Stay in one place and try to call one up? Keep moving, hoping to find a gobbling bird?
I like to sit in an area I know they frequent calling every 20 minutes or so until one comes in or I hear a bird fire off in the distance. I don't like walking over birds, but if hunting large expanses of public, sometimes you just gotta keep pushing further in.
Sit on sign and call occasionally. If I cant find good sign I'll go to an area I scouted and saw birds in prior to season
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I hit a different property
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The million dollar question. If your scouting says your in the best spot sit tight. But you dont have to thsts the besuty of turkey hunting. Before you move run through your calls ,soft calls clucks plain yelps then cutts lost yelps maybe a gobble then move.Make your move with stealth dont just move helter skelter
keep grinding, believe it will happen, Mike
On large properties/areas, I keep moving and calling until I strike a bird,...all while being conscious of other hunters in the area and avoiding them. On small properties where that strategy is impractical, I will grit my teeth and sit sign and call occasionally.
However, anywhere I hunt, I will research/investigate all of the possible areas I can hunt within an hour or so drive from my central location. If the birds are not active, I will use that time to explore those other areas to determine if they have potential. In addition, in areas of interspersed public and private land, having a land-status map is invaluable.
One of my fundamental strategies is to look for public access points to areas of public land that are behind private holdings, especially those with agriculture that attracts turkeys. Find an area like that,...and that is far enough from any roads to discourage other hunters,...and you will usually find turkeys,...and often birds that you can fire up.
I usually setup in strutting or feeding areas and call and stay still and wait and see if one slips in
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I wait until 10:30 - 11:00 am before I determine that they're not calling. I think a lot of hunters give up after 9 to 9:30 if they don't hear any gobbles.
If you have plenty of room to roam running n gunning is my favorite way too turkey hunt. But being in Florida now on high pressure public it seems to be best to hang tight.
All depends on where I am hunting public/private and what I have learned during my scouting. I have spots I know birds show up at and I have patience to wait them out, I call infrequently at times just in case that traveling bird is roaming about. I always have a back-up plan as well, well maybe 2 or 3 backups. I am much more inclined to move around on public as I never know what I am walking into, who's been there before me and how "buggered-up" they have the birds.
I rely heavily on pre-season/season scouting and like to have 20-25 birds located by season, and keep tabs on them throughout the season.
MK M GOBL
Today, I chose to move and call. It is a special opp hunt and I only have 2 days. It will be closed 2 weeks and then I will be a guest on another guy's permit, so today was about hunting, but also about intel. We also had rain pushing in and figured we needed to make something happen.
Going same place in AM with a more sit tight plan in place. We'll see.
I ain't the type to sit on my rear end wishin. Yes it sometimes pays off. Sometimes it dont. But I would rather scout new territory and gather Intel with the chance of finding a gobbler than sitting on my rear end learning nothing. Now I am not talking about running around scaring everything in creation. It's more a low key operation.
If you have confidence that there are turkeys in the area, I would place my decoys so that they could be easily seen and then find a spot for my turkey lounger that allows me good visibility and comfort because it could be a few hours before any turkeys come your way, if they do at all. By placing a camo-type netting in front of me, I can take a snooze, read a book, etc. while I wait for turkeys to respond to my occasional calling, including some gobbling. In the past, I've experienced being awakened by the sound of my Funky Chicken taking a flogging. Fortunately, the fumbling for my shotgun was hidden by the camo netting, allowing me sufficient time to successfully send a load of #5 shot the gobbler's way.
Like some have already said, if you know the property and where the strut zones are. Get comfortable and do some light calling. I was on a henned up gobbler yesterday morning that shut up when he hit the ground. Took about an hour but managed to make it all happen.
I can't bring myself to sit down unless I'm working a bird. I usually have a planned route I'm gonna walk and try to arrive at certain destinations when I think a gobbler will be there. As the birds become thinner on my public places I believe it's imperative to log as many miles as possible.
