I was just reading TR Michaels scouting report on his page,and he calls Turkey's from the road before season the season starts. He states he feels it has no adverse effect on the birds in his area. Say's he has been doing a study for four years that show's it doesn't effect the birds.

I'm relatively new to Turkey hunting and have been told this is a big no-no. Any thoughts.

I read an an article by Ray Eye that said the same thing.It stressed that it was ok to call to locate them but not to call them in and spook em.

You'll never..never....never....never.....find me with a Turkey call while I'm pre-scouting. Fact..as soon as I get a gobble from a locater...I'm outta there....unless I'm trying to pattern em to see what area their headed to

I dont understand what the use of using a turkey call to locate them is. Last time I checked I used turkey calls to CALL the turkey in to my location. Why would I risk educating a gobbler (calling them to a spot no hens around or meeting a hen halfway that never shows up). When you call a turkey in during season you un-educate them by pulling the trigger. I have a ton of locator calls that are made for locating and wont CALL a turkey in. I Just dont understand the point of using turkey calls.

I only use locator calls or make a loud a$$ noise to try to get a shock gobble.

Charlie,

It depends on what you mean by "scouting". If you are just interested in seeing if there are birds in the area, and are in your car on the way to work, scratching out a few loud notes on the box call will have minimal if any effect.

However, if you start using the calls on a daily/regular basis from the same location, this pattern will be noticed by the toms and will drastically affect their movements and behaviors.

In general, if you are new to calling and turks overall, stick to locator calls. I prefer either owl hoots or jake gobbles in the darkness, crows as it begins to get light, and then crow/hawk/woodpecker shrieks later in the morning.

Hope this helps.

S&R

I agree with not using calls during scouting. I find, typically, turkeys will be in the same areas every year unless something has drastically changed. Look for sign, get to learn the lay of the land. Getting up early and letting them gobble on their own is enough for me to have a sense where they'll be. Calling to them may be exciting but it's not going to make your chances of shooting one any better.