Electronic turkey calling

[GLS]

A concerned friend relayed to me what he feared was a trend with some younger beginning turkey hunters. One of them showed how he called turkeys with his smart phone which had an array of various calls, including gobbling. The young man indicated others he knew did the same. I suppose thermal imaging and shooting of birds off the limb in the dark is next. Gil

[Gar Commander]

Wouldnt surprise me. My son does a lot of hog hunting at night with a thermal and said he occasionally sees turkeys roosted in trees on field edges while they are scanning fields for hogs. They show up very good on a thermal.

[DocHolliday]

Gil:
This has been one of greatest fears as we have progressed from decoys to pop up tents to baiting. Now this. How much more can we cheapen this moble bird. 45 years ago when I started, you earned a turkey and he was hard earned and you were supremely proud when you connected. I’m not saying that everything we did then was right or better or that there was no room for change just that we should be very careful of running headlong into change. We may leave behind some very valuable qualities and lessons.

[jsh909]

Seems that the sport aspect of hunting is dying. It's all about the instant gratification of killing now

[HunterGKS]

It's illegal to use electronics to call turkeys in a lot of states. Ohio, NY, WV, IN, & FL are ones that I know about,

Check this site for others: https://www.gofoxpro.com/resources/map/

[DocHolliday]

Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean that it’s right or ethical.

[jsh909]

My guess would be most that are doing it don't know if it's legal or not or simply don't care.

[GLS]

It's not legal in Georgia and the man knows it's not. His comment to my friend after he said it was illegal: "how they (game warden) going to prove it?" DocH, fanning has cheapened the hunt, too. Gil

[jdjnicholson]

TSS ,scopes and now this.

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[aristico]

TSS ,scopes and now this.

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Let me go grab my popcorn....

[Hognutz]

Let’s not forget camouflage.

[aristico]

Let’s not forget camouflage.

And guns...

[Southern Sportsman]

Does anyone really think that wearing camouflage or using a gun is equivalent to baiting or electronic callers, or is that just a slippery-slope fallacy aimed at justifying the “as long as its legal” mentality? Or in this case, mostly illegal.

I guess you can draw your line wherever you want. But I draw mine WAY north of electronic calls. There are some contentious subjects of legitimate debate when it comes to fair-play in turkey hunting: decoys, tent blinds, “fanning,” tungsten - it’s a pretty long list. But I think there should be general consensus that others are over the line: rifles, bait, roost shooting, etc. I feel like electronic calls should fall in the latter category.

[HunterGKS]

It's not legal in Georgia and the man knows it's not. His comment to my friend after he said it was illegal: "how they (game warden) going to prove it?" DocH, fanning has cheapened the hunt, too. Gil

IMHO, That statement makes him & the rest no longer hunters but poachers.

[935]

It's illegal to use electronics to call turkeys in a lot of states. Ohio, NY, WV, IN, & FL are ones that I know about,

Check this site for others: https://www.gofoxpro.com/resources/map/

NC too

[935]

It's not legal in Georgia and the man knows it's not. His comment to my friend after he said it was illegal: "how they (game warden) going to prove it?" DocH, fanning has cheapened the hunt, too. Gil

IMHO, That statement makes him & the rest no longer hunters but poachers.

[RemingtonRules]

Knowing which call to use, where to call from are more important than making the sound. Most using electronics probably don’t know this.


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[Hognutz]

Does anyone really think that wearing camouflage or using a gun is equivalent to baiting or electronic callers, or is that just a slippery-slope fallacy aimed at justifying the “as long as its legal” mentality? Or in this case, mostly illegal.

I guess you can draw your line wherever you want. But I draw mine WAY north of electronic calls. There are some contentious subjects of legitimate debate when it comes to fair-play in turkey hunting: decoys, tent blinds, “fanning,” tungsten - it’s a pretty long list. But I think there should be general consensus that others are over the line: rifles, bait, roost shooting, etc. I feel like electronic calls should fall in the latter category.

I’m not implying that wearing camo is equivalent to to electronic calling. Far from it. What I am saying is that there have been huge advances in the way that the sport has evolved.
Back in the day it was a pair of blue bibs and a tee shirt that was standard hunting attire. A single bbl. shotgun with high brass #4’s. A homemade call of some sort.
And yes, killing a gobbler was a feat.
I agree, totally, that electronic calling has no place in turkey woods. Ever..Legal or not.
I rarely use a tent. We have a 7 day season in Wi. Rain or shine. If it’s raining or snowing, I use a tent. I won’t deny that I do use decoys on occasion. Not every time but I do use them.
I hunt with lead shot, sans one bird killed with heavy shot. Am I the worlds greatest turkey hunter? Far from it. I am way down on that totem pole. Probably near the bottom compared to most of you all.
The thing that gets me crazy is when someone that bashes blinds and dekes as cheating, handloads TSS and then goes out and has the ability to whack a bird at unheard of distances with any gauge he chooses. I understand that it’s not everyone that does this. But they have the ability to. This has to be considered an advantage over what was used years ago.
To me, it’s all part of the evolution of the hunt. Nothing is the same as it was 50 years ago!
Buy your license and kill your birds any which way that makes YOU happy. In the end, if you’re happy with it, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.
Not looking for a pissing match here. Just trying to clear the air.
Mike

