Why every turkey hunter should consider carrying a mouth call.
Four of my last 5 five Toms and 5 of my last eight Toms and two of my sons four Toms were all called into their demise by yours truly using a Primos True triple mouth call. While that in of itself isn't the least bit
exceptional in any way, the circumstances that lead up to the filling of those 7 tags are.
This years spring turkey hunt was shaping up to be the same as most of my hunts of the previous 8 seasons. After Setting up on 3 Toms I'd roosted the evening before, I sat in the
dark of pre dawn and awaited shooting light. Unlike other land I hunted, I had never hunted this property for turkey before and wasn't sure of any of the Toms exact location and the property had no fields on it, so I had no idea what direction the turkeys would likely go after fly down.
Long story I was unsuccessful in calling in any of the three Toms, who all gobbled while on the roost and the ground, but I suspect the dozen or more hens with them was the most
likely reason the Toms wanted nothing to do with my decoys or my calling. The fact I was hunting in the woods that were mostly over grown with dense patches of multflora rose
definitely didn't help.
Once on the ground the Toms stuck around and gobbled on and off for about 2 and half to 3 hours, the last 30 minuets of which based on their gobbles were getting ever farther away from me until their gobbles became quite faint. By now it was about 8:30 in the morning. I had considered trying to close in on them through the thick woods, but there were
hens all over the place that made doing so unadvisable.
Considering close to if not half of my 30+ Toms and Jakes I have killed so far I called in after 9:30, I was not all that worried and did exactly what I do every time I find myself without a bird after 9am, I sat quietly until 9:45. At about 9:45 or so I first used my synthetic slate and tried some blind calling in the direction I new the turkeys went, and after about 40 minuets of calling sparingly with no results, it was time to go to my mouth call.
What I love about my Primos mouth calls more than anything else is the shear volume of call I can make, I have used it to successfully call in Toms from 400 to 600 yards out on a calm day with little to no wind. Today would be no different. I let loose with a short strings of yelps and about 2-3 minuet I got a response gobble, best guess at least 250-300 yards away.
For the next hour at least one Tom would gobble 1 or 2x every 10-15 minuets, but I never called back to him, He then stopped gobbling. I then EVER so slowly and carefully moved loser but after about no more than 100 yards spotted a hen, and I'm sure the heavy cover and I only either crawled or duck walked on my knees kept me from being spotted by the,
hen so I worked my way back to my original set up.
It was now about an hour since the Tom last gobbled and I knew at this time of day Toms normally would be on the prowl for receptive hens and hopefully this Tom would be no different.
So once again I called but went with the Primos mouth call first, and I called as loudly as I could. Sure enough I got a response gobble near instantly, but it sounded at least as far as before, best guess 300-400
yards away, but could've been closer or farther I just couldn't be certain, but I know I personally almost always underestimate how far away a gobble is from a turkey on the
ground. I waited about 10 maybe 15 minuets and called again, and again he gobbled, but this time it sounded closer, so I shut up. A few minuets later he gobbled again, he sounded like he might be closer but if he was it wasn't a lot. I got up and paced off about 70 or so yards and called facing directly away from the Toms direction.
He let out a gobble immediately and I quickly returned to my spot. The Tom was gobbling almost continuously now and was rapidly closing the distance, A few minuets later I could make out first one bright red head, then two, then three no less! Three Toms were headed to me but only the lead Tom was gobbling. Finally he was in the clear about 30 yards and I shot him.
NO doubt what so ever in my mind I couldn't have called in that Tom using my slate call only as it simply doesn't have the volume to reach out 300-600 yards like my Primos mouth call can and has 7 times now. I will now no longer EVER turkey hunt without my Primos True Triple mouth call and I can not recommend strongly enough to every turkey hunter they learn to use a mouth call as IMHO, they are the loudest of all turkey calls, or at the least the Primos mouth call I use is definitely louder than my favorite HS Strut paddle call.
Two seasons ago I used my Primos mouth call to call a Tom off a neighbors land that was strutting in his field to me and my LRF confirmed the tree line he was in front of was +/- 550-600 yards away from where I was set up on the farm I was hunting and about 125 yards on my side of the property line. Three seasons ago I called Tom out of the
same field but he was about 400 yards out. Two of my sons four Toms I used the same Primos call to call in birds from a LRF confirmed 300+ yards from the same field and the final 100 or so yards on the
property I was hunting for nice close 25 yard shots.
As I said I strongly advise all turkey hunters to learn to use a mouth call. Funny thing is although I taught myself how to use a turkey mouth call quite at least 10 years
ago it has only been the last 5 seasons I've been using one and only because I FINALY figured out my slate as well as my paddle call lacked the volume to call in Toms at the long distances I would spot them strutting out in fields, and now even in thick over grown woods.
I know the saying "game changer" is a bit of an over used cliche, but mouth calls have become a game changer for me. Just figured my experience would be worth sharing and
might help someone fill their tag.
