My wife and I are waiting on dinner to arrive so figured I'd ask some more silly questions.
Based off my hunt this morning (find info on it from previous thread) I'm not sure what I want to do for tomorrow mornings hunt.
A- set up on Big Tom who I worked on for 45 minutes in a field with a couple hens and was closing the distance and got spooked by something which ruined my chances.
B- set up in a big field with a "cove" where at noon today I had three individual gobblers responding to my calls but I never got a eye on.
The downside with the Tom from the morning is I can get in the field he was strutting in, only the fence line on my side. Not sure he'll hang up or not? Also with him being spooked how that influences tomorrow's hunt?
The plan B is appealing because I can get in the field and have a visual on a large area with several potential roosting points and know there was some gobblers there as of 1300 today.
Seems like a silly question but figured I'd ask. Still trying to learn how this turkey hunting stuff works.
So what would you do?
A= 1 Known Target
B= 3 Known Targets
Hmmmm, let me ponder on this a while!
First I would go where you know a tom is, second I would hunt in the woods if there is woods on your property. You seem to want a good visual over an open field, but the birds are hanging up on you. Good luck!
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Quote from: guesswho on March 31, 2017, 08:35:40 PM
A= 1 Known Target
B= 3 Known Targets
Hmmmm, let me ponder on this a while!
That was my original thought, but also wondered if maybe they weren't just jakes messing with me. I don't really know how to tell...
Quote from: catman529 on March 31, 2017, 09:28:22 PM
First I would go where you know a tom is, second I would hunt in the woods if there is woods on your property. You seem to want a good visual over an open field, but the birds are hanging up on you. Good luck!
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The field was just nice because I can somewhat observe what the turkeys are doing. There's not much room on my side to work with. My thought was I wanted the Tom to see my Jake decoy and come start a fight! But that failed this morning...
That Tom was following a gen this morning but seemed like he was willing to break away from her when I started calling a little more aggressively. I'm not real sure, I'll keep y'all posted tomorrow.
Thanks again for all the pointers!
Quote from: guesswho on March 31, 2017, 08:35:40 PM
A= 1 Known Target
B= 3 Known Targets
Hmmmm, let me ponder on this a while!
:TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny: You're a pretty funny dude...
If your set up depends on gobblers crossing a fence for you to shoot them you might want a set up where a fence won't be a obstacle. I would hunt the roost area morning then again after 3 til fly up or be where the turkeys come into the feild. I do see turkeys go under barb wire fence's all the time.
Thanks rocky,
Someone beat me to my ideal spot, which was where I heard the multiple gobblers yesterday. I backed out and left that area alone for them.
Sat at the spot where I worked the Tom and had two hens come by within 30 yards about a hour apart. Big boy never showed up... guess I'll try again tomorrow since my other spot will probably be taken.
That sucks, to improve your luck I would hunt the roost area in the afternoon till fly up, find the strut area and hunt it. Good luck
This morning was pretty productive but still no Tom in the bag.
Set up on the same field from the past couple days. Had a hen fly in about daybreak, maybe even right off the roost? Then I started hearing gobbling from what seemed several directions.
Moments later a hen walks out into the decoys and feeds for awhile.
Now it's a good 45 minutes since the first hen came and went and i not only hear a couple gobbles behind me, I see two gobblers behind me about 100 yards making they're way to me. I have some soft yelps and no immediate response. I hush and wait.
And wait.
I lose sight of them.
Still nothing, lol.
My hen starts to walk near them and I never seen them again.
Not sure why they didn't commit?
I'm having a blast and feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, but really thought I'd have a gobbler in the bag by now. 3 straight days hunting seeing a ton of hens each time and a few Jake's and toms.
Do I keep grinding it out? Or switch areas? Try something new? Idk? Very new to this.
