# Thunder Chickens....



## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

Am I missing something or is there just not much discussion on Turkey around here? I can't even find a fourm/thread related to em. Do you guys hunt em or what? The season is getting closer so I'm starting to think about them a bit more. I think I even heard a gobble in my dreams last night.


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## JustinRobins (Jan 23, 2010)

lol you know that the season is near if you are hearing gobbles in your dreams!!! Well I plan on hunting them this year, but it'll be my first.


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## reb8600 (Sep 8, 2007)

Keep an eye on the upland game discussion. The Turkey draw isnt even done yet.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

Upland game? Seems like a strange place.

The draw isn't done yet but I figured someone would be talking about them.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

I plan on hunting them_ if _I can draw a LE tag... we'll see I guess.


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

Yeah, most of the turkey discussions go on in upland. I guess everyone figures that since it's a land bird and not waterfowl then it must go there. REALLY big pheasants.


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## duneman101 (Nov 6, 2009)

Wind In His Hair said:


> REALLY big pheasants.


Thats funny!


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## gooseblaster (Sep 2, 2009)

bullsnot said:


> Upland game? Seems like a strange place.
> 
> Why is that a strange place?


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

I'll talk turkey with ya! 

They're one of my favorite things to chase and I love mounting them too. (taxidermy :mrgreen: ) My wife would rather hunt turkeys than anything. Shes a turkey killin machine!

I've long been an advocate of just doing away with the whole LE turkey thing in this state. We have plenty of birds and they are plenty smart enough to provide a good hunting challenge to those who are willing to put forth the effort. LE hunting just stirs them up even more. With so many "opening days" you get several weekends of extreme pressure and the birds shut down and don't respond well to calling any more. If the whole state just opened on April 15th and the season went till June 1st we'd have lots less pressure on the birds. The hunting would be really good all over the state. Instated, we've got a May 1st state wide season after all the screaming idiots with LE tags have run the birds out of the country and educated them with PhD's in calling.

So... Until the DWR pulls their collective heads out of their collective butts regarding the turkey hunt, I'll be hunting them out of state. I'll probably keep hunting them out of state anyway because one turkey hunt a year is NEVER enough! Hell, if I was loaded with cash I'd start hunting them in FL in March, and end up in MT in May. I've never shot a supper slam or a world slam, but it is one of my "bucket list" items. 

Hears a little sumthin to gawk at till the seson starts...


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## cowmilker (Dec 17, 2008)

Wind In His Hair said:


> REALLY big pheasants.


No, Turkey's are not extinct in Utah.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

I am going to echo everything that Tex said, especially regarding the LE concept as applied to turkey hunting. A quick study of the evolution of turkey hunting in Utah shows that both the average hunter and the DWR here in Utah are way behind most states in their understanding of turkey hunting. The concept of LE has sprung from the "trophy hunter" mentality that persists in big game hunting in modern times. Somehow, our DWR believes that trophy hunting is as aspect of turkey hunting and has therefore created the asinine LE hunts in Utah. Utah actually has a very nice population of turkeys and should be managed like any other state with a huntable turkey population. I have to laugh when I read people say stuff like "I won't hunt them unless I draw a LE permit" or, and TEX this is for you...I'll just hunt out of state until Utah get's their head out of their a**. Not me, I'll hunt turkeys whenever, wherever I can, anywhere in the US of A. 
So, I am with ya friend...lets get some turkey talk going


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

In regards to calling, what's y'all's favorite call to use and why?

I always carry a big selection of calls on me when I hunt but I like the mouth diaphragm calls the best. The range of sounds and volume can be controlled by the user and they are hands-free to operate. Mouth calls also tend to take on a unique sound because like turkeys, no two people blow em alike. So you're not going to sound like every other guy scratching on a Primos box call. Second choice would be a slate or friction call of some sort. But they suck when it's wet and you need at least one hand to operate them. Mouth calls can be hard to learn but once you figure it out I think they are the way to go.

