Pennsylvania Game News - April 2018 - 14

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Like many of the callers questioned, Al
Holbert, of Enticer Turkey Calls in Rome,
Pa., said the best calling approach might
vary from one situation to the next.
If a morning hunt is passing by quietly,
Holbert said he might be inclined to make
more noise of his own. But if a gobbler
is responding to calls, callers need to be
careful not to overdo it.
On average, Holbert said a series of
three yelps is probably best in most situations. Then he picked up a pot call to
demonstrate and scratched out four notes.
What's important, he said, is to make
realistic sounding calls and call only
enough to let the gobbler know where
you are.
"A lot of the time, the less you call, the
better you're going to do," Holbert said.
When asked for the perfect number
of yelps, Doug Humenay, of Triple Toe
Game Calls in Mill Hall, immediately
knew the answer he wanted to give. But
having never before counted how many
are in the cadence he favors, he needed a
moment to sound it out before he could
say it was six.
Like Holbert, Humenay said the
number is flexible. If gobblers are hammering away on their own, he might call
softer or call less.
"It depends on the situation and it
depends on the bird I'm talking to," he
said.
But more often than not, his yelps are
a set of six - a pattern that's proven successful for him over the years.
Across the aisle, Tony Casella, of the
upstate New York-based Lynch Mob
Calls, gave careful consideration to the
question.
"I don't know if I ever counted them,"
he said.
Picking up a slate call and a striker, he
scratched out a series of six yelps, then

another with seven. He said both sounded
about right to him.
Colleague Christian Costa agreed,
saying he'd put the perfect number somewhere between six and eight.
Ronnie Hardy, of the West Virginiabased Hardy's Custom Game Calls, was
quick to respond the perfect number is
seven.
Why?
"I've always had luck with seven,"
Hardy said.
Hardy said his seven-yelp series has
proven effective, whether calling West
Virginia gobblers or those he pursues in
Juniata County.
"A lot of it is sticking with what has
worked for you in the past," Hardy said.
"Turkey hunters are creatures of habit, and
you don't want to break the habit."
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In the very next booth, the staff at
Mountain Hollow Game Calls demonstrated how personal preference might
swing drastically from one caller to the
next.
Jerry Foster, of Galeton, was quick to
answer three. Meanwhile, Jeff Rawson, of
State College, popped a diaphragm in his
mouth so Mike Brubaker - a staff pro and
former Pittsburgh Steelers placekicker -
could settle on the number that sounded
best to him.
Counting them out, Brubaker said 10,
even 12 yelps seems about right.
His response drew immediate chirping
from several others in the booth who view
10 yelps as way too many to be ideal.
But as Mountain Hollow pro Philip
Mailhiot pointed out, it's the gobbler's
opinion that really matters.
What's the perfect number of yelps?
"The one he answers to," Mailhiot said.
Field Hudhall, of the Kentucky-based

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Pennsylvania Game News - April 2018

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