82 Louisiana Sportsman^ | April 2015
A
diaphragm, or mouth call, takes you one
more step up the ladder of success, though.
You can use it to call and keep your hands
free for hunting.
That also helps you remain still, which
Pilgreen said is essential.
“Look, if a turkey could smell, nobody
would ever kill one,” he said. “They can see
better than anything else in the woods, and
if they could smell you, too, game over.
“Being still is key. Not just when you see turkeys, but
anytime they are near. Sometimes they let you know
where they are all the time; sometimes you just look up
and here they come. But if you move, that’s gone.”
So how would they recommend others get in on this fun?
“It takes a lot of time finding good places to hunt and
learning those places,” Pilgreen said. “You can’t just go
out in the woods and call turkeys and have them come
to you. You have to scout, find where the turkeys are and
where they are going and know your terrain. Then set up
properly to get them to you.
“You have to remember, too, that turkeys will move. Really,
when you do all that, calling is the least of your worries.”
Scouting for turkeys simply means spending time in the
woods looking for them. You can find where turkeys roost
early and late by using an owl or crow call.
“For some reason, if you use that call and a turkey is
in the area, he’ll gobble back at you,” he said. “You find
where he is and where he’s going.”
But knowing how to properly set up means knowing the
turkey’s home well.
“Being an expert woodsman for the area you are hunting
is essential to be consistent,” Pilgreen says. “Know the
habitat. Know the roosting areas and the feeding areas, as
well as where they like to get out and strut.
“It’s not just about finding them, but finding where they
want to go.”
That also means knowing the habitat between you and the
turkeys. One of the biggest mistakes turkey hunters make is
finding turkeys, and then setting up in the wrong place.
If there is a thick area between you and them, for
instance, the birds aren’t going to come through it.
“Turkeys can’t navigate through a pine thicket or a
wooded area that is hard to get through, and no matter
how good you can call they just won’t come through it,”
McKinnie said. “They like open areas where they can see
what’s going on and feel safe.ABOVE, LEFT: This big gobbler couldn’t resist
the combination of Pilgreen’s calling and the
chance to strut his stuff for the decoy hens.
LEFT: Peyton McKinnie took this beautiful gob-
bler along the river. HIs good-luck charm, the
“Little Scratch” call, is shown beside the trophy.A more perfect union
continues on page 86 >