I also make my own mouth calls with a diaphragm making kit I bought on line. WAY cheaper and they are really easy to make. The latex you can get with the kit is much thinner than the regular latex most factory calls are made with and therefore produces a better sounding, easier to blow call. Hears the link to the web sight.
http://www.callpurrfect.com


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## Younghunter21 (Sep 7, 2010)

I agree with tex that Utah's DWR is messed up. Although they have some good things that they are doing but not many. Last year was my first year hunting turkeys after i drew out on a northern LE tag. My dad knows a guy that owns some land up the canyon from lost creek. and has a huge amount of turkeys on it. We saw tons of turkeys even if they weren't on the property we could hunt on. I ended up taking a tom that had only a 3 inch beard. I was perfectly fine with it for my first turkey.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

I don't know, when I think of upland game I think of birds and fluffy tailed rabitts. When I think of turkey, I think of a wiley muley with wings.

Anyway the LE vs general is tough deal. I know last year the area I hunted was awesome for the LE hunt then when I took the 12 year out during the youth hunt for her first hunt the place was dead! Nobody was calling turkeys in. I did end up calling in one hen for the daughter before the hunt ended but that was it after 6 days of hunting. 

Last year being the first general hunt, I'm hoping they change it up a bit because it was rough to try and get my youngen on a bird. I wish I knew more about turkeys but I wonder if a few LE units and the rest of the state being general would make sense?


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## FishNaked (Apr 15, 2009)

I saw three Toms last week in full strut...certainly a cool sight to see with the snowy background.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> In regards to calling, what's y'all's favorite call to use and why?


Favorite call? I dunno...honestly turkey hunting is something I have only recently picked up. I have the box cutter (box call), Ol' Glory (friction call), and some diaphrams. I do like the versatility of the diaphrams but the box cutter is a pretty deadly call. But at the end of the day I have cookie cutter calls and probably so does half of everyone else on the mountain.

I have been looking at some wingbone strikers to get some different tones going. One thing I learned about elk calling it's a lot of it is tonal and inflection.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Never have used a "box cutter"...when is a good time to use this call? Is it good first thing in the morning after they come off the roost or would you think it best before they come of the roost?


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> In regards to calling, what's y'all's favorite call to use and why?


Primos Sonic Dome diaphragm elk calls work fantastic. I had good luck with the H.S. Strut Ring Zone paired with a wooden striker last year.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

BPturkeys said:


> Never have used a "box cutter"...when is a good time to use this call? Is it good first thing in the morning after they come off the roost or would you think it best before they come of the roost?


I was waiting for someone more experienced to answer but I'll pass along the advice that I got...take it for what it's worth.

TREE CALL: This consists of 2 to 3 very, soft strokes, approximately ¼ to ½" across the call side of the box. This is the first sound made by hens in the morning hours, the tree call can be used to entice the gobbler to fly down in your direction.
(I always like to enhance this call by using a WING THING or PRIMOS REAL WING by flapping it against my leg and the ground giving another gobbler the thought that, another bird is beating him to his hen!)

YELPS: This is one fast stroke made by pulling the lid softly ¾ to 1" across the call side of the box. The yelp is a simple one note sound and in the their language forms the basis for all other calls.

MATING CALL: A call of 3 to 5 soft, fast ¾ to 1" strokes, the mating call can also be used to entice the gobbler to fly down in your direction 
(15 to 30 minutes after daybreak). 
**It is good to use any time of the day as a locator call**

ASSEMBLY CALL or LOST BIRD CALL: This call is a series of 10 to 15 strokes ¾ to 1", varying is sound from soft to loud back to soft. 
**It is a good locator call**

CLUCKING: Clucks are made in ¼" strokes, made very softly by using a lifting motion with the paddle, while you are making contact to the side wall of your box call.

CACKLE: Made by making 5 to 8 rapid ¼" strokes, tapering off into 3 to 5 slower 1" strokes on one continuous rhythm. 
**The cackle is very effective in early morning as a locator call**

WHINE: Made by one very, slow & soft 1" stroke, the whine is used in combination with 2 to 3 clucks to bring gobblers into gun range.
**Killer Call When Mastered**


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> (I always like to enhance this call by using a WING THING or PRIMOS REAL WING by flapping it against my leg and the ground giving another gobbler the thought that, another bird is beating him to his hen!)


Or in an emergency flap your hat against your chest!


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## Wind In His Hair (Dec 31, 2009)

cowmilker said:


> Wind In His Hair said:
> 
> 
> > REALLY big pheasants.
> ...


 :lol:


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