More than likely the hen went to them and they had what they wanted. You seem kinds stuck in the idea that once your seated then you don't move at all. If you are in an area they frequent Daily that can be productive but if not then you are in for a lot of sitting. I tend to be more mobile. I like to study the birds and figure out where they are heading then I try to get there first undetected. It is far easier to call a tom into an area he wants to go. Learn the birds habits and then hunt accordingly. Use the terrain to your advantage and don't be discouraged. If you are on a small plot of ground then I wouldn't be constantly buggerring them tho. They will just relocated to a more peaceful area. Be smart but don't be scared to move. The best predators in the woods don't sit in the same spot for hours on end and there is a reason why.
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Quote from: Happy on April 02, 2017, 07:43:49 PM
More than likely the hen went to them and they had what they wanted. You seem kinds stuck in the idea that once your seated then you don't move at all. If you are in an area they frequent Daily that can be productive but if not then you are in for a lot of sitting. I tend to be more mobile. I like to study the birds and figure out where they are heading then I try to get there first undetected. It is far easier to call a tom into an area he wants to go. Learn the birds habits and then hunt accordingly. Use the terrain to your advantage and don't be discouraged. If you are on a small plot of ground then I wouldn't be constantly buggerring them tho. They will just relocated to a more peaceful area. Be smart but don't be scared to move. The best predators in the woods don't sit in the same spot for hours on end and there is a reason why.
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Oh no, I only sat there just over a hour. I stayed moving all day. 6.5 hours hunting and walked almost 7 miles total!
More than likely that's part of the problem, when I used to do all that walking I didn't get any birds either, you see gobblers you have to either call aggressively or get in their path at least that's what works for me time and time again you can even call a gobbler from a flock by calling aggressively over the boss hens calls. Try something new, good luck. :fud:
Quote from: catman529 on March 31, 2017, 09:28:22 PM
First I would go where you know a tom is, second I would hunt in the woods if there is woods on your property. You seem to want a good visual over an open field, but the birds are hanging up on you. Good luck!
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I'm with catman, hunt the woods. Do these birds gobble on the roost? If so, get to 100 yards or less if possible between them and where you KNOW they are going to go, no decoys. Just one tree yelp to let them know where you are and no more calling 'til they're on the ground. Then take their temperature by seeing what they like....aggressive or plaintive, and kill one of those birds.
Quote from: rockymtngobblers on April 02, 2017, 11:53:24 PM
More than likely that's part of the problem, when I used to do all that walking I didn't get any birds either, you see gobblers you have to either call aggressively or get in their path at least that's what works for me time and time again you can even call a gobbler from a flock by calling aggressively over the boss hens calls. Try something new, good luck. :fud:
That had crossed my mind and I decided against it. The night before that's what I swore I was going to do... then I started hearing gobbling and no birds to be seen reasonably close. Next time I'll have to force myself to sit all morning. I'll keep you posted! Thanks again.
Quote from: EZ on April 03, 2017, 10:21:15 AM
Quote from: catman529 on March 31, 2017, 09:28:22 PM
First I would go where you know a tom is, second I would hunt in the woods if there is woods on your property. You seem to want a good visual over an open field, but the birds are hanging up on you. Good luck!
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I'm with catman, hunt the woods. Do these birds gobble on the roost? If so, get to 100 yards or less if possible between them and where you KNOW they are going to go, no decoys. Just one tree yelp to let them know where you are and no more calling 'til they're on the ground. Then take their temperature by seeing what they like....aggressive or plaintive, and kill one of those birds.
I want to roost one something bad just to see how it's done... but I've yet to produce one single gobble while on the roost over 4 days of hunting and scouting.
Everything from not saying a peep all morning and the night before to owl, coyote, soft tree yelps, and everything in between. Nothing on the roost.
Yesterday as soon as it hit roughly 745ish... I started to hear gobblers all over the place.
I have no idea what any of this means... lol
If that was am it means they are not roosted close to your location but are roosted within a mile most likely, if that was pm they were gathered strutting, fighting, etc. Just before fly up and they are roosted very close.
