Question: Eddie, what's the number-one question you're asked in your turkey hunting seminars?
Salter: The number-one seminar question is, "How do you take a gobbler when he's with hens?" First, I like to get as close to the gobbler as I can get without spooking the hens. Then I'll give the gobbler some really light calling. I prefer to get a little bit closer to the turkeys than normal and call really softly, like a timid hen that wants to join the flock, but she's too timid. So, she's staying away. Many times that old gobbler will ease over there to that timid hen to escort her back to the flock. Often the tom will come close enough for you to take the shot.

The second tactic I use when I know I've got a gobbler hemmed-up is I try and get close to the gobbler and his hens really late in the afternoon, before fly-up time. Then I run in and scatter the flock. Now, there's a difference between scaring and scattering the flock. When you scatter the flock, you want to put the birds in the air, flying to every point on the compass. When you scare a flock, the entire flock will fly off in the same direction. The real secret to a good scatter is to let the birds get really close to you before you flush them. Then make sure you make enough noise that you'll startle them and send them in all directions. When you scatter a flock before they fly up to roost, you've broken the pattern and the routine they're accustomed to following all day, every day.

Remember, that ole gobbler has been walking the same route to the same harem of hens and roosting in the same place every day. When you scatter the flock, you've disrupted his usual pattern and routine. He'll have to sleep by himself at night, and he doesn't really know where his girlfriends are sleeping. Therefore, the first thing the old tom wants to do the next morning is locate his harem and his girlfriends. He'll usually gobble really aggressively the next morning, anxiously trying to find his hens. Often, you can call him to you.

Another technique that may be even more effective is to let the gobbler and the hens go ahead and fly up to the roost before dark. Then sneak into the roost site, and spook the gobbler and the hens right off the roost. That ole gobbler will become really confused because you've kicked him and his girlfriends out of his bed. The turkey will have to roost in a tree he's never slept in before, and his girlfriends will have to sleep in trees where they've never slept. The next morning, the gobbler will be desperate to find his sweethearts and much easier to call in and take.

That tom will usually gobble a lot the following morning. So, you want to get fairly close to him. When he flies down, you'll be one of the first hens he hears. Also, because you've spooked those hens the night before, they'll be a little slower coming off the roost, which gives you some more time to work that gobbler to you before they start calling and looking for him.

Question: Eddie, when you're calling, what calls do you use?
Salter: I really like the new Hunter's Specialties' Infinity Latex mouth diaphragm calls. My favorite is the Split V III, a three-reed call with a speed cut in the top reed. It may not sound better than any of the other new Infinity Latex calls Hunter's Specialties released this year, but in my mind, it sounds better. I have a lot of confidence in this call, and I've found that the call you have the most confidence in generally will be the call you can use to call in more turkeys. When someone asks me what diaphragm call they should use, I encourage them to try out three or four calls and then pick out the one that sounds the best to them and is the easiest for them to blow.

For a box call, I prefer to use the Deuce Cutter, which is a one-sided box call, because you don't have to use two hands to use this box call. I prefer to take this box call when I'm looking for turkeys. When I set up to call a turkey, I'll scratch out a little depression in the dirt where I can put the call. Then, when I've got a gobbler in close, I simply slip my hand down beside my leg and tap the lid of that call, making the Deuce Cutter produce a perfect clucking sound.

Many times when the gobbler is 40 to 50 yards from you, walking slowly and a little suspiciously, all he needs is for you to give him the assurance that a hen is there is one good cluck. That Deuce Cutter will produce that cluck. By having that Deuce Cutter in a little hole in the dirt right by your leg, you can lightly tap that lid, make a cluck and tell that ole gobbler, "Hey Baby, I'm right here. Come see me." Also, with this call, you can hold it with one hand and pat the lid with the other hand. This little box does a great job of cutting. The Deuce Cutter is also waterproof. So, even if it's raining, you can hunt with it.

Question: What friction call do you like to use, Eddie?
Salter: I prefer to use the 360 Yelper glass call. A glass call seems to have a slightly-higher pitch than a slate call or even an aluminum call. With the 360, any hunter can go into the woods, use it and sound like a turkey. That's the real advantage of both the box call and the 360 Yelper. When you use either one of them, you can sound like a turkey.

If you took 100 hunters and put them all out in the woods with diaphragm mouth calls, I could tell that about 95% of them would use mouth calls. And, if I can tell they're using a mouth call, so can a tom. But if a hunter is using a box call, like the Deuce Cutter, or a friction call, like the 360, I have a much more difficult time trying to figure out if they're a turkey or a caller, and so will the turkey.