Cackle. Yelp. Cluck-purr.

No, these aren't the sounds of a witch turning a frightened dog into a bizarre chicken-cat. They are the sounds of a hen turkey. Or rather, the sound of hunting professionals Mike Mayfield and Justin Savage pretending to be a hen turkey.

Using special devices, and sometimes their own voices, the two demonstrated turkey calls to area middle and high school students yesterday at Stuart Farm in Lula. The event was organized by the Gainesville/Hall County Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

"It's spring," Mayfield began, "mating time for turkey girls and boys."

Sitting at picnic tables or on bales of hay, participants donned in brown winter camo clothes learned how to hunt male turkeys by imitating the various calls of a female turkey.

It's quite a process bringing a the male, also known as a gobbler, within shooting range. But whether it's an alarming putt or a contented purr, there's more hen-pretending than making noise.

"A turkey's voice always has cadence and rhythm," Mayfield said during the demonstration.

For 15-year-old Natalie Ledford, the fly-down cackle, the sound the hen makes when leaving her perch, is the most difficult to reproduce. Using a friction call, the North Hall High student must take the stylus-shaped striker and scratch it against the slate disc rapidly.

"You have to move your hard so fast," she said.

But there is more than one way to call a turkey, and participants had the chance to try their hands at a few methods. Other than the disc-shaped friction call, there were box calls and mouth pieces.

If you're Jacob Gowder, you might not need them. The North Hall Middle student is developing a call using just his vocal cords and tongue. This is the 13-year-old's fourth year involved with turkey hunting, and he's gotten pretty close to the large birds, even killing one.

"I've had some encounters, but you don't get them all the time," he said. "It's really challenging; that's what keeps you at it."

The Turkey Call Contest and Demonstration was part FCA's efforts to reach students who have interests outside traditional school athletics, specifically those involved in hunting and other outdoor activities.

"We were missing the opportunity to minister to these people," Jason Lester, area director for Gainesville/Hall County FCA, said.

Along with the demonstration, participants heard testimony from Mayfield and the group prayed together.

At the end there was a calling contest, in which Gowder participated. He's ready for turkey hunting season to begin on March 26, because this year he's got a new weapon: a bow.

"I like a challenge," he said.