Make use of locator calls as season progresses

Crow, owl, and woodpecker calls are good late season bets

Locator calls are an important part of any turkey hunter’s arsenal, especially from mid-season to the final day of the season.

“I’ll use crow, owls and woodpecker calls,” said Chris Orvin of Moncks Corner. “It is by far in my best interest to know where the gobbler is without him hearing a hen call. Once I get a gobbled response, I then have an edge in, setting up properly, before making hen calls.”

Call-maker John Tanner said that when moving from one spot to another, he will occasionally use a locator call. And if he gets a response, he’ll react quickly but take enough time to set up so he can see well, but still be hidden.

“When I make my first hen call, I want to be set up and ready,” he said. “I’ve found that if he will shock gobble late in the season, he very well may be alone and respond quickly to a hen call. But I’ve got to be ready before I make that call, because it can happen quickly.”

Many hunters overlook these calls

Guide Brian Jordan of Ulmer said that not using a locator or shock call is a big downfall for a lot of hunters.

“Just as I have throughout the season, when I make my first hen call, I want to be ready for a gobbler to respond,” he said. “If I can strike a gobbler with a locator call, especially mid-morning or later, I feel that with a good set-up, I have a very good opportunity on that particular bird.

“It is tempting to make hen calls as a hunter slips through the woods. But it can lead to bad results. It takes patience and willpower. In the long run, if a hunter can get the basic location of a gobbler without the gobbler knowing he’s being hunted, he has done about all he can to shift the odds to his favor.

“It is an under-utilized technique. And it will pay dividends, especially late in the season on pressured gobblers.”