“Turkeyology 101”

Keith KinyonHunting Tips & Techniques, Spring Fling

I never really hunted turkey with any regularity and seriousness until 2016, when I booked a hunt Gary Morgan. I have hunted several more times with Gary on his turkey hunts and I always seem to learn at least one new thing each time I go. I knew next to nothing about calling, setting up decoys, and shotguns/choke tubes as they related to turkey hunting, . I have learned a great deal over the past 10 years and now I have a decent knowledge base, a great deal of which I learned from Gary Morgan, and to a lesser degree, John Jones.  

Calling turkey effectively has been the most challenging part of the turkeyology learning curve for me. I have played around with various box calls, but I have settled on the ‘ole pot and peg for a majority of my hunting. I have watched Gary perform many different calls all using the pot and peg call. I looked at the position of his stick on the glass, the angle of the peg and how to use various volumes of the call depending on the situation. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to share a U.P. deer hunt with John Jones and I brought my old aluminum pot and wooden stick and asked him to help in whatever way he could. He let me call a little and suggested I pick up the pace a bit. It sounded like Yap……Yap…..Yap. Too long between sounds. So, lesson number one under my belt. John took the call and I watched him move the peg around, looking for a spot that provided the most “grip” for the end of the stick. Then he worked the call. Sounded incredible in his hands. I now do the same thing as I practice in the winter and early spring. He also mentioned that he thought glass was somewhat more forgiving as a call compared to aluminum. Again, I filed all this information away and have used it to improve my calling skills. Additionally, I recall Gary saying that he likes to start his hen call before he hears a hen stop her call; it irritates her and she calls even more. I used that technique this year and it worked fantastic! I also learned to repeat, as close as possible, the call that the hens are using. This year I made my call raspy as the hen called in a raspy, chomp, chomp, chomp sound. Again, I have accumulated and assimilated all this information and use it as an arsenal that I take with me each spring.  

Setting up decoys I learned by just simply paying attention to how Gary set up his decoys. Details like how far away to set the decoys from the blind, which direction they were facing, spacing between decoys, how many to use, and any other minute details that seemed relevant to me. Watch and learn is always a good choice and that’s what I did. I also started buying new decoys, saving up so I could get the most realistic looking decoys. I even bought a jake decoy, cut a wedge out of the top side and glued in an old spread out tom fan and that realistic looking decoy has brought in many different birds for me. I don’t always use decoys.  At some spots I don’t think they are necessary, but when I do use them I rely on my knowledge and what I ‘ve seen Gary use and it has been effective for me. 

I have always had a keen interest in any and all firearms but I did not know much about shotguns/choke tubes as they related to turkey hunting specifically. I did a good deal of this turkeyology segment on my own, experimenting with various choke tubes and turkey loads.  I live on 40 acres and have multiple shooting ranges so I was able to experiment and shoot and determine first hand what tube/load combos worked in my specific shotguns. I have two Mossberg’s, a 930 and a 500 that are both topped with Konus scopes that have a diamond shape reticle in the center which allows me to accurately place shots. Also, I have an old 870 Remington with open sights that I use quite a bit as well. I feel confident about the guns and loads that I use and am able to go afield every spring with the utmost faith and assurance that, if the opportunity arises, I will find myself notching out my turkey tag.

Author’s Dad with his 2025 Harvest

…guided/called in by his son (author)

9 1/4″ beard, 1 1/2″ spurs

Turkeyology is an ongoing, fluid learning experience that is never completely over. Old Toms will continue to hang up just outside shooting range, or show up without making any noise whatsoever, or just plain fool us when we are absolutely certain we have them figured out. That is what continues to stoke the fire in us every spring as we hit the turkey woods.

Keith Kinyon
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