Any advice?

[hwy419]

 

I have been hunting gobblers for 4 years for more than half of the days in each season. Most mornings I get to choose which bird I want to set up on. Just this morning I had two birds: one at 100yds in front of me and one at 100yds behind me. A typical morning goes like this:

I get to my listening spot 30 mins before first light. I can hear usually more than one bird gobble as the sky starts to glow. I pick one to setup on, and try to anticipate his path from the roost (from days prior). Find a nice tree somewhere along that path, and call very softly, but loud enough so that I know he can hear me (whether he answers me directly or not), and then I shut up. He usually comes very close but never commits and makes himself seen. Sometimes he gobbles in one place at 60yrds for 20 minutes, then suddenly decides he wants to go the other way. When I can hear the gobbling fading into the distance, I try and call some more in hopes he'll come back, but it never happens. I honestly can't begin to tell you the number of times I have had birds at 60yrds and NOT ONE has come within sight.

What can I do to increase my commitment odds? Being a 4th year unsuccessful turkey hunter is rather embarassing (given the hours I have put into it) and I just don't know what to do. I have been on multiple paid/guided  hunts without any luck.

[gatortrax35]

samething happens to me bud. 2nd year hunter myself. 

[Tail Feathers]

Try to get  closer to the roost if possible, before daylight.  He may be getting intercepted by hens on his way to you.
Have a good set-up.  Can you see him at 40 yards out?  He's not seeing you is he?  They have remarkable eyesight and spot movement from a long way.
Or set up below a crest where he'll be in range and you can shoot when he comes into sight.  His eyes are good but he can't see through a hill.  He can see thru a tree but that's another story...
Do a little light leaf scratching to lure him the final distance.

If all that fails, go back to that area around 10am and see if you can get him going after he's bred the receptive hens that stole him from you that morning.'

Good luck!

[Wingbone]

Sounds like he's hanging up till he calls hens to him, and they are dragging the him away from you. There are several ways to work a bird that's "hung up." Unfortunately, that can only be learned through experince. If he's uncommitted then sometimes staying on him will work. If he's just standing there shaking the ground gobbling, silence is usually best, but you have to give him some soft yelps and purrs every now and then to keep him interested. With birds like that, you just have to keep from sounding over anxious, but if he gobbles long enough other hens will steal him.

[Cutt]

As stated he might already have hens in view, and more or less ventures your way to invite you along.

What type of terrain are you hunting? Can you get away with calling then moving a bit? As if the birds are in a bottom roosted and you are on the top? If so setup about 30 yards just over the top, and give your first calls when the time is right. If he responds, and again, if he can not see you, sneak about 80 yards straight away back from him and call again. If he responded the first time he should the second time as he thinks you are leaving. Then immediately get back to your original setup, don't call no more and have the gun up. A good tactic when all else is failing, terrain permitting. Good Luck

[Turkey Beard]

I killed my first turkey the very last day of my 3rd (2 week, 1:00 p.m. close time) season in which I hunted nearly every single day available.  Sounds like you're on the same time-table as I was on.

I like the fact that you're calling softly but last season (my 21st) proved to me that you can be TOO soft.  Early on I called much more aggressively but the past 5 seasons or so I toned it way down.  Last season, after a morning when the gobblers just didn't want to commit, I finally decided to quit playing hard to get/soft-calling hen and started HAMMERING the gobbler, it actually worked several times with several hunters.  I had nothing to lose and that's why I got aggressive.  It just goes to show that some days the turkeys want one sound and other days they want something different.  Good luck!

[870FaceLift]

There are a lot of folks on here with far more experience than me, but here are a few things to try/consider:

deke setup:  Even though you're hunting in hardwoods, I've had great luck with positioning an upright jake over a nested hen in an opening.  I wouldn't be surprised if that hung up tom sees this through the dense cover (even at 60 yards) and comes in on a string.

hunt with a partner:  I scored my first tom with the aide of a buddy.  Neither of us were seasoned callers, but could manage to produce a sound just good enough to get gobbles.  After battling with a tom hung up at 100 yards for two hours, my buddy slowly walked off behind me while calling.  The tom never gobbled again.  He came is silent and alert no more than 5 minutes after my buddy started walking away.  Moments later, we were standing over our first gobbler.

[redleg06]

Its hard to give suggestions without knowing more about the situation.

Does he have hens with him or near him when he flys down?

- If he does then you're facing an uphill battle and you better try to get as close as possible to the roost and kill him early. Or be prepared to hang with him till mid morning, or in to the afternoon when his hens start to leave him.

OR if you know that he has hens close on the roost but maybe not in the same tree (maybe they're 50-100+ yds away for example) I've gone in after they flew up for the night and scattered them (hopefully in the opposite direction from the gobbler) and then sat up in that area the next morning... It pays to be the only gal in town. 