Quote from: rockymtngobblers on April 03, 2017, 06:05:31 PM
If that was am it means they are not roosted close to your location but are roosted within a mile most likely, if that was pm they were gathered strutting, fighting, etc. Just before fly up and they are roosted very close.
Am
There's 2 hens I think may be rooster close because they literally fly into the field each morning. But yes that makes sense, I guess the gobblers are pretty far if I'm not hearing them. I just signed it off as public land and the pressure has made them keen to attempts at locating them on the roost, idk?
If you're hearing em on the ground that is a good thing. Nothing is tougher than quiet birds. But you need to get to the birds instead of camping on the field. And don't walk around too much, only when you need to try a new spot after it's been quiet a while. When you hear birds gobble in the morning, decide which one is hottest or easiest to set up on, and try to cut the distance without getting close enough to be seen. Better to set up and call in the woods than in a field. Field hunting can be productive but it can also be aggravating. If you call to a hot gobbler in the woods he is much more likely to close the distance. Don't call too much...and don't blame it on public land, it only takes one hot bird to change it all...good luck
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If you're hearing em on the ground that is a good thing. Nothing is tougher than quiet birds. But you need to get to the birds instead of camping on the field. And don't walk around too much, only when you need to try a new spot after it's been quiet a while. When you hear birds gobble in the morning, decide which one is hottest or easiest to set up on, and try to cut the distance without getting close enough to be seen. Better to set up and call in the woods than in a field. Field hunting can be productive but it can also be aggravating. If you call to a hot gobbler in the woods he is much more likely to close the distance. Don't call too much...and don't blame it on public land, it only takes one hot bird to change it all...good luck
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You need to move when needed, but not to much...
You need to be patient in a good spot, but move if it does not work...
Very confusing... But I actually believe both statements are true.
If I can hunt several days in a row, and I have birds I know about, I try to figure out where they are, and set up as close as possible without scaring them... See what they do, and be where they go the next hunt.
If I see a bird in a certain spot at 8 am, but could not figure out where he roosted, I might be loosely set up in that spot at daybreak (and move to a better location if events of the morning give me some indication as to the location of the birds)... I will be anchored at that spot at 7:30 Am if things did not work out.
Honestly, there are many factors that are unknown to those of us that might give you advice. Such things as the topography where you are hunting, openness of the woods, presence of other hunters and amount of pressure put on the birds, and even the subspecies you are hunting, among other things, would dictate how you should be approaching your hunt.
Everyone has given you good advice based on the "assumed" conditions. Unfortunately, your specific circumstances may or may not fit our assumptions as to what is going on there.
It sounds as if you are getting to hunt this area on a regular basis. If so, you should be learning a little bit more about what the birds are doing on each hunt. That is, you should be "patterning" those birds such that you can make sound judgements as to where to be at any particular time of day. You should also be getting some idea, based on how you have hunted so far, as to what is obviously not going to work for you.
The "fly in the ointment" in your situation is really that unknown factor of hunting pressure from other hunters. If those birds get harassed enough that they start changing their behavior, then all bets are off.
Buddy for a new hunter you gotta learn to hunt. Enjoy the process n don't expect instant reward. It seldom happens especially w beginners. 3 days is short to be expecting to have one in the bag.
Roosting birds is almost an art. They won't gobble if they can't hear you. As stated they could be further away. Roosting is a time thing, they need to be on a limb but awake n almost too dark to see you. In fact make sure they don't see you, no walking across fields to where you expect them to be. Find an edge, farm road, etc n call forward into it. If locators don't work try a fly up cackle or gobble.
Once roosted get in an area early n w no light set up nearby. Even if you guess wrong you'll learn something. Learning Hunting is simple, if it ain't workin try something dif. What you're doing isn't yielding results or close calls, try something dif.
How big is your piece?
To clarify I'd roost them the night before n be there early the next day. Not early for you but early enough to beat everyone else n allow the woods to settle n allow a slow quiet approach. So early early