Advanced Turkey Calling Techniques

Turkey hunting is a thrilling pursuit, but it can be incredibly challenging. Success often hinges on your ability to communicate with the turkey, and that starts with mastering the art of turkey calling. Whether you're calling in a weary old gobbler on highly pressured public land, or coaxing in a curious group of young gobblers to your setup, your turkey calling techniques can make all the difference.

If you're looking to refine your calling skills, this blog will dive deep into the various vocalizations of turkeys and provide advanced turkey calling techniques to help you elevate your game. From hen turkey yelps to clucks, purrs, whistles, and whines, understanding the nuances of each call is essential to making the most of your hunt.

Understanding the Different Types of Hen Turkey Calls

When most hunters think of turkey calling techniques, they likely picture the classic three-note yelp. This call is crucial for attracting gobblers and serves as the foundation for many hunting strategies. However, the turkey’s vocalizations extend far beyond this basic yelp. To truly master turkey calling, you must be familiar with all the subtle variations in a turkey’s vocal repertoire.

Different Types of Yelps

The yelp is arguably the most iconic turkey call, and it's also the most versatile. In its simplest form, a yelp is a series of high-pitched, rhythmic notes. A typical yelp sounds like “yelp-yelp-yelp,” but there are several variations of the yelp that can convey different meanings. Changing up your yelp to add different cadences, tones, pitches, and inflections can help improve realism in your turkey calling techniques.

• Standard Yelp: The standard three-note yelp is a tried and true staple of the turkey woods. It’s the most basic turkey vocalization, and sometimes it’s all you need to draw in a gobbler. This yelp follows a simple “yelp-yelp-yelp” cadence and can be repeated two or three times in a series to mimic a hen that is casually calling to other turkeys in the area.

• Tree Yelp: The tree yelp is a softer call that is used early in the morning before turkeys fly down off the roost. It reflects a hen that is just waking up and calling to other turkeys in the trees around her. To do a tree yelp, you can follow a standard yelp cadence of “yelp-yelp-yelp”, but call at a lower, almost hushed volume. As it gets closer to sunrise and fly-down time, you can increase the volume of your tree yelp to mimic a hen turkey waking up more.

• Fly-down Cackle: When the sun comes up and it’s time for turkeys to fly down from the roost, you may hear a hen producing a fly-down cackle. This call is a flurry of excited yelps and clucks as a hen essentially “psyches herself up” to fly down and hit the ground. To produce this call, mix in a random variety of clucks and yelps in a loud, excited tone. To add an extra bit of realism if you’re out of sight of the turkeys you are hunting, take your hat off and shake it while swinging down towards your leg to mimic the sound of wing beats from a turkey flying off the roost.

• Assembly Yelp: A call more associated with fall turkey hunting, the assembly yelp is a long series of yelps that a hen uses to reform the flock after they have separated. The assembly yelp can be used in the spring to mimic a lone hen that is looking for another flock of turkeys in the area. To do this call, simply draw out the cadence of your yelp to five or seven notes in succession. Repeat the sequence two or three times, increasing the volume each time to make your sound travel farther. 

• Excited Yelps (Cutting): When a hen turkey gets excited, she will often let you know! The excited yelp, also known as cutting, is a rapid-fire flurry of yelps and clucks that express excitement or anger in a hen. Hens may cut if they are excited by a nearby gobbler, or are angry that another hen has entered their territory. To cut, string together a long series of high-volume, fast-paced yelps with some sharp clucks mixed in. Don’t be afraid to cut for a long period, as real hens may cut for up to a couple of minutes!

• Kee-Kee-Run: Another call more often associated with the fall,the kee-kee (or lost call) mimics the call of a poult that has been separated from its flock. It is a high-pitched whine that is often two to four notes, signaling a young poult in distress. If you add a yelp or series of yelps to the end of the kee-kee, then you have a kee-kee-run. While rare, younger hens may still kee-kee-run in the spring, and it can be a great call to have in your arsenal to throw a gobbler a changeup that he hasn’t heard throughout the spring. 

Clucks, Purrs, and Putts

Like all other animals, turkeys don’t just have one form of communication. Turkeys are social creatures, and they have plenty of other calls to signal contentment, aggression, concern, or even danger. Clucks, purrs, and putts can all convey a range of turkey emotions and messages, and it’s useful to know each call and what they mean as part of your turkey calling technique. 

• Clucks: In most situations, the cluck is a casual call that turkeys will make to let their presence be known in an area. Clucks are typically sharp, one-note calls that are soft in volume. If a turkey is looking for other turkeys that it believes are nearby, then a cluck may become a little louder and used more as a “hey, I’m over here” call rather than a contentment call. Clucks can also be louder in volume and sharper when combined with a series of yelps to make a cutting sequence that indicates excitement or aggression.

• Purrs: Purrs are soft, subtle calls that often reflect feeding and contentment. Turkeys will purr as they walk along and go about their day, often combining these purrs with soft clucks to get the cluck and purr call. The cluck and purr can be an effective call in sealing the deal on a wary gobbler and convincing him to come the last few yards into your setup. The cluck and purr should be done softly and quietly for maximum realism.

