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General Discussion => Turkey Hunting Tips ,Strategies & Methods => Topic started by: leaf shaker on April 25, 2020, 10:43:02 AM

Title: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: leaf shaker on April 25, 2020, 10:43:02 AM
This morning I got a turkey to shock gobble got 80 yards from him in the woods and started calling. the bird never answered and drifted off across the property line. QUESTION: what did i do wrong, should i have come from another direction once i pinpointed him? also do turkeys think it weird when a crow holler and then a hen starts talking from the same place.  anything is helpful, kind of confused here. :z-dizzy:
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Greg Massey on April 25, 2020, 11:34:22 AM
You didn't do anything wrong he just wasn't interested. As you know it more natural for the hen to look and follow him.. Good luck , just keep trying , persistence pays off ...
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: turkey_slayer on April 25, 2020, 01:23:47 PM
Usually if they shock gobble but don't answer a call they have a hen
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Turkeyman on April 25, 2020, 03:54:02 PM
A shock gobble is just that...a shock gobble. That doesn't necessarily mean he's going to respond to a hen call...particularly if he's got company. But you at least know he's there.
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: leaf shaker on April 27, 2020, 07:15:07 PM
cool, thanks was kind of worried but makes sense now :gobble:
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Mossberg90MN on April 30, 2020, 09:11:34 PM
Yea I will try to get a shock gobble in the am and then get set up best I can and wait for him to naturally start to go off. Yelping to a shock gobble is a little unnatural.


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Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Uncle Tom on May 01, 2020, 07:35:12 AM
I usually cluck and purr if a gobble off a distance....not a shock gobble. Seldom use yelp anymore because I do not hear yelps very much where I hunt and I know they can hear what I throw at them a long, long ways off. Scr
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Uncle Tom on May 01, 2020, 07:48:02 AM
I usually cluck and purr if a gobble off a distance....not a shock gobble. Seldom use yelp anymore because I do not hear yelps very much where I hunt and I know they can hear what I throw at them a long, long ways off. Scratching leaves can be heard long ways and have drawn them in using that as well. Most of the time I can tell a hunter using a yelp and if I can a gobbler can too...just look at the times you hear a hen yelping and think about it. A shock gobble I usually try to close the distance on him and then try clucks, purrs to get him to respond. All people are different in there approach of hunting this ole bird, and what works for me is not for everyone, so you have to try different calls, tactics, etc. and over time you will discover your go to calls and what you have confidence in. Good luck.
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: silvestris on May 01, 2020, 02:09:58 PM
Yelping to a shock gobble is a little unnatural.

Why?
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Mossberg90MN on May 03, 2020, 06:39:03 PM
Yelping to a shock gobble is a little unnatural.

Why?
Well I guess I missed the context of my post. If you show up and it’s still dark out, you hit an owl hooter and get a bird to gobble a good 10-15min before first light and try to to Yelp back immediately to that bird. I find that to be unnatural. In my experience (limited at that) I don’t hear hens yelping at gobblers on the roost until all the birds are chirping, light is breaking through and the gobbler has gobbled on his own personal schedule a good few times at least.


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Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: silvestris on May 04, 2020, 12:20:25 AM
You are on the button now.  A gobbler answering your good owl imitation in the dark has told you all need to know at that moment; following that you just to need to make an immediate decision of how and where you you are going to engage him.  A well executed owl imitation in the dark should not have an effect on your hunt.  Continuing to owl is another matter similar to making another turkey call to a gobbler who has already committed.  At that point you have to decide whether you want to kill him or hear him gobble.  As Charles Jordan said, “I had already put in my call and the gobbler understood it.”
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Marc on May 04, 2020, 02:28:55 AM
A bird that gobbles (on his own for whatever reason) and then shuts up when you call???

Maybe you bumped him?  Maybe he did not like your calling? Maybe a coyote went slinking near him?  Maybe he joined some hens?  Could be he is gay???

