As Missouri hunters hope for a successful hunt this spring turkey season, a Cape Central sophomore has already called in a big trophy. Chase Roberts recently won runner-up in the 2023 National Wild Turkey Federation Grand National Calling Championship Junior Division in Nashville, Tennessee. We caught up with Chase to learn more about his competition and took the opportunity to get some tips for those looking to hunt this spring.
How did you get into turkey calling?
I got into calling through the National Wild Turkey Federation chapter. They had a youth hunt I got picked for one year. I went to St. Louis to get some new gear and there was a calling seminar at Cabela's. When it was over, I was talking to the guy that was doing the seminar and he told me about a contest that was that night in Festus. He said I should go to it and watch it. I went to the contest and decided I wanted to call in it and won, and that kinda sparked the flame for me.
What made you decide to compete?
Well, once I went to my first few contests, I watched the videos from the national competition from the year before and I thought it would be cool to do that. So, that's when I started to practice more and worked towards making it to nationals and competing.
What leads to a good finish in these competitions and how are your calls judged?
All it really takes to do well in these competitions is a lot of practice, watching videos, and listening to real turkeys to sound more realistic. For judging the contests, there are seven judges who sit behind some kind of curtain so they can't see who is calling. The emcee will tell you the call to do. Once you are finished calling, the judges will write on a scoresheet their score for that call - from 1-20 for each call you do. The highest and lowest total scores get thrown out and the remaining five get added up for your final score.
Do you have any advice for Missouri hunters as they look to improve their calling?
The only advice I would have is to practice your calling more often and listen to turkeys more, and also to have more than one call to use because I have multiple calls with me when I hunt. Some of them are very loud and high-pitched, while some aren't that loud, so I can do soft calling when birds are in close. That's the best advice I have!