• Fighting purrs: While purrs are usually a soft, content call, turkeys may also purr when they are fighting over territory. These “fighting purrs” are much louder and more aggressive, showcasing anger and aggression in a fight. To do a fighting purr, just up the volume and pressure of your regular purr! The fighting purr is best used in a situation where you’re having trouble calling in a gobbler and need a big show or distraction to draw his attention. After all, who doesn’t come running to see why there’s a fight?

• Putts: The putt is an alarm call that signals danger to the flock. It is similar to the cluck but is not as sharp and high-pitched, and it will be made in steady intervals. The only time a hunter should use a putt is to get a turkey to stick its head up to make a clear shot. Be quick, because once a turkey hears a putt, they don’t usually stick around for long! 

Mastering these softer, more subtle calls can help you create a more authentic turkey conversation to draw in suspicious gobblers. It’s not just about the loud yelps; it's about convincing turkeys that you are as real as they are and drawing their interest. 

Advanced Turkey Calling Techniques

Now that we’ve covered the range of different turkey calls, it’s time to explore some advanced turkey calling techniques that can give you the edge during your hunt.

Creating “Your Own” Sound

Each turkey in the woods is unique, and no two sound exactly the same! To make your turkey calling technique more realistic, don’t repeat the exact same calling sequence over and over. Changing the tone, pitch, volume, and cadence of your calling can help you stand out from other hunters and sound more like a real hen. For example, when you are using the yelp, don’t just use the same three-note sequence. Try mixing in a two-note, four-note, or even a one-note yelp during your calling sequence. Try mixing clucks into your yelping sequence as well to reflect what a normal hen may sound like. One example cadence may go like this: “yelp-yelp-cluck, yelp, cluck-yelp-cluck, yelp-yelp-cluck-yelp-yelp”. Try listening to some live hens and get inspiration for your own calling sequences!

Try changing up the intensity or tone of your calling as well. If you call and a gobbler fires right back with a gobble, up the ante and add some more urgency and excitement to your calling. If you know a gobbler or other hens are nearby, tone down the calling and be more subtle to sound more realistic. Changing up the tone and intensity of your calling will help you sound more real to the turkeys around you. 

Employing Silence

Sometimes, one of the best turkey calling techniques is knowing when to stop calling altogether. If you’ve been calling for a while and haven’t received a response, it may be time to go quiet for a bit. Most turkeys aren’t calling every five minutes, and you shouldn’t be either. The conventional saying among seasoned turkey callers “yelp three times and be quiet” rings true here. After calling a few times, go quiet for a while and pay attention to your surroundings. Wait to call for another 20 to 30 minutes, or even longer, if you’re not getting a response. Sometimes, you’ll have a gobbler silently working his way towards you, so be patient and don’t overcall!

Going silent can also be a great tactic to use situationally to make a hot gobbler panic. If you’re calling a gobbler and he’s responding immediately, don’t keep hammering your call back at him. Instead, after calling back and forth two or three times and gauging his interest, go silent on him. This makes the gobbler believe that the hen he has been talking to has lost interest and is moving away from him. This can drive a gobbler crazy, and cause him to close the distance between the two of you quickly to catch up to the hen he thinks is running away.

Using Your Environment

The calls in your vest are just part of nailing down your turkey calling technique. Another part of being a successful turkey caller and hunter is using the environment around you to your advantage! Here are a few tips for using the environment to help locate and draw in a gobbler:

• Scratch some leaves: If you have a gobbler that has hung up just out of range, try scratching some leaves while you are trying to call him into range. This works especially well when combined with clucks and purrs, as it makes it sound like a turkey is walking through the woods and feeding, helping add to the realism of the call. 

• Listen up: Turkeys don’t just gobble at other turkeys. Loud sounds from barred owls, crows, woodpeckers, and other environmental noises can trigger an involuntary “shock gobble” from a gobbler. So if you hear an owl hooting or a crow calling, take a few moments to listen in and see if you can hear a gobbler respond!

• Get up high: If you’re hunting an area with substantial elevation changes, try to get up to higher ground. Being up higher can help your sound travel a farther distance, and lead to gobblers farther away hearing your calls. You may also run into a turkey on higher ground, as gobblers prefer to call from ridgetops and hills when available to help carry their gobblers farther.

Mastering turkey calling techniques is a continual process, and the more you practice, the better you’ll become. By understanding the various turkey calls and calling strategies, you can elevate your turkey hunting game. As you hone your calling skills, you’ll become better at reading turkeys’ behavior, fine-tuning your calls, and creating realistic, authentic communication in the woods.

Remember, effective turkey calling requires not just good technique, but also patience, persistence, and a deep understanding of turkey behavior. So keep practicing these advanced turkey calling techniques, and soon, you’ll be the one bringing in those gobblers from the farthest distance. Happy hunting!