Unusual calls and fighting purrs

Terry Hiers and two very happy hunters pose with a trio of Blackwater gobblers. Hiers believes that overall woodsmanship is the most-important factor in hunting turkeys, but he’s not opposed to using some unique calls when the situation presents itself.

Terry Hiers is an expert with most any call made, but he does have some he saves for specific situations.

“I never go to the turkey woods without a tube call,” he said. “They are loud and have the ability to be heard long distances, so they also make excellent locator calls, but they can be so subtle. There’s a huge range of calls that a hunter can make with these calls, based on the situation you’re in. They are good in the wind and unaffected by rain or cold or heat. They have a distinctive sound that is often unique to a hard-worked gobbler. I’ve used it on many occasions to take a bird that was call-shy.

“The tube does make the best fighting purrs I’ve ever heard,” Hiers said, “and that can be an outstanding call to get a old gobbler fired up and is certainly something hunters should have in their bag of tricks. It’s not a call that a lot of hunter use, but it can be extremely effective, and the volume you can get using a tube call is ideal. I’ve used that on many occasions to get gobblers going crazy when other techniques didn’t work on that particular day.”

About Terry Madewell 802 Articles
Award-winning writer and photographer Terry Madewell of Ridgeway, S.C., has been an outdoors writer for more than 30 years. He has a degree in wildlife and fisheries management and has a long career as a professional wildlife biologist/natural resources manager.

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