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Look and Sound Like a Wild Turkey

Even the most-experienced hunters make mistakes. However, by thinking quickly, you can convince a turkey that the odd noise he just heard is actually a normal noise.

For example, always keep a deer grunt tube in your turkey vest. If you feel a cough or a sneeze coming on, pull out the grunt tube, and use the deer sound to cover your human sound. You also can turn a cough into a drumming sound if a tom is close by. Never make a human sound without covering it with a natural sound.

Even world-champion callers sometimes will make bad calls. Hens often hit sour notes too. So, if you make a bad call to a tom, don't stop. Just keep calling. A call that ends in a sour note will catch a gobbler's attention - in a bad way. However, a sour note amid a lot of sweet yelps and clucks will seem perfectly normal to that gobbler.

With a little practice, you also can sound like a hen going about the forest on her daily routine. However, even the most-dedicated turkey hunter has a hard time looking like a hen. When you're in the woods, and a turkey spots you, stand still, and try to resemble a stump. If you're in a field, lie down.

If you have a decoy with you, such as a lightweight, collapsible decoy, slowly and carefully remove the decoy from your pack. Put it in front of you, and cluck and purr like a hen. You also can tilt the decoy a bit from time to time, so it looks like a pecking hen and will confuse the tom totally. There's a good chance that he will be confused and curious enough to disregard the strange thing that has flung itself to the dirt (you) and head over to check out the hen. Note: Before using this tactic, be sure to check your state's regulations for using decoys when turkey hunting.