Food Source

[culpeper]

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Where I hunt it's nothing but small woodlots between 4 acres and 150 acres and all are surrounded by ag fields.  This makes it tough to ever make any moves on the birds.  I have hunted this one gobbler and 3-4 hens about 6 sits.  I know where they roost 50% of the time because the lead hen keeps changing every few days between one of 2 locations which are 300 yds apart.  I have sat within 70 of the roost two times, I got lucky, didn't make any tree calls and the hens pitched the other way and of course the gobbler followed.  I called trying to piss of a hen, but it hasn't worked.  Now even 3 days ago these hens are traveling easily 1,000 yds early.  He will gobble now and then so I know where they are going, but almost never is it in the same direction.

Where this group frequents there is cut corn from last fall within 200 yards and green fields in the opposite direction (though they are about 15" tall now), about 300-400 yards away.  Presuming the hens are very interested in feeding, what would be your best guess as to which food source they prefer.  I think it would be the green fields, more variety of food.

A secondary wonder is, why aren't these dang hens laying eggs and sitting on nests?  They hit the ground and motor away and don't waste any time.  I have kept my calling infrequent believing the hens are certainly controlling the chess match and I have no interest in educating them any more.

[Marc]

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Not sure I understand???  And not enough information.  Please describe the "green field," and the corn field (standing stalks or disked under, and how much corn is left).  Which field is 15' tall?


If there is a lot of available corn still left, I would guess that they would hit that corn...  Outside of valley quail, I cannot think of any game birds that do not prefer corn over any other food source (if it is available in quantity).


Now, if there is very little corn left on the ground, and those green fields have a very available food source, that certainly changes things...

But if birds are in strutting/breeding mode, it seems to me that they will prefer to eat and display in more open areas with less cover...

[Greg Massey]

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Which everyone has the less of the tail grass and i would say the corn field ...

[Paulmyr]

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The turkey biologist that's been referenced in this forum on a number of occasions said when they trap turkeys with corn their success rates go down drastically when it's warm out. If I remember correctly he said it had something to do with the high carb content of the corn and turkeys couldn't regulate their body temps on high carb foods when it's warm out causing them to over heat. At least I think that's what I heard.

[culpeper]

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Marc,

The greenfield is just hay and 15 inches tall about now.  The corn was chopped last fall and there isn't much corn left, been picked over hard from deer.  This hasn't been disked yet. Weather wise it warm here now, starting at 68 in the early am and getting up to 85 by 12:00.  We can only hunt till 12:00.

The woodlands where they are roosted is very open, dense hardwood canopy with very little understory so he can strut just about anywhere.  Not a lot of topo chage some small rolling knolls about 20-25 ft change in elev.

[GobbleNut]

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  I have kept my calling infrequent believing the hens are certainly controlling the chess match and I have no interest in educating them any more.

Regardless of all the other factors involved, I personally think one of the possible reasons for not being able to call these turkeys in is your reluctance to explore more aggressive calling tactics.  "Infrequent" calling frequently conveys to the gobblers you are hunting that the hen they are hearing is not really interested in their company. 

Try varying your calling strategy a bit and see how they react to something a little more aggressive. As long as you are "keeping it real" and not alerting those birds to the fact that you are not one of their kind, you should be fine. Turkeys become educated through actions of humans/hunters that results in those turkeys associating turkey calling with danger. 

Take care in your positioning and movements in the area you hunt so that the turkeys don't make that association.  Other than that, try experimenting a little more with your calling tactics to see if you can't find something that will turn one of those gobblers on.  There is very likely a tactic that will. 

[TRG3]

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If I'd tried all of the "tricks" that I know and have had no luck, I'd probably drag my 6-7 hen decoys and a jake to some wide open spot where I though the real birds would eventually see them. I'd then add some periodic aggressive hen calling and be willing to sit there for several hours in hopes that (1) the gobbler would come to check out a new hen or (2) that the real hens would become agitated and come have a look-see. If you haven't tried this approach, it might be worth a try to appease the frustration you must be feeling from what we've all experienced in the world of turkey hunting!

[rgref522]

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Birds were in green fields 75% of our season in central wi, if they had the opportunity to be.

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