How open is the area you are hunting and could you push in closer before setting up?


-If there is some terrain that you could use to get closer in your set up then I would certainly do that, regardless of whether or not he has hens close by. As the woods green up it gets easier to get close to the roost and the 100yd mark is only a mental barrier. There are some situations when you can get a heck of a lot closer....heck, some folks get close enough to shoot them right off the roost (not condoning this at all, before anyone jumps on me).  Then again, there are some spots that are so open that you're just not going to be able to get as close as you want without running the risk of spooking the bird so it's impossible to say how close you should get without knowing what the area you're hunting looks like.


Also, you say you are calling softly.  If he doesnt have hens then you may be doing something wrong in this regard.  Some turkey need more talking and some need less. If he has hens or you're somewhere he doesnt want to go then you got an uphill battle regardless but if he's alone and your in a spot it's easy for him to get to then you might need to change your calling.  Without seeing your set-up, its hard to say but just picking a particular distance (that ol 100yd mark) is worthless if its not easy for him to get to you or he can see you from a long ways off.  I've seen guys set up 60yds away who thought they were golden because of how close they were but they didnt keep that creek in mind and the gobbler just wouldnt cross it...

[coflax]

My advice would be to try and roost one the evening prior. When you have determined where the bird is sleeping, get in early the next morning(one hour before flydown would be a minimum) and get close, closer then you ever have before. Sit tight and let him make his presence known. Once he gobbles give him a series of yelps loud enough he can hear then shut up. Wait until he flies down and then yelp a little. Good luck

[hwy419]

Thanks guys! I guess I'm just gonna have to get in really tight while it's still dark. I am pretty certain (but without visual proof) the hens are within about 25 yards of the roost because he's not gobbling a whole lot (maybe 3 or 4 times) before fly down and I have not witnessed hens en route to him at first light. Which may indicate they aren't staying overnight on the nest yet. I'm really good at making them abort that mission.

The roost is smack in the middle of 400 acres of 15 year-old un-thinned planted pine. It's pretty thick in relation to a hardwood area. I have observed they REALLY like the most mature of the pines (the ones with the fully-horizontal branches) The cover is decent, and with the topography during daytime, visibility is at around 50-60 yards.

I even thought about getting in real close and gobbling at him. Might just tick him off enough to come into range looking for a challenge. Let me know what you think...

Also, I worry a lot about the noise I make when moving down through those woods. Dark makes it really difficult to get in there quietly. Am I just being too timid about it?

Destination after flydown is 99% of the time directly the opposite way from where I am. May get a buddy out with me and put him there.

[Sherrell]

If you know he is going to roost with hens...put a good scatter on them and note his direction once flushed.he'll fly at the most about 200 to 300 yards.he'll soon forget his fright and the next morning you will see a change in his attitude.


Done this a lot through the years and been nearly ran over in many instances.it's tough to do on public land as the next morning he will be desperate to attract his harem and will in most cases be gobbling in earnest which will draw attention.the trick is to get him to you before his yelpers start showing up.

[redleg06]

Thanks guys! I guess I'm just gonna have to get in really tight while it's still dark.

Also, I worry a lot about the noise I make when moving down through those woods. Dark makes it really difficult to get in there quietly. Am I just being too timid about it?

Destination after flydown is 99% of the time directly the opposite way from where I am. May get a buddy out with me and put him there.

If he's with hens already or really close then your best shot is going to be to get in tight because you really dont have much to lose since they are leaving you once they flydown anyway.  If he was all alone then I would be more worried about bumping him, simply because you have a much better chance of calling a gobbler to you if he is lonely. On the flip side, if he's got hens, calling him close is rarely going to work unless you are between them and where they want to go.  Some folks will intentionally sneak in before light and bust turkey off the roost when toms are roosted with hens and then go and try to call the tom back in before he can regroup with his hens.   I've always hunted rio's in country that usually has set roost spots year after year (limited good roosting trees/areas) so I dont like to booger up a roost like this unless it's the last option at the end of the season but in parts of the country where there arent set roost spots like I am used to hunting, I would be willing to give this a try if I kept getting whooped day after day.

[MouthCaller]

you can way over think things and I think you have, its really simple it sounds like to me is either A: set up where he hangs up on you at. If that isnt working then B: Set up where hes wanting to go. If he always goes the opposite way of you if you're calling then one morning go in and dont call and see where he goes. Normally he will go the same way each morning if he;s got hens unless something happens to break his pattern.

[Jake#5]

I just killed my first turkey and this is my third year of hunting them hard.

[tomstopper]

It took me 2 years until i got my first bird and after viewing all the advise above (which I agree with) all I can say is be patient and keep at it . Good luck.