Here's my problem, Ive been chasing a bird for a few days and every time he will respond to my call and every time he gobbles he gets closer but until about 70 - 100 yards he goes silent and this has happened 3 times... I've waited him out and it seems he just disappears, and a while later sometimes I'll hear him gobble far off.
Can anyone answer why he runs out of the area?
Probably hens have something to do with it. Also possible that he has slipped in and didn't see a hen and moved off. Set up where he is in range the moment you see him. That way he has to come in to see if there is a hen.
NY longbeards. The bird I killed yesterday I had chased for 4 days and set up on at least 2 dozen times. He was terrible about this. Extremely vocal. I would get him fired up and try to sneak close and set up and he would never answer and I couldn't ever figure out why. I know a big part of it was hens. Twice I did this and hens would magically appear with him. Other times I think it was that simply I was not set up in the direction which he was headed. He was an older bird and was definitely used to being baradded with live hens going to him so why go to one that's helping her brains out a little ways off. I finally got that perfect set up on him yesterday afternoon. I had watched him get with a hen an hour or so prior and knew he would gobble when he had done his deed and search for a new hen. I had guessed on his direction and finally gotten it correct. He was dead in a few short minutes there after.
Think spittin and drumming has it right. Only thing I might add if you find yourself stuck again is to try gobbler sounds. Sometimes that fires em up but don't push it if he doesn't respond. Always tomo n those hens will be gone soon
My guess is that he is not the dominant bird and has had his butt whooped a few times. I would buddy hunt this situation with the caller fifty yards behind the shooter. If that doesn't work, look for another bird and come back to this guy in a couple of days just in case he was henned up.
Another thing, cut down on his travel distance, a lot can happen to a turkey in a couple of hundred yards. Also, keep him interested and fired up.
Why he runs out of the area? He may be following hens who are leading him away from competition. You may be hearing a different bird when you hear that far off gobble a while later. Your bird may be still in the same area, just quit gobbling. It may be the same bird going from strut zone to strut zone. Maybe he wanted the hen to come to him, to show herself. Maybe he is a subordinate bird thats afraid to commit. Maybe there was an obstacle you are not aware of between you and the bird. Maybe it was to thick. Maybe he had a bad experience with a predator there. Maybe the hens are on the nest and he hasn't seen any hens showing up at the feeding areas anymore. Maybe you overcalled to him. Lots of possibilities and unknowns. Change things up, experiement. Different setup, calls, calling style etc.
While he may have hens with him, I'm doubting that it's their efforts that's keeping him from coming in since they didn't do so initially after fly down. I'd tend to believe that he's a subordinate bird that is extremely cautious about being whipped on again, so is very reluctant to commit. In these situation, something that has helped me is the Funky Chicken decoy placed directly behind a hen on the ground in the breeding position, hopefully in a clearing so that everything is very visual. Two of the three gobblers that I took this spring were a result of using this set up and the third was using a foam jake decoy in place of the Funky Chicken but the same set up. Good luck and let us know what finally works for you.
This opening week feels like closing week! Gun shots are very minimal. Birds shut up right off the roost. All I can tell you that's working is sitting a ravine edge and lightly calling on a slate and scraping the leaves.
I didn't get a bird but I've bumped one and saw another and he ran off with a hen. I didn't hear them gobble at all. Weird this year.
I have had this happen before.......this dont always work but....... I had this turkey we struck way up a ridge. He would come down the ridge and gobble from one side to the other but would not come on out.He did this 3 or 4 times. The last time we moved 50 yards farther back and called while we were moving away. Bang got him
He's a subordinate bird. He's afraid to get his rear end kicked. I've tried purring aggressively while flapping a wing on the ground to mimick a fight. I've had them come running in.
Definitely been a wierd season the birds aren't responding well in my area at all. Just some gobbling on roost and maybe 10 min after fly down. Seems like there are allot of hens this year.
