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Turkey Hunting
Calling Turkey:
Anybody who has ever hunted turkey before has had a big gobbler hang up just out of range. One tactic we like to use here at High Prairie Lodge and Outfitters is to us the buddy calling system. Buddy calling or partner calling is a hunting tactic made famous by elk callers and is very effective in calling in predators, calling deer, calling antelope and very effective turkey calling method.
This tactic as stated in the name, requires you to have a partner or buddy call for you, in our case one of our experienced guides does the calling.
The idea behind this tactic is to create the illusion that the animal calling is further away thus forcing the games animal to come passed the hunter for a shot. In turkey calling as with other types of hunting we chose spots that have a natural funnel that will squeeze the gobbler through the area we want him to come through. This eliminates the turkey from passing the hunter without offering a shot opportunity. In turkey hunting as well as predator, deer and elk the use of a decoy can add more to your elusion
I like to use a 30 yard buffer basically keeping the hunter 30 yards in front of me while I call I feel that this offer most turkey hunters a good chance at taking a gobbler. I have seen a read people using longer distances but in my experience 30 to even 20 works perfect .
When hunting the fields we set up the hunter on field edges and we set up 20 yards back from them so we can still see the gobblers coming through our binos. Because you can blow the whole thing if you are making the wrongs sounds in relation to how the bird is reacting. This especially goes for elk hunting, too many people try this method they get the animal in close but just not close enough yet and they are still doing long range calls when they should be low coaxing calls etc. So if you cannot see what your hunter sees you have to have communication via CB or change your set up so that you can see what he sees.
We hunt a lot of big timber here at High Prairie Lodge so when we are in the timber we try to get our set up in a structural or natural funnel . Often, I like to get elevated to get a birds eye view and further back like 30 yards t o offer shot opportunities before I start calling.
Once we have the right set up it all about gauging the temperature of the Gobbler. Adjusting your calling style/ intensity to how he is reacting, no different than if you were calling for yourself only now you have a 30yard drop on him. Good luck