Do you use gobble calls? Why or why not?

[shickoff]

Hey everybody,

I'm curious about your opinion on using gobble calls, spring or fall. Do you? Why or why not?

I've just posted word on three new gobble calls for 2012 on the Realtree Turkey Blog:

New Gobble Calls for Spring Turkey Hunting | Realtree ®

Thanks,

Steve

[Rhino]

As most of the forum members know, I use gobble calls. A few forum members starting using them because I was having success with it. Some of them have killed gobblers using one too! I hunt private land though so I don't have to be concerned about hunters hunting me when I gobble. For obvious reasons, I doubt I'd use them on public land. MS only recently opened a short fall season but I don't hunt them in the fall. I'd rather hunt gobbling birds in the spring.

Why do I use them? Simply because from time to time they will bring in an old bird when hen talk wouldn't. I particularily like to use them on hung up birds. Make them think an upstart has moved in on the hen he'd been answering. Nothing works all the time but another call in my arsenal of calls that's not used by most turkey hunters has sure made the difference in killing some birds...sometimes when all else failed. I perfer to use a gobble call to work a bird, not as a locator call.

[jesse8953]

I have tried but it but has never worked for me.I seen it call a hen in Nabraska so I gave mine to my guide because he broke his.

[shickoff]

10-4. I especially like yelping with a mouth call then hammering back to my own vocalizations with a hand-operated gobble call. As mentioned in my gobble calls blog post follow-up comment, we use it on the tag end of a kee-kee-run in the fall too. True enough, I'd never think of doing it on some public lands. Other times, it seems like a good choice.

Edited February 1, 2012 by shickoff

[layin on the smackdown]

Yep, i use a gobble call, and always have it in my back pack if needed. i like to use it when i know the birds hit the ground so i can locate where they are better - it seems sound travels alot further when they are roosted and gobbling. I also like to respond to my own hen yelps from time to time with a gobble call. And lastly, it may be the differene between bringing in an old educated soldier or having him hang up - its something that most hunters don't use and adds another element of realsim to the scenario. I never have used one in the fall though - i have only heard a bird gobble once in the fall.

dan

[dbHunterNY]

Like Al I hunt mostly private land. So I don't feel at all uneasy about gobbling. Works really well is if a tom hangs up waiting for the yelps to come to him. Have a caller behind you throw out a weak jake like gobble.

[dbHunterNY]

the directions for the Hale Fire sound a lot like what i do with my mouth call.

[shickoff]

Good stuff. We hunt a bunch of fall turkey states each year, while the rest of my buds are working hard for my future gifted venison (LOL). (Btw, awesome bucks in your posts, guys. Sheesh.) Seriously, the gobbling we hear is often from super jakes (those 1 & 1/2 year-olds) and fall jakes, just 4-6 months old, birds that kee-kee-run and add a cracked grrobble on the end. Hey, they're all fun to hunt.

Edited February 1, 2012 by shickoff

[Ravin R10 man]

I use a hand shaker gobble call.. sparingly..and like most above I will answer my own hen calls after fly down just to make it sound like a gobbler is on the ground chasing the hen

[Born4it]

Steve,

I have a Primos Gobbler Shaker, but I hesitate to use it much at all. I think part of the reason is that I don't feel like it sounds as real as my yelps, clucks, purrs, and cuts do. When I do, it's like the others...in response to my other calls in an attempt to appeal to the competitive side of Mr. Tom that's hung up a ways out there. Maybe I'll try a different kind of gobble call...

God bless,

Ryan

[toddyboman]

yup I do use a gobble shaker.

I hunt mainly my own private land.

Yes I have called in and shot gobblers with using a gobbler shaker.

[Jorden]

I always use them. Every bird I have taken or have help take I have used the shaker gobbler. Not a fan of the sound but it works I guess. Im excited for that flextone thunder gobbler call. Watched the video from the shot show and it sounds great!

[EastTnHunter]

yes absolutely and to echo some of the other members it works wonders when a old bird is hung up and wont come any closer and it can e very dangerous if used frequently on public land.

[elkoholic]

I have never tried a gobble call before, but I may just give it a try this spring. It seems that a lot of the Merriam long beards will hang up at the 80 to 100 yard range and maybe a gobble call would work to get them to come into shooting range. My main issue would be other hunters as I hunt public land, but since most of the turkey hunters in this area tend to ride the logging roads looking for something to shoot (same with the deer hunters) if I stay as far from the roads as possible and hunt the middle of the week I should be okay. Another tool in the pack is not such a bad idea.

[loner]

i have used a gobble with my box call with success.never use on public land or you will become the 'hunted'.i only, use when an older bird is with hens and will not leave them.while,he is following the hens, i will move to get closer to the direction they are moving and try again letting the tom know i am following him.sometimes it works and sometimes not.i never gobble much

[Adjam5]

We use gobble shakers when we can't get birds to gobble or when they get tight beaked. We hunt only private land in NY's Catskill mts. So we don't feel uneasy about using a gobble call.

Some heavy cuttin and gobbles always seem to work.

[ruttinbuc]

I carry one, but only use if I know there is no one else. At that I will be in plain sight trying to get a response. I had a guy sneak in to my clucks and purrs. A gobble would have had him running!