Doesn't sound like he is running out of the area. Sounds like he is responding to your calling and just waiting for you (the hen) to come to him. Also during the time he is gobbling the hens maybe coming to him . To your advantage, is he going in the same general direction from you? If so get on that side of him. The turkeys are mainly going where they want to go anyway to spend their day, maybe a field , ridge top or creek bottom too. They still are going to feed , dust and mill around where they normally do or just want to. Jmo.
Hunt with a buddy and one of you call from farther away.
Call more, call less. Loop around on him and reset. Gobble back at him. Scratch in the leaves. Don't get busted and keep trying different tactics and locations. You'll get him with the right combo or on the right day. Keep after him!
The usual reason for that is its henned up. The other one is people shoot at them too far so they stay out of range. The trick to killing them is to sit in the correct spot.
Partner up and have the caller planted a significant distance behind the shooter. This tactic has worked for me several times.
aka Dr Juice, Guns N Hoses
Reminds me of a public ground bird I killed years ago, would hammer just above me on private and would not commit to my hillside on the public, three mornings in a row even called in his yappy hen one morning and he still held his ground, fourth morning exact situation and I decided to gobble at him, he nearly ran me over coming over the hill, caught me on my off shoulder and busted me moving but he decided to leave straight down an old logging road and got mowed down on his way out!
I always enjoy these threads, as they remind me, that I am not the only one.
Last season, I had the unfortunate opportunity to watch such situations unfold... A tom fires off to my calling, and all the sudden is going the opposite direction. Generally in the rolling oaks of CA, I cannot see what is going on, but twice last season (in totally different locations), I witnessed hens come out of the wood-work as soon as a tom responded to my call... The hen would head off the tom, and immediately stroll of in the opposite direction. Getting around them was not an option (due to property lines or terrain).
Honestly, outside of trying to gobble at them (which has not worked yet for me, although I have had some strong responses), I have no idea what to do either. I tried gobbling, I tried fighting purrs, I tried shutting up, and I tried more aggressive calling, and once a hen has them going in the opposite direction, I feel like I either need to move on to a different bird, or wait for the hen to leave him again... I hate waiting.
I like to turn my head around the back side of the tree I'm on and soft yelp like I'm walking away. It has worked for me a few times when it seemed all failed
Scout some more and figure out where the hens are going
more than likely henned up, go back in the area later in the morning and try it again
Might need to hunt him at a different time of day or time of season... Here's a bit of a story on a bird like that, Killed him during my Fourth year of hunting him.
I have had some history with this "bad" bird and have been hunting him for the past 3 years, he was the kind of bird who would always answer but never come in, seems he always had hens with him and 5 or 6 of them at a time. Well here we are in year #4 and have seen him out strutting with his harem of hens and have set-up on him a number of times this year already, actually killed a couple of satellite birds in his area during our first couple of seasons. So we are now into our 4th season and after a tough few days and a unsuccessful morning hunting with a buddy I was headed back to the house to mow my lawn that seriously needs it. My buddy says you can always mow lawn in 2 weeks when turkey season is over... Took his advice and went out to the blind, got the DSD's my Cody and BIG PUFFY out. Once I sat down this guy gobbles once at my hen talk and then shuts up, I gave him a few more calls and no response... Next thing I see is a head pop up in the field and disappear, the a fan appears and he is strutting in and doing the fast walk. Eleven minutes into it and he's down at 15 yards! This is the one I was after and he was lonely today. This is a bird that I knew all too well and finally taking this longbeard "Hook" was worth the wait! He weighed in at 23lbs 7oz, a 10 ½" beard and spurs were at 1 7/16"
MK M GOBL
MK M GOBL...Nice story and one that I've experienced only I used a Primos gobble tube. a Funky Chicken decoy, and hen yelps to bring him in, imitating an intruder tom that challenged his status in the peck order. It took until the end of the Illinois spring season before he gave in and came to challenge the intruder before a load of #5 dropped him. I remember that hunt more than others where the tom came in directly after fly down.
As soon as you know he's not coming in and hear him a bit further off move up at least 25 ft. and call aggressive.