Is This Guy the Turkey Whisperer?

I recently came across a video which serves as an illustration of just how incautious turkeys can become when they’re accustomed to humans — and how dumb some humans can be.

It begins when some pheasant hunters heard some distant turkeys on a farm, and one young guy began calling. Sure enough, the turkeys came their way.

We get our first clue to this fellow’s IQ by the way he handles his shotgun, repeatedly covering the muzzle with his hand and leaning over it. Derp! He’s lucky he didn’t kill himself.

As the turkeys get closer and begin to strut, he decides to get in on the act, hunkering down and waddling towards the birds while yelping and gobbling. And it works! The turkeys all become interested and start coming closer.

At one point, hens even begin to charge him, probably because hens are naturally drawn to gobblers, and he’s clearly the biggest gobbler in sight! That’s when it all becomes too much for him and he runs back towards his buddy with the birds in hot pursuit.

The turkeys show that they’re not about to back down, so he goes back to strutting, encouraged by his buddy who offers direction between giggles:

Get in a fight with ’em.

Grab ’em by the leg. Right by the neck.

Grab ’em right by the neck. Hee hee!

Even after he stands up, the birds hang out. It’s clear they are used to humans and don’t see him as a threat, even when he tries to kick one upside the head right before he runs back to his pal.

Why can’t I find turkeys this bold when I’m in the woods hunting them?

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.