[Southern Sportsman]

Does anyone really think that wearing camouflage or using a gun is equivalent to baiting or electronic callers, or is that just a slippery-slope fallacy aimed at justifying the “as long as its legal” mentality? Or in this case, mostly illegal.

I guess you can draw your line wherever you want. But I draw mine WAY north of electronic calls. There are some contentious subjects of legitimate debate when it comes to fair-play in turkey hunting: decoys, tent blinds, “fanning,” tungsten - it’s a pretty long list. But I think there should be general consensus that others are over the line: rifles, bait, roost shooting, etc. I feel like electronic calls should fall in the latter category.

I’m not implying that wearing camo is equivalent to to electronic calling. Far from it. What I am saying is that there have been huge advances in the way that the sport has evolved.
Back in the day it was a pair of blue bibs and a tee shirt that was standard hunting attire. A single bbl. shotgun with high brass #4’s. A homemade call of some sort.
And yes, killing a gobbler was a feat.
I agree, totally, that electronic calling has no place in turkey woods. Ever..Legal or not.
I rarely use a tent. We have a 7 day season in Wi. Rain or shine. If it’s raining or snowing, I use a tent. I won’t deny that I do use decoys on occasion. Not every time but I do use them.
I hunt with lead shot, sans one bird killed with heavy shot. Am I the worlds greatest turkey hunter? Far from it. I am way down on that totem pole. Probably near the bottom compared to most of you all.
The thing that gets me crazy is when someone that bashes blinds and dekes as cheating, handloads TSS and then goes out and has the ability to whack a bird at unheard of distances with any gauge he chooses. I understand that it’s not everyone that does this. But they have the ability to. This has to be considered an advantage over what was used years ago.
To me, it’s all part of the evolution of the hunt. Nothing is the same as it was 50 years ago!
Buy your license and kill your birds any which way that makes YOU happy. In the end, if you’re happy with it, it doesn’t really matter what anyone else thinks.
Not looking for a pissing match here. Just trying to clear the air.
Mike

No worries. What you mentioned about decoys/blinds/TSS is perfectly fair debate and I’m always for a good debate. My only point was that some things shouldn’t be debatable and I think electronic calls is one of them.

[timbrhuntr]

A concerned friend relayed to me what he feared was a trend with some younger beginning turkey hunters. One of them showed how he called turkeys with his smart phone which had an array of various calls, including gobbling. The young man indicated others he knew did the same. I suppose thermal imaging and shooting of birds off the limb in the dark is next. Gil

Just wondering did your friend talk with him about proper use of calls and the art of using them for turkey hunting ? About 3 or 4 years ago I was set up for an afternoon hunt and a young guy came walking along the field edge. He had his phone in his hand and kept playing a hen yelping. I thought thats weird. I got his attention and we talked . I said wouldn't you feel alot better if you called in a bird yourself rather than cheating and using a recorded call on your phone. He replied he was new to turkey hunting and didn't know how to call but did know how to do it with his phone. I sat with him for the afternoon and showed him how to use a pot and a box. I figured mouth call woud be to hard and overwelming. He was quite excited to try it himself after some instruction and wanted to know where to get a call like that. He said some of his friends use a phone but he would tell them what I had shown him and couldn't wait to do so.

[GLS]

The kid knew better. My buddy told him what he thought, but he's not the only 20 something in the woods around here that does the same. A few are ignorant and the others have a genetic component to be game law scoflaws if you know what I mean, or in other words, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. As for the significance of calling, I used to think it was overrated until I watched Dave Owens mowing them down from sea to shining sea. Gil

[ICDEDTURKES]

My fox pro is pure death really really reaches out lol

[aristico]

Who cares if you are using an electric call where legal...or being in a blind or using a bazooka if its legal and YOU find nothing MORALLY wrong with it knock yourself out...dont press your morals on others...

[Hognutz]

Just curious. Is electronic calling for turkeys legal anywhere?

[aristico]

Just curious. Is electronic calling for turkeys legal anywhere?

It is.... Maine for sure not sure what other states...