How often should i call

[Rhino]

Sometimes due to weather conditions gobbling activity all but shuts down. If you don't hear any at all I'd suggest you slip around trying to find some vocal birds but be careful not to walk where birds will see you from a distance. If they just completly shut up, either look for some fresh sign like scratching, etc. and then set up there to call or if you know where a preferred strutting zone is set up there. If you're close to a bird's preferred strutting area you'll up your odds for calling in a silent gobbler.

For me the duration of time between calls depends on what type of call I'm making and the time of day. I call less in the late morning to afternoon period until I get a response. I've watched and heard real hens slipping through the woods lightly clucking and purring as the moved along scratching and feeding so it doesn't hurt to do some of those soft sounds every few minutes to 10 minutes if you want but keep the clucks and purrs soft. You're trying to imitate real hens scratching and feeding when you do that. As far as the louder sounds like yelps, cuts, etc. you might want to mix those in with the softer calls every 15 to 30 minutes depending on the time of day. Real hens don't usually do a lot of the louder calls where I hunt shortly after coming off the roost. There is that occasional hen that will go walking through the woods yelping 10 to 15 note yelps every few minutes trying to find some company but that's pretty rare.

[redbeard]

Re: How often should i call

Rhino's right on. They don't talk like they do in the fall. Every once in a while you'll get a cranky hen come barkin' at your calls. Do what Rhino says and be a good listener.