Turkey Tips from Mossy Oak Pro Mike Cockerham

 Q: Can you give me a few general tips on how I can be more successful this spring?
A: Being more successful means practicing with your calls and becoming proficient in using several different types. Also scouting and learning your hunting area can make a big difference in your success.

 

Q: How much scouting should I do before the season?
A: You should be as familiar with your primary hunting area as you are with your own backyard. That way you can try to anticipate what the turkey is going to do and act accordingly.

 

Q: Is there a best call to use?
A: The best call to use is the call you have the most confidence in. That could be a call you have called in birds with before or the one you have practiced with the most and are the most familiar with.

 

Q: Do I need to learn to use several different calls?

A: The use of several calls is crucial because turkeys may respond to one call today and respond to a totally different call tomorrow. Also the use of several different calls can make the appearance of several different hens instead of just one.

 

Q: What do you do to take care of your calls?

A: The care of calls for me is putting my mouth calls in the fridge during the off season and putting my friction calls in a container out of the heat and cold.

 

Q: What is a common mistake that turkey hunters make?

A: Most common mistake in my opinion would be not enough patience and calling too much. 

 

Q: Do you use decoys? If so how?
A: I use decoys most of the time because I hunt a lot of open areas where the birds can see a long way. The decoy seems to confirm the presence of a real turkey.  I use a full strut decoy with a hen.

 

Q: What should I do if I go out and don't hear any gobbling?

A: This is where your scouting and being familiar with your hunting area will pay off. Find a spot that is being used, find a good comfortable spot and wait while calling sparingly.

 

Q: If I can hunt all day, is there a best time to hunt?

A: Obviously the best time is early morning before fly down since the gobbling is usually much better, but don't give up on late morning and afternoon. The hens will leave the gobblers in the late morning and they can become lonely and start gobbling again and can respond very well. The afternoon can be good because the birds like to feed before going to roost, so you can set up on a likely feeding area and get him before he goes to bed.