bowhntr1980

Well I got skunked this spring. Things didn't quite work out right during the last week and I had to close with a goose egg. I guess there is always this fall.

Are you using any dekes? Again, call sparingly. Also, don't be afraid to pick up move away from the bird a little and then call again. This may make that tom think the hen is moving away and bring him to you. Works great if you have a partner that moves back and calls for you while you stay put to intercept the tom. Hope that helps.

You may be over calling. Try calling more sparingly. Once you get the birds attention quit calling. Remember the hen is supposed to go to the tom not the tom going to the hen. By calling a little then being quiet, that tom may think that the hen is leaving and then come to you looking. Also what obstacles are around that may hang the bird up?

Thanks Tuck, I'm still staying optimistic. Hopefully the weather will stay like today's (upper 60's clear) and get em' fired up.

I've got the checkmate raspy and the double slash extra raspy. Both are good, fit the palate well and provide good control. I did have to break them in before I really started to like them. They seemed muffled out of the pack but once broke in they are fine.

Welcome, I know that the Primos Jellyhead worked well out of the Super Nova that I had. You may also want to look at Kick's or Comp-N-Choke too. Good luck.

Still, no luck yet. Called in a hen this morning. She got within 5-7 yards. But no Tom. Not even a single gobble this morning or last night when trying to put em' to bed. It's been hard hunting here with all the rain and weird weather not to mention the season came in too late. I've only got a few more outings that I can go on before the season closes so hopefully heads will start rolling.

Welcome, there is a lot of experience in here to learn from.

Week one goes to the thunder chickens . Birds have been gobbling on the roosts but once they hit the ground they shut up. Haven't had the best of luck on set ups and can't get more than one gobble out of birds when trying to strike one up. They seem henned up pretty good right now. Not many have been checked in in this area either. Hens should start to nest sometime this week and hopefully the toms will wanna come out to play .

I picked up the extra raspy and the check mate foam fits to play around with. They have a nice feel, seal good against the palate allowing great control. I typically use Gainer's Game Calls mouth diaphrams as they are a custom call made by a local guy in my area.

Looks like a Merriam and an Eastern.

I use a box call one handed majority of the time. I typically use a mouth diaphram to yelp with and purr, cluck and cut with one hand on the box call. I do this by resting the the bottom of the box into my hand and grasp the lid using my thumb and index finger. It takes some practice this way. I do like the fly down cackle by tapping the lid. If I ever figure out how to post videos I will try to get something together. The Knight and Hale Long Spur box is one of my favorites, along with the Primos Lil' heartbreaker. Good Luck.

Awesome bird, good job Mudhen

Looks to me that Hevi 13 is your load!!! The Jellyhead looks a tick high but compares pretty good to the Carlson's. Either way both chokes seem to like Hevi 13 over the Win. XR's. Good luck.

My understanding is that it is similar to kinetic energy in archery. 4's hit harder than 5's, 5's hit harder than 6's etc. at longer ranges. On the other side though, you get more shot using 6's than with 5's or 4's etc. and usually see better patterns on paper due to having more shot. I am using Hevi Shot Hevi 13 3.5" #6's in 2.25 oz load. This is because #6 in Hevi 13 hits like #5's but gives me more payload than just shooting #5's. I have not patterned Hevi 13 #5's yet but look forward to in the near future and am very interested to see if I get as good of a pattern on paper that I did with #6's. Too close to season now for me to start changing things up for now. Hope this helps and good luck.