Episode 107
Scott Ellis: Turkey Talk
Today, AB3 sits down with Scott Ellis, four-time grand national champion turkey caller. Listen in as Scott shares what got him hooked on turkey hunting at the age of 10, tips for preserving your mouth calls, how to complete a Grand Slam, his turkey schnitzel recipe, and the making of his YouTube series Hunt Quest.
Episode Highlights
- The evolution of turkey mouth calls
- Why you need to leave your turkey mouth call in your refrigerator
- Scott’s favorite turkey calls
- Why Scott never uses a bow and rarely uses pop-up blinds when turkey hunting
- Becoming a competitive turkey caller at 17
- All about wild turkey slams
- Scott’s go-to turkey recipe
- Filming Hunt Quest
3 Key Points
- Keep your turkey call in the refrigerator when not in use. A dark, cool, and controlled environment, keeping your call in the fridge preserves the life of the tape and the latex. The next best thing is to pack it in a plastic bag and keep it at room temperature. But when it comes down to it, it’s best to leave your call anywhere outside your truck to avoid heat, which will ruin the latex in a heartbeat.
- Scott isn’t a fan of using pop-up blinds in turkey hunting because it locks you in, movement-wise, and also tends to muffle the sound of the mouth call. Additionally, when it comes to getting your kids into hunting, it’s better to get them moving around in the woods as soon as possible rather than keeping them confined in a pop-up blind. The only way the “hunting gene” will have a chance to present itself is if the kid is proactive or fully engaged.
- If you’re looking to get into turkey hunting, the first thing to do is to find somebody locally who is already in the game. Check out Scott’s YouTube channel, “Hunt Quest with Scott Ellis”, for a series of instructionals on all things turkey hunting and calling. Scott also has an app called Turkey Tech, which offers a comprehensive, in-depth look at a variety of hunting situations and how to proceed based on the sound the wild turkey makes.
Three Powerful Quotes
- I probably carry 50 mouth calls in the woods. I change calls religiously because that latex gets saturated with saliva in five to ten minutes, which makes it lose the sound quality.
- I don’t know how many turkeys I’ve killed in my lifetime, but I know I’ve probably killed 90% of them just sitting at the base of a tree.
- If you have to make a kid get into a pop-up blind to get them into hunting, there’s a very good possibility that it’s never going to stick.
Resources Mentioned
Bryant Land Show: https://bryantlandcountry.com/the-bryant-land-country-podcast/
OnXHunt link:https://www.onxmaps.com/hunt-app
Traeger Grills:https://www.traegergrills.com
Patreon link:https://www.patreon.com/bryantland
BassPro Affiliate: https://bassproshops.vzck.net/NaQx7
Hunt Quest with Scott Ellis: Facebook| Instagram| YouTube
The Turkey Tech app: Apple| Android
Follow Bryant Land on social media: Facebook| Instagram| Twitter| YouTube