My favorite time to hear birds gobble on their own is mid-morning...  I do NOT call back until I am where I want to be, and I gain as much ground as I can before calling....

I know I have bumped birds on the roost before daylight...  Birds gobbling away, and I try to get a smidge too close, or stumble, or something I have done (cough, sneeze, fart or make some unnatural sound) alerts or makes that bird nervous...  Maybe the gobbling changes, or the bird turns the other direction, or he stops gobbling all together...
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: redleg06 on May 05, 2020, 11:08:04 AM
Its really hard to say what you should have done without knowing the details of the situation.  If he had hens (sounds like that could have been the case) it's not unusual to get a shock gobble and then not be able to work the bird afterward because he wasn't planning on leaving the hens anyway.

One of the mistakes a lot of folks make (we've all done it at some point) is hearing that gobble and then instead of taking a second to look at our options, we just set up and start trying to work a bird...often to somewhere he's not going to be willing to come to.  And, like I said, if he has hens, it's an uphill battle in almost any situation until you either manage to get in front of where they are headed anyway OR you hang in there with them, without bumping them, until his hens leave him (which you couldnt this time as he crossed property lines). 

If it were me, and without knowing any more about the situation, I would have used what I know about the area you were in to try and figure out A) exactly where he currently is (is he on a bench off the side of a ridge, down in a bottom, etc, etc... ?) and B) where is he likely heading?  Then make a plan from there.   
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: GobbleNut on May 05, 2020, 12:36:07 PM
Well I guess I missed the context of my post. If you show up and it’s still dark out, you hit an owl hooter and get a bird to gobble a good 10-15min before first light and try to to Yelp back immediately to that bird. I find that to be unnatural.

You are absolutely correct,...bad idea under these circumstances to turkey call at all.  Furthermore, even if you were talking about getting a shock response to a locator from a bird on-the-ground at 80 yards, it is questionable to immediately call to that bird. 

As has been suggested, it would be a good idea to take stock of the situation in terms of terrain and circumstances, make some calculated decisions on where to set up, and then proceed from there. A hurried response is unnecessary and could definitely be counterproductive.   
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: g8rvet on May 05, 2020, 05:31:39 PM
More times than I can recall in the swamps where I hunt, I owl hooted just a tad early and got the owls started.  They then do the work from all directions while you stealthily move in.  Then you treat him like any other bird that gobbled on his own. 
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: bonasa on May 06, 2020, 07:51:44 AM
Was he in the field and you were in the woods? Not the best scenario, if you were in the field and he was in the woods that would be the best, if you are both in the field that is second best.

If hes off your property, give it your best to call him over, 80 yards is plenty enough to get inside his head.
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Greg Massey on May 09, 2020, 10:04:43 AM
If he shock gobbles , i pray , that he will work and come my direction , and i kill him and carry him back to the truck...
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: Turkeytider on June 23, 2020, 01:44:16 PM
Was he in the field and you were in the woods? Not the best scenario, if you were in the field and he was in the woods that would be the best, if you are both in the field that is second best.

If hes off your property, give it your best to call him over, 80 yards is plenty enough to get inside his head.


At 80 or so yards, a turkey will hear any call you make, even soft purrs and clucks. Whether he comes to you or not, he knows precisely where you ( hen ) are. He will also REMEMBER. You don`t always have to employ a tactic that includes moving around through the woods. You can stay put, provided you have the time, and wait for the hens that are probably with him to dump him. He may well gobble an hour to two hours later, hear your response that lets him know you (hen ) are still there, and be in your lap 15 minutes later. I know this first hand.
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: mspaci on July 07, 2020, 02:06:58 PM
move in close as you can & kill him. Mike
Title: Re: what to do after a turkey shock gobbles
Post by: TRG3 on July 16, 2020, 07:50:31 PM
Since turkeys have a peck order, it seems that an appropriate response to a shock gobble would be a single gobble from you. This would let the real tom know that a stranger is in his territory and he might just silently come to investigate, so set up and patiently wait for him to sneak in to size up the newcomer.