Four of my last 5 five Toms and 5 of my last eight Toms and two of my sons four Toms were all called into their demise by yours truly using a Primos True triple mouth call. While that in of itself isn't the least bit
exceptional in any way, the circumstances that lead up to the filling of those 7 tags are.
This years spring turkey hunt was shaping up to be the same as most of my hunts of the previous 8 seasons. After Setting up on 3 Toms I'd roosted the evening before, I sat in the
dark of pre dawn and awaited shooting light. Unlike other land I hunted, I had never hunted this property for turkey before and wasn't sure of any of the Toms exact location and the property had no fields on it, so I had no idea what direction the turkeys would likely go after fly down.
Long story I was unsuccessful in calling in any of the three Toms, who all gobbled while on the roost and the ground, but I suspect the dozen or more hens with them was the most
likely reason the Toms wanted nothing to do with my decoys or my calling. The fact I was hunting in the woods that were mostly over grown with dense patches of multflora rose
definitely didn't help.
Once on the ground the Toms stuck around and gobbled on and off for about 2 and half to 3 hours, the last 30 minuets of which based on their gobbles were getting ever farther away from me until their gobbles became quite faint. By now it was about 8:30 in the morning. I had considered trying to close in on them through the thick woods, but there were
hens all over the place that made doing so unadvisable.
Considering close to if not half of my 30+ Toms and Jakes I have killed so far I called in after 9:30, I was not all that worried and did exactly what I do every time I find myself without a bird after 9am, I sat quietly until 9:45. At about 9:45 or so I first used my synthetic slate and tried some blind calling in the direction I new the turkeys went, and after about 40 minuets of calling sparingly with no results, it was time to go to my mouth call.
What I love about my Primos mouth calls more than anything else is the shear volume of call I can make, I have used it to successfully call in Toms from 400 to 600 yards out on a calm day with little to no wind. Today would be no different. I let loose with a short strings of yelps and about 2-3 minuet I got a response gobble, best guess at least 250-300 yards away.
For the next hour at least one Tom would gobble 1 or 2x every 10-15 minuets, but I never called back to him, He then stopped gobbling. I then EVER so slowly and carefully moved loser but after about no more than 100 yards spotted a hen, and I'm sure the heavy cover and I only either crawled or duck walked on my knees kept me from being spotted by the,
hen so I worked my way back to my original set up.
It was now about an hour since the Tom last gobbled and I knew at this time of day Toms normally would be on the prowl for receptive hens and hopefully this Tom would be no different.
So once again I called but went with the Primos mouth call first, and I called as loudly as I could. Sure enough I got a response gobble near instantly, but it sounded at least as far as before, best guess 300-400
yards away, but could've been closer or farther I just couldn't be certain, but I know I personally almost always underestimate how far away a gobble is from a turkey on the
ground. I waited about 10 maybe 15 minuets and called again, and again he gobbled, but this time it sounded closer, so I shut up. A few minuets later he gobbled again, he sounded like he might be closer but if he was it wasn't a lot. I got up and paced off about 70 or so yards and called facing directly away from the Toms direction.
He let out a gobble immediately and I quickly returned to my spot. The Tom was gobbling almost continuously now and was rapidly closing the distance, A few minuets later I could make out first one bright red head, then two, then three no less! Three Toms were headed to me but only the lead Tom was gobbling. Finally he was in the clear about 30 yards and I shot him.
NO doubt what so ever in my mind I couldn't have called in that Tom using my slate call only as it simply doesn't have the volume to reach out 300-600 yards like my Primos mouth call can and has 7 times now. I will now no longer EVER turkey hunt without my Primos True Triple mouth call and I can not recommend strongly enough to every turkey hunter they learn to use a mouth call as IMHO, they are the loudest of all turkey calls, or at the least the Primos mouth call I use is definitely louder than my favorite HS Strut paddle call.
Two seasons ago I used my Primos mouth call to call a Tom off a neighbors land that was strutting in his field to me and my LRF confirmed the tree line he was in front of was +/- 550-600 yards away from where I was set up on the farm I was hunting and about 125 yards on my side of the property line. Three seasons ago I called Tom out of the
same field but he was about 400 yards out. Two of my sons four Toms I used the same Primos call to call in birds from a LRF confirmed 300+ yards from the same field and the final 100 or so yards on the
property I was hunting for nice close 25 yard shots.
As I said I strongly advise all turkey hunters to learn to use a mouth call. Funny thing is although I taught myself how to use a turkey mouth call quite at least 10 years
ago it has only been the last 5 seasons I've been using one and only because I FINALY figured out my slate as well as my paddle call lacked the volume to call in Toms at the long distances I would spot them strutting out in fields, and now even in thick over grown woods.
I know the saying "game changer" is a bit of an over used cliche, but mouth calls have become a game changer for me. Just figured my experience would be worth sharing and
might help someone fill their tag.
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