How far is too far?

[Tom007]

Great question. In my experience, its really is up to him. I hunt the big woods in the North East, Mountain gobblers. What I have found is when I strike a gobbler, I usually wait for two distinct answers. Once I get that, game on. If he continues to get closer, I'll sit tight and sparingly (very sparingly) call to him. Early season when the foliage is sparse this gets tough because mature gobblers will usually only travel short distances without seeing a hen in the open woods and retreat. So if you can close the distance using the terrain, your odds increase. Once again, if he gets closer real quick, stay put. He may be so love struck, he will keep motoring in. Later in the season, when the woods thickens, they will travel further to the call. Moral of the story, let him dictate the distance. Every gobbler is different. Hope this helps you..be safe, best of luck...

[Yoder409]

If I can hear an Eastern, he's close enough if there's no major obstacles in between.

Merriam's, Gould's and Rio's will come from farther away than you can hear them.  They can hear YOU.  So I'll do a whole lot of blind calling to them.  Gould's, in particular, don't care WHAT obstacles are in between you and them.  If you can make him think he wants to be where you are............he'll get there one way or another.

[TauntoHawk]

I think most of us have a story or two of bringing a bird in from a longggg way off. but yes I've had birds way out answering me with no way to close the gap and left them if I think they are in a spot they want to be to go search for one more accessible. I also might come back to that area later to see if he eventually made it to the area but I won't spend hours on every bird that answers my calls. From my uncle's deck I can call across the valley and get birds to answer that I range at 900yds but they'd have to drop down a hill, cross a field, river, though some yards,  highway, more yards, then up a mountain gaining 500ft of elevation.   



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[Happy]

I am a big fan of getting in as tight as possible. Yes they may be willing to come a long ways but if so he will also be even more willing to come a short ways.As a general rule I prefer to save the serious turkey talk for when I feel confident in the set up and am in his wheelhouse. On exception is when you hit one of those traveling gobblers. Then just keeping up with them is a challenge. They are fun to hunt but can be a real handful. I should point out that everywhere I hunt has plenty of people trying to kill a turkey and in one state they are mainly rifle toters. A lot of gobbling can be bad for business in that neck of the woods.

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[avidnwoutdoorsman]

If you can hear him...he can hear you. If he wants to play ball he will.

Two notes....

Close what ever distance you can without getting busted. If he's 800 yrds out, cut that to 600, then 400, and so on. This can actually help you in that you are now a hen coming to him like you are suppose to and maybe a property line stops you from getting closer but he doesnt know that so he may think you lost him and he will want to come find you. None the less you did a little of the work he was naturally expecting you to do.

Which is note number two. If a bird ever responds to you and you have PATIENCE do not give up on that bird even if he gets quite. He may come in quite to investigate this new tail and/or his hens have gone to nest etc and he's a mid morning or afternoon bachelor now that wants to go check up on that lady the was calling his name earlier. Part of the later part of this play is the do not over call. Set a timer on your watch if you need to. If he is not responding or has gone quite you should go quite too or call every 10, 15, or 20 min. There is no science on how long to space out your calls but I say set a timer to keep yourself under control! Heck make it 13min but this will keep you from "over" calling. Many a birds have come off the roost with their ladies at sun up the opposite direction of you only to come back later to see what they were missing out on.

Good luck.

[Missouri hunter]

I once was goofing around calling to a bird about 600-700 yards across a river. He had a 100ft of elevation on me and was answering so good I said to my dad who was with me "you know he might just come over here, let's get setup down on the field edge". Well, I decided too late and while moving to were I thought he might fly to, I heard wings. We froze for a second but then he gave a couple putts and that was it. If I would have taken that situation more seriously in the beginning, my dad may have punched his tag that morning!

[shaman]

I know we're supposed to get as close as possible and each situation is different, but say something is keeping you from getting in close to a gobbling bird, maybe a property line or open terrain. How far away before you figure he's too far to try to call in?

I'm in WV so it's all up and down, very little flat ground if that makes any difference.

Mike

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I think the question is a bit off and kind of self-defeating.  Let me explain, and you'll see my point.

I hunt a single 200 acre farm in Trans-Bluegrass of Kentucky.  It's all a bunch of knife-edged ridges eventually running down to either the Licking or Ohio River.  I can see 4 counties from my front porch. Out to the south and west there's nothing between me and the curvature of the earth.  We get a lot of wind as a result. 

One of my favorite tactics on windy days is to go out with a loud box call in the afternoon and hammer it. I'll do this about every half hour.  It may take 4 hours for a gobbler to show up.  When he does, I figure he's come as much as 600 yards to  visit that hen.   I make that estimation, because I have gotten gobblers to answer at that distance and it takes several hours for them to negotiate the ground between us.  Most of this is blind calling.  THat is, unless the wind dies down, I won't be able to hear him, and the whole point is to throw the call downwind as far as I can.  The whole exercise is based on knowing the gobblers are still hot to trot despite the wind, and they're just looking for an excuse to make the trek.

How far is too far?  It's as far as your call can reach and a little bit more.

