Brodie Swisher
There are plenty of calls on the shelf for turkey hunters these days, but there are three sounds that’ll get a turkey killed like no other. Since most hunters rely on a steady delivery of hen yelps, cutts and clucks, the woods are full of educated longbeards that have heard every store-bought mouth call and friction call on the market. To consistently trigger a bird’s aggressive or curious nature, it often helps to move beyond the basics.
Seriously, why would you want to do the same thing countless other hunters are doing with limited success?
Add the sounds mentioned below to your bag of tricks this spring and you’ll likely see an uptick in the number of birds that let their guard down and come slippin’ into range of your gun.
The Jake Yelp and Calking
In the hierarchy of the spring woods, dominance is the driving force behind a gobbler’s movement. While a lonely hen is a great motivator, a rival male invading his space is an immediate call to action. This is where the Jake yelp and "calking" come into play.
A Jake yelp is deeper, coarser, and slower than a hen’s yelp. It typically consists of two to three notes with a distinct "hollow" quality.
Think of the calking sound as the coarse jake yelp mixed with a half-hearted, broken gobble. He’s learning to gobble. It’s almost there. But for now, it’s a mix of both.
When a mature longbeard hears this, his biological mindset shifts from courtship to combat. He’s coming in to defend his territory and establish his position.
The sound plays on a gobbler’s dominance and boss-mode mentality. Like any male, he’s jealous over an intruder attempting to mess with his ladies. So, despite being "hen-ed up" and unwilling to leave his real hens for your calling, he will often mean-march his way to your setup in quick fashion if he believes a young, subordinate male is trying to move in on his flock.
Harold Knight said it years ago, “A jake will often calk at a mature bird strutting.” The name of the game is to paint a picture in that gobbler’s mind. If he thinks there’s another gobbler, or simply jakes moving in on his hens, he will come in to address the situation or at least satisfy his curiosity.
The Kee-Kee Yelp (Kee-Kee Run)
The Kee-Kee-Yelp (or the Kee-Kee run) is a high-pitched, whistling sound primarily associated with the fall season, as lost poults try to relocate their mother. Because of this, the Kee-Kee Yelp combination may not necessarily seem at home in the springtime woods, but that is exactly why it is so effective.
Most hunters are doing the same thing: three to five hen yelps, a pause, and then silence. By the middle of May, every gobbler in the woods has heard that routine. The Kee-Kee-run is different. It consists of high-pitched whistles followed by two yelps, and it works to set your calling presentation apart from every other hunter in the woods.
Turkeys are inherently curious. The whistles, whines, and kee-kees are a great addition to mix up your sound and present something that truly works on a bird's curiosity. It sounds like a young, excited hen or a bird that is slightly out of sorts.
The high-frequency whistles of a Kee-Kee cut through wind and heavy foliage better than deep yelps. It can grab a bird's attention from a long distance, offering a "flavor" he hasn't been conditioned to ignore.
Another selling point on this sound is that it often plays on the maternal instinct of a boss hen. It’s a sound that’ll pull her to you instead of push her away. And if you can draw the hen, the gobbler won’t be far behind.
Scratching in the Leaves
Perhaps the most overlooked tool in a turkey hunter's arsenal isn't a call at all—it's the forest floor. Scratching in the leaves is one of the deadliest finishing sounds you can possibly make, and it doesn't require an actual call of any kind.
Turkeys are social creatures that spend the vast majority of their day on their feet, searching for food. The sound of a bird rhythmically scratching—typically two quick scratches followed by a longer third swipe—is the universal sound of a relaxed, feeding turkey. Consider it the ultimate confidence call.
When do you use it? When a bird is hung up at 60 yards, staring a hole through the brush and looking for the hen he’s been hearing, the last thing he wants to hear is more loud yelping. He’s looking for a reason to feel safe. By simply using your hand to scratch the leaves next to you, you mimic the sound of a hen contentedly feeding.
And don’t think it’s just a close encounters call. God’s given the gobbler remarkable hearing. On a calm day, you can call a bird in from a hundred yards or more, simply by the sounds you make in the leaves
This sound tells the gobbler two things:
The "hen" is still there.
Everything is safe enough for her to be distracted by food.
It is a subtle, non-threatening sound that often coaxes a weary bird those final fifteen yards into your effective pattern.
Final Thoughts
Success in the turkey woods is often a game of patience and timing. While the standard box call or slate will always have its place, the hunters who consistently fill tags are those who understand the psychology of the bird.
By using the Jake yelp to challenge his dominance, the Kee-Kee-Yelp to pique his curiosity, and scratching in the leaves to earn his trust, you aren't just making noise—you’re telling a story.
Next time you find yourself in a standoff with a hard-headed longbeard, consider the sounds mentioned above. They just might be the sounds you need to close the distance this spring.
