Schoharie County's Jay Affinito calls aggressively and moves often while in pursuit of Empire State longbeards. Photo courtesy of Jay Affinito.

Turkey expert Jay Affinito of Esperance, N.Y. has been a student of the sport for the past 20 years, but has dabbled in the sport since the late 1960s. His favorite aspect of the sport is "talking turkey." When he yelps, the gobblers listen!

A New York Department of Environmental Conservation instructor in hunter safety, Affinito offers tips on how to locate, roost and set up on turkeys.

His excitement over the sport is demonstrated by his amazing collection of handmade yelpers and box calls created by craftsmen around the country. His favorite is a box call made by his friend and mentor, the late Ernest Cotton of Warner Robbins.

Affinito stated that when he goes hunting, he takes with him as many as five box calls, a diaphragm call and a few yelpers.

"If one call doesn't appeal to a gobbler, another one will," he said. "One time, I tried two different box calls, and they didn't work. So I tried a yelper, and a big gobbler walked right up to me."

Affinito practices diligently with his calls. That, he says, makes it easier to mimic the complex rhythm and volume of the many turkey vocalizations.

"The more you practice your calls and scout the areas you plan to hunt, the more you can learn about the sounds the local turkeys make," he said.

Affinito begins his scouting a month before opening day. He said that knowledge is the key to a successful hunt, and his main objective is to scout for longbeards every chance he gets.

Affinito hunts the Duanesburg, Cherry Valley, Mariaville and Schoharie Valley regions of New York.

"I am very familiar with these areas," he said. "They are filled with pastures, woodlots and croplands, and it's easy to come up with a good strategy."

TRICKS OF THE TRADE
At dusk, the birds routinely head to their roosting sites. Affinito recommends that hunters go out before the season begins, and especially the night before a hunt, and "put the gobblers to bed."

"Listen for the gobblers to sound off on their own," Affinito said. "If you don't hear them gobbling, try a few crow calls, box call cuts or a few yelps. If there are any longbeards around, they will either answer with a gobble, or you'll hear their wing thrusts. If you hear a longbeard gobble or fly up to the roost, you'll know where to be early the next morning."

Quietly sneak into the area before sunrise the next morning and set up 100 to 150 yards from the gobbler's roost. Wait for the tom to blast off.

"It's always a good feeling when you plan a morning hunt in an area where you've put a longbeard to bed the night before. It may seem like a done deal, but remember that turkeys can be unpredictable. Just when you think you have things all figured out, the gobbler will sound off, fly down and walk way in the opposite direction, gobbling repeatedly and totally ignoring your calls."

Affinito noted that pre-hunt preparation is important.

"Always bring decoys, yelpers, box calls, shotgun and shells (yes, some hunters do forget to bring their guns or shells!)," Affinito cautioned.

"Sometimes a tom will run straight in to the fakes. But it's also known for some birds will stop 50 yards out, go into a strut and wait for the 'hen' to walk the rest of the way to them. Having a decoy or two on hand, or some different-sounding calls, could eliminate some of their hesitation."