow call to get a fix on the bird. As he got closer I turned my head and gave him a YELP......YELP......YELP. I would respond to him this same way every time I heard the crow call. He got the message. I ended up missing the bird but that's another story. He knew someone was working the bird because he knew that hens don't make loud three LOUD yelps with long pauses in between.

Crow calls and owl hoots are very effective ways to let other hunters know you are in the area. Very few (if any) calls can exactly mimic a crow. Rarely (if ever) will you hear an owl hoot at 9am.

Something else I do. Always assume that the hen sounds or crunching leaves behind you are another hunter. If you do see someone coming, give them a whistle or two. If they keep moving then YES, absolutely say something to them.

In a way, everyone is right here.

• Don't leave your ethics at the truck and bust in hoping to call a bird off another hunter.
• Be woods wise. Know your territory. Know what sounds you are hearing.
• If someone walks in on you be sure they know you are there by getting their attention. Sound only. Don't start waving at them.
• KNOW YOUR TARGET! Most accidents happen because people shoot at movement or what they perceive to be a turkey.

Last Spring I had Geese out in the field way before the Turkeys.

One Spring I was Mushroom hunting after Hunting hours.Got between Turkeys and Poachers,they started shooting,I did plenty of hollering.

big rockpile

I have been set up on roosts before light only to have hunters come in calling not far from me so I just owl call and they go away.

I hunted fort Carson for too long, had a guy come in after me and shoot a hen off the roost I was set up on, another time I was set up before light had a gobbler talking with my decoys set up and a hunter came to the callingafter light and walked right through my decoys, so no gobbler for me, another time a guy shot my jake decoy. I stopped hunting it when I was about to shoot a long beard and right behind him came to hunters that heard the tom gobbling and me calling to him.

You want a Colorado turkey, lots of em on Carson but you risk your life!
Thank god I take my time, and pay attention.
To many leave their ethics at the hunter safety class.

Well if you get out of the truck and listen - it might be easy to tell....but me I'd still move on and always have.....

JW

My concern with getting out of the truck and
listening is---so you hear someone calling
on one side of the road, doesn't mean someone
else didn't bail out of that truck and is currently
sitting quietly on the other side of of the road.
That's why I just move on.