Decision A or B

[DeafGobbler]

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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?

[guesswho]

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A= 1 Known Target

B= 3 Known Targets


Hmmmm, let me ponder on this a while!

[catman529]

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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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[DeafGobbler]

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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...

[DeafGobbler]

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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!

[GobbleNut]

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A= 1 Known Target
B= 3 Known Targets
Hmmmm, let me ponder on this a while!

  You're a pretty funny dude...

[rockymtngobblers]

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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.

[DeafGobbler]

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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.

[rockymtngobblers]

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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

[DeafGobbler]

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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.

[Happy]

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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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[DeafGobbler]

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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!

[rockymtngobblers]

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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. 

[EZ]

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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.

[DeafGobbler]

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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. 

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.