HOW TO CALL TURKEYS LIKE A CHAMPION WITH CHRIS PARRISH

You're Missing The Boat

EDITOR'S NOTE: Chris Parrish of Centralia, Missouri, a wild turkey hunter for 24 years and the winner of five Grand National Turkey Calling Championships, two Mid-American Turkey Calling Championships, the U.S. Open and numerous regional and state titles, won the 2002 Mossy Oak/World Turkey Calling Championship.

Most turkey hunters in the spring rarely use jake (young gobbler) calls. Jakes usually will flock together in the spring. A gobbler will beat up and chase away an individual jake. A group of jakes act much like a group of teenage boys. A jake doesn't feel very tough by himself, but jakes in a group feel like they can whip any bully they see. Now, these jakes will give coarse, deep yelps or they'll try and gobble. Often you can aggravate an old gobbler by giving jake calls after you've given some hen calls.

Gobblers often will come in quicker when you mix jake calls with your hen calls than if you just give hen calls. Often by adding jake calls to your hen calls, you won't only pull a gobbler out of a flock of hens, but you'll often pull the whole flock to you. So during the spring, regardless of what hen calls you use to try and lure a gobbler in to within gun range, don't forget about the jake calls. In many situations, jake calls make the difference between calling the bird into gun range and not calling him into gun range.

TOMORROW: MY ONE AND ONLY