Turkey totals similar

Techniques can seal the deal on wary gobblers

Sometimes it takes unconventional tactics to persuade reluctant gobblers to respond to calls. Mike Stanley of Highland used the “fighting purr” to bag this big turkey last week in Sharp County.
Sometimes it takes unconventional tactics to persuade reluctant gobblers to respond to calls. Mike Stanley of Highland used the “fighting purr” to bag this big turkey last week in Sharp County.

Six days into the season, hunters have killed slightly more turkeys than they did at the same time in the 2015 season.

As of Friday, hunters checked 6,560 turkeys, compared to 6,455 at the comparable date in 2015. Youths also killed 1,336 turkeys during the special youth turkey hunting season April 9-10.

Weather conditions have been similar. The first week of the 2015 spring turkey hunting season was warm and rainy. This season so far has been cool and rainy, and rainy conditions can make hunting challenging. Turkeys might come off their roosts later in the day, and they might feed in different areas when it's raining.

Because of its relative lack of turkeys compared to other states, Arkansas is generally considered a tough place to hunt turkeys. It's uncommon to hear multiple gobblers, and spooking a bird often means the day is finished.

In states like Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, birds are so plentiful that if you spook one gobbler, you can often work another bird shortly after.

Rev. Mike Stanley, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Highland, is an accomplished turkey hunter in many states, but he enjoys frequent success in Sharp County. Some of his favorite hunts were when he called in the most reluctant gobblers.

One of his most effective techniques is the use of the "fighting purr." It consists of making aggressive purrs with two calls, or a push-button call with double strikers. Turkeys love a good fight, and the sound of two birds fighting often provokes a wary gobbler to rush in.

"I keep it in my pack," Stanley said. "I break it out when nothing else works, and I can't count the times it has done the trick."

It happened last week on a slow day when Stanley spooked a bird. After about 30 minutes, the tom calmed down and started gobbling again. Stanley hit the fighting purr and slapped his legs, which mimics the sound of birds flogging each other with their wings. The tom gobbled three times in rapid succession and went silent, but Stanley knew he'd set the hook.

"I knew it was just a matter of getting in the right place where I could see," Stanley said.

Within three minutes , the gobbler appeared, strutting, spitting and drumming.

Sgt. Philip Pickett, an Arkansas state trooper in north Arkansas, also called a gobbler to its demise last week with the fighting purr.

Calling in a gobbler is hard because it goes against a gobbler's nature to pursue hens. A mature gobbler expects and demands for hens to come to him. That's why toms often gobble at hen calls, but they won't come. Sometimes they even walk away. When that happens, Stanley employs a tactic he calls the "yo-yo."

When a gobbler hangs up, Stanley walks 75-100 yards the opposite direction and calls again. If the tom gobbles, he quickly walks back toward the gobbler, past his original position. Gobblers will pursue hens that sound like they are not paying attention to them.

Stanley walks closer to the gobbler and waits. A turkey's sense of hearing is so acute that it can pinpoint the origin of a call to within a few feet. By proceeding forward of where you last called, you can often catch a gobble unaware.

One of my most successful techniques is to sound like a flock of hens. I usually carry two box calls, three or four slate calls, a push-button yelper, a "snuffbox" call and a mouth call. Each of these calls has a distinctive tone. Some are raspy, and some are as smooth and resonant. Others are in-between.

If gobblers are silent, I run all of the calls every 15 minutes, sometimes two at once. It's best if a bird gobbles so you can get ready, but more often they come in silently. For that reason, this tactic is ideal for hunting inside ground blinds.

That was the setting on opening day 2013 for one of my most memorable hunts. It was late in the afternoon, and I had about lost hope. I mainly ran the calls because I was bored. I checked e-mail and Facebook, sent a few texts between my 15-minute routines.

Heavy footfalls approached my blind. They were so loud and at such a cadence that I thought I had called up another hunter, and I was very angry.

Anger turned to delight when two big gobblers appeared among my decoys. They stayed so close together that I couldn't shoot without killing them both. Finally they stepped apart, and I shot the biggest gobbler of my life.

Sports on 04/24/2016

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