Shane Simpson is not one to hold back. Ask him a question about hunting and he’ll tell it like he sees it, even if it goes against popular opinion. And in the turkey woods, he’s not afraid to speak up either.
Simpson calls a lot and, at times, aggressively.
“When people say I’m calling too aggressively, I’m calling too much, I’m like ‘Man, I’m killing turkeys on a consistent basis, so why would I change that,’” says Simpson, who is a custom call maker and hunting YouTuber.
It’s important to note that Simpson is mostly killing those turkeys on pressured public ground — which is where many hunters opt to call more subtly. It’s probable that the gobblers he’s targeting have likely heard other hunters calling before (and possibly even been shot at). It’s under these conditions that Simpson has had success season after season all over the country.
But as Simpson says in the most recent episode of the Outdoor Life podcast, almost all turkey hunting tactics are situational. There’s a lot more to his success than simply tromping into the woods and hammering on a mouth call. Here’re some of the things I learned from Simpson, and that can hopefully help you this spring.
Call More Aggressively (But Be Realistic)
“As I got more proficient at calling, I started calling much more aggressively,” Simpson says. “And I saw my success rate go up.”
Simpson’s approach runs counter to what other hunters might advise. A common perspective is that less calling is better, especially with pressured turkeys. But just because heavy calling hasn’t worked for other people doesn’t mean that it’s the wrong tactic. Realistically, many turkey hunters aren’t great at calling. And a lot of bad calling is likely to send toms in the opposite direction.
“Be honest with yourself. Do you suck at calling, and did that gobbler know that you’re not a real hen?” Simpson says. “I see people in videos all the time doing things on their call that wild turkeys don’t actually do.”
While a lot of hunters tend to call less to public-land turkeys, Simpson takes the opposite approach.
“I actually call more because I know most hunters don’t call as much as me and I don’t think they sound as close to a hen as I do. There’s a lot of great callers out there, now don’t get me wrong, but if you watch TikTok and see these guys running mouth calls — if that’s the kind of calling that guys are doing on public land, then I’m going to be just fine. They’re not going to be afraid of what they think is a real hen turkey.”
It’s also important to point out that Simpson practices calling all the time. He says he has a turkey call in his pocket 365 days a year. Just like with a musical instrument, if you want to be great at turkey calling, you’ve got to practice.
Read Next: Best Turkey Calls
Call Them Off the Limb
While a lot of hunters are hesitant to call to a roosted tom, Simpson wants to call them in right off the roost.
“In most cases I’m calling to them on the limb, because I’ve had a lot of success with that,” Simpson says. “My objective is to get him off the limb and into gun range as quickly as I can, before a hen interrupts us or another hunter interrupts.”
Once he gets set up inside a gobbler’s bubble (more on this later) he’ll start off with soft bubble clucks and a quiet yelping under his breath. He only does this when he knows where a gobbler is, of course. And if that tom gobbles back, then he’ll start to ramp it up a bit.
Also if a tom drums in response to your calling, that’s as good as a gobble back. Your next move all depends on how the turkey responds.
“If I call to one real soft and then maybe I call a little louder and he still doesn’t gobble, or maybe he was gobbling and he stopped gobbling, I won’t call again,” Simpson says.
If you’re hunting the same tom that you’ve called to (unsuccessfully) on the limb during a previous hunt, it’s best to not try the same strategy again.
Find a New Gobbler
A key element of aggressive turkey hunting is knowing when to give up on a tom, even if he’s gobbling back to your calls. A common scenario is for a gobbler to fly down with hens and then move off with them. In that case, Simpson tries calling directly to the hens.
“I want those birds to come to me and they’ll pull the gobbler to me,” Simpson says.
But sometimes the whole group will simply walk off, even though the gobbler keeps responding to your call. After all, he has live hens with him, there’s no reason for him to leave them for you. In this situation Simpson will simply quit calling and try to find a new tom that might be more responsive. Or if the terrain allows, he might see if he can maneuver around and ahead of the flock.
Get in Their Bubble
“I preach this a lot, you want to get inside a turkey’s bubble — 100 yards or closer,” Simpson says. “There’s something that changes with [how a bird reacts] when you can get inside that bubble really close.”
At that range, even walking slowly and shuffling in the leaves like a turkey can get a tom to gobble or bring him into gun range.
In order to get close to turkeys, you’ve got to know how to move through the woods without getting busted. Move quickly if you can be quiet while doing so. Move slowly and try to sound like a turkey when the leaves are dry and crunchy. Listen carefully for drumming and gobbles as you go.
Spend More Time in the Woods
“If you want to increase your odds of success, the easiest fix is to spend more time in the woods,” Simpson says. “And by that I mean, when you go out in the morning and the birds aren’t gobbling, don’t leave the woods to go get a biscuit and take a nap. [It’s not always] going to be that easy morning gobbling hunt.”
Read Next: The Best Turkey Calls, Tested and Reviewed
Simpsons says to pack some snacks and water and plan to spend all day in the woods whenever possible. Often, gobblers that were preoccupied with hens in the morning will leave them in the afternoon.
“Spend more time if you have it,” Simpson says. “The more time in the woods, the higher the odds you have of finding a gobbler that acts right.”
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