Now, I'm not saying most gobs will trek half a mile to visit a hen most days.  It takes the right kind of gob in the right frame of mind.  What sort of mood is that?  I've occasionally seen gobs get into a "Mission from God" mode where they will circumnavigate one of my larger hollers for several days running on about a 6 hour/ 1 mile loop.   They walk for a bit and then pause and gobble down into the holler, looking for love, and just keep going until they get back to their roost.  I've come close to nailing one of them-- seeing him emerge from a treeline 500 yards away and then making a beeline out into the pasture to ambush him. This isn't a regular thing,  but I've run into a few times.  If it's going to happen, it's usually the last weekend of season.


Bottom line: If you know there are gobblers out there, there is nothing to keep you from trying to reach them, even though you may not be able to hear their responses.  In fact, I had fellows introduce me to "sonic chumming."  That's a tactic where you go somewhere and blind call ( usually at sundown) with the hope being that a gobbler is going to hear you and come visit that spot the next day.  I can't say as I've done that myself, but it is a tactic that some fellow swear by. 

[Turkeytider]

If I can hear him he's not too far. Now he might not play ball, but distance wouldn't be my issue. I'm in the North Carolina mountains, maybe similar to some of the ground you're hunting, and as a general rule if I can get above him I'm going to do that. In my opinion, if you're aware that a turkey is there then he's not too far away.


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Agree. If you can hear him, he`ll most assuredly be able to hear you. I think it`s important to remember that they "remember " where you are once they hear you. It doesn`t guarantee that they`ll come to you, even an hour to two hours later, but research has shown that they do quite frequently, particularly after their hens dump them. Of course, there`s always the option to move to get closer if you have enough favorable terrain.

[Spyderman]

I've also called them in from surprisingly long distances. If at all possible, I try to cut the distance between me and the bird to minimize the chance of hens intercepting him.

[Turkeytider]

It'll never hurt to try, just don't blow him up calling. If there's a reason they're going there not much may bring him til things change. Like if he's w a hen, if she leaves he'll be more willing to come. Do you know what the draw there is? Food, hens, etc. Are you sure nothing is in the way? Brooks, fences, thick briars, etc. I've seen birds fly brooks, walk through pretty thick briars and even hop over goat fences but that's not ideal. Keep in mind trying to up your odds.

I dont think there's anything between us that would make him hang up except the fence at the property line but its old and down in several places so I could probably set up near one of those spots. It's a good area to hunt with a good bit of sign so it probably wouldn't hurt to just hang out there for a while whether he comes in or not.

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Good strategy on your part!  Get to one of the openings and call.  If he has hens, they will likely take him away from you.  If he stays in one area circling, in his strut zone, he will gobble his fool head off every time you call wanting you to come to him.  This is the GAME!  The hen is suppose to go to the Gobbler.  If you can't get him to Break and come, leave him for a few hours and try him again or  go after him another day.  Remember it's a GAME.  Good Luck!

If you've got the patience, the game is often not necessarily over when he goes off with hens IF he knows where you are . He'll remember when the hens dump him later in the morning. Worked birds that went off with hens . Anywhere from one to two hours later......

[GobbleNut]

I agree with the general sentiment that if a gobbler can hear your calls, no matter how far away, there is always the possibility he will come.  That depends a lot on the situation, circumstances, and mood you catch him in.

The one common "constant" I have always found is, if a really long-distance gobbler is going to come to your calling, he is very likely going to let you know he is on the way.  Over the years, I have had many such run-in's with gobblers that answered my calls from up to a mile away.  Many such gobblers have met their demise, but only because they let me know by their steadily-closing gobbles that they were coming. 

Admittedly, there could have been other gobblers that courteously answered my long-distance calling a time or two, then shut up and came wandering silently over after a while.  I wouldn't know for sure,...because I was no longer there waiting to find out.  ....Patience in those situations in not one of my strong suits....   

[g8rvet]

Heard one a long way off on public opening morning this past season.  Closed the distance and thought it was likely he was on the wrong side of the river, but the only bird gobbling, so we kept at it.  Crawled to the bluff at the edge of the river and it was two birds fighting on the other side.  Called just to hear the ruckus and they both flew across a 100 yard wide deep river.  Killed one of them.  I do not believe there would have been the slightest chance we could have called him across the river from the distance we started at, but like someone above said, the hen closed the distance, so he was ready to play.  I am in the get as close as you can camp, but if you bust him, he gone.  So err on the side of caution. Your plan sounds good.

[mountaineer long beard]

Thanks for all the info fellas. Sounds like I've missed out on trying some birds I didn't think were workable.

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[Alex T.]

 Had 1 come in on a string to the call from over 1/2 mile. Flat ground and watched him run the whole way until about 30yds out and then went into full strut to about 15yds. He died. 

[owlhoot]

I think most of us have a story or two of bringing a bird in from a longggg way off. but yes I've had birds way out answering me with no way to close the gap and left them if I think they are in a spot they want to be to go search for one more accessible. I also might come back to that area later to see if he eventually made it to the area but I won't spend hours on every bird that answers my calls. From my uncle's deck I can call across the valley and get birds to answer that I range at 900yds but they'd have to drop down a hill, cross a field, river, though some yards,  highway, more yards, then up a mountain gaining 500ft of elevation.   



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So no problem then