Well, I've always called it "Walking and Calling", not "Running and Gunning" as the younger generation likes to call it...less pizzazz I guess. Been doing it for many years. So...if I hear nothing, and can't raise anything at my starting spot, I'm on my way. But I just sort of mosey along. If I get tired of walking I'll sit in a spot and call for awhile, at times. And this can pay off. Last year in MO I got a bit tired mid-morning and figured I'd sit for a spell. After calling for an hour or so, every 15 minutes, I got a response. While talking to him, three other toms started sounding off. One of them ended up getting a ride in my truck. You just never know.
Quote from: Turkey-Man on March 19, 2019, 04:50:59 PM
Well, I've always called it "Walking and Calling", not "Running and Gunning" as the younger generation likes to call it...less pizzazz I guess. Been doing it for many years. So...if I hear nothing, and can't raise anything at my starting spot, I'm on my way. But I just sort of mosey along. If I get tired of walking I'll sit in a spot and call for awhile, at times. And this can pay off. Last year in MO I got a bit tired mid-morning and figured I'd sit for a spell. After calling for an hour or so, every 15 minutes, I got a response. While talking to him, three other toms started sounding off. One of them ended up getting a ride in my truck. You just never know.
This pretty much sums up how I hunt also. The only time I'll sit down is when working a bird or I get tired of walking.
Call and wait 30 minutes, if I'm sleepy I'll take a nap, if nothings happening I move on to another area and try again. I'm not gonna camp out all day hoping a bird comes by. When I first started turkey hunting I'd sit the same spot for 3 hours after birds came off the roost and moved off into the woods. Over time I learned that was a waste of time, unless of course the warm sun and quiet woods calls for a nap, then I stay longer.
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Quote from: Happy on March 16, 2019, 11:13:52 PM
I ain't the type to sit on my rear end wishin. Yes it sometimes pays off. Sometimes it dont. But I would rather scout new territory and gather Intel with the chance of finding a gobbler than sitting on my rear end learning nothing. Now I am not talking about running around scaring everything in creation. It's more a low key operation.
Exactly
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Usually doze off if I'm not up walking and calling trying to strike a willing gobbler. Smaller properties, make a few calls every 10 or 15 min and hang around and see if one answers if I'm still awake. I've been woke up more than I care to mention by spitting and drumming. That's what 3rd shift and hunting every morning after work will get you lol.
Here in Colo where I hunt the turkeys (both hens and gobblers) are pretty much quiet all day long. They quickly learn that if they make noise they get eaten by coyotes, bears, mtn lions, and bobcats. It's a pain in the rear hunting mountain merriams in the trees. When they are quiet it's a matter of covering LOTS of country to find the few birds that exist. They don't tend to roost in the same trees and are often on the move. It can get mighty frustrating....especially on high pressured public land!
Turkeys where I hunt in Nebraska are also quiet....for the same reason....coyotes! The country I hunt in Nebraska is relatively open so birds are often a lot easier to spot and stalk...and often roost in the same trees. If it's windy (which is around 90% of the time) they tend to hang out in sheltered draws where it's tougher locating them.
With that said, it can be pretty tough if turkeys are quiet!
Birds aren't gobbling, what do you do?
Pull out your Wingbone!!!
Today I just walked around for miles, calling and scouting. Nothing.
Sometimes there is nothing you can do.
I tend to hunt very small acreage private land that I know very well. The birds don't roost on the property, but toms will follow hens through, at some point, and they do it very frequently. On these small pieces, the times I've tried walking around, I normally just end up spooking everything. But if I sit the travel corridors or known strut zones long enough, I always see birds. So if nothing is responding (which is frequently), then I hunker down and get real comfortable and wait them out.
If I was hunting a new place, I'd be a bit more aggressive looking for fresh sign, and at least give me some place to start the next days.
There are to many of those days it seems. I pay attention to things like crows going off. Crows have led me to birds. It's definitely not a sure thing but worth a try. I remember a set up a few years ago. Thought we herd a gobble, moved towards set up soft calling and not a peep. After a hour of nothing we were ready to move on. My brother took out his squeaky push button call and 5 birds all together ripped gobbles 50 yards away. That's why before I move I always make a call. You never know