4th season chasing and calling. No kills. Several encounters.
Looking for something that might lead to a truck ride for my feathered friends. Each year I try. Each year I learn something. Each year I eat chicken instead of turkey.
Previous seasons I've had two gobblers sneak up on me to where I couldn't swing and shoot before they busted me.
I've rolled one, but when I went to retrieve he was gone. Is that why the youtubers run through the woods after the shot?
I've had several jakes that I've passed. A few walked by at 10yds. My one and only try at sitting on a field edge a gobbler peaked down at me, but stayed at 60yds and wouldn't come in. Lesson learned that they want to see a hen when they get that close in the open (I think).
This year's lesson so far is that if you think your gobbler is in the middle of you and a hen (no matter how little she talks) you need to call more. I recently watched a Dale's Outdoor video which is about the only turkey channel I watch on the regular. He was talking about how to be patient and make the gobbler come looking for you. I tried that, but I think he was lured away by a hen that I heard cluck a few times. I made a move to try and swing around his location, but the wind picked up and he shut up.
I don't have a mentor or a buddy I can get to hunt with me, so I'm hunting solo in N. AL. I stick to the woods mostly cause fields are few and far between.
Turkey hunting is much more enjoyable to me than deer hunting. Mostly because even without a dead bird, I do not lose interest or get itchy trigger finger on the small ones. I'm not sure if that means I have more respect for the bird than I do the deer, but it is definitely a different mindset for me while hunting them.
Sorry for being long winded. I guess at the end of the day, I'm seeking wisdom on what I'm missing to get that turkey in the truck. If the answer is to keep at it and enjoy the hunt, then I'm fine with that because hearing that gobble is what's fun. Hell, I talked with a hen last week and had just as much fun.
I'm a fairly new hunter, as well, so I don't have much to offer you, but I'm following the thread in hope to gain more knowledge. They're definitely more intriguing than anything else I've ever hunted. It's more than just something to do in the spring. I hunt multiple animals in the fall, and I spent most of that time wishing it was springtime.
I will suggest, The Turkey Hunter Podcast is something I've been listing to over the last year since catching the fever, and I feel like I've picked up a lot of info from that. Broaden your media, if you can. Podcast and YouTube are free sources of info, and books are great too.
Stick with it!!! Nothing you've described is true failure, unless you let it be. Learn from your mistakes, and you'll be the wise one offering advice before long.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'll give you some tips I have learned the hard way over the past 8 years since I started hunting turkey.
- Hunt like you are being hunted while walking through the woods. They have better eyesight and hearing than you, so if you are on the move you need to move slowly and stop frequently to observe your surroundings.
- Move very slowly around corners.
- When you are ready to get up and move, give it 15 more minutes.
- When you do get up, do it really slowly and look all around you as you do it.
- Start calling softly and then progressively get louder, you never know when a bird might be right around the corner and you don't want to be too loud.
- Get situated before hitting the call, you do not want to be scrambling when a bird hammers back 50 yards away
- Less is more when calling.
All of those above have gotten me screwed on at least one occasion. Some more.
Not a lot of advice from. Just have fun, which it sounds like you're doing. A couple simple things to remember that may help. Don't be afraid of the gobbler, what I mean is don't be afraid to try something new, a slight move in location may be all it takes on a particular hunt. Also remember all calling is not done with a turkey call. When walking to another spot don't worry about making noise, just try to make it sound like noise made by a turkey. Slow walking, and stopping to kick a few leaves back can be better than yelping, cutting purring etc. combined. And pay attention to other critters. Squirrels, birds and other critters can sometimes tip you off to a turkeys location
The hardest to kill is the first. Just remember it is the experience and not the kill. Some of the best memories are the one that got away. Seems you are enjoying it and your time will come. I did not kill my first until my 3rd year and my first longbeard, second turkey, was my 5th year. It will come, you are in birds so it is just the stars aligning and you connecting the dots. You are learning more now than having automatic success. Good luck!
I took to the game as an adult. I had a steep learning curve and would like a do over with some of those early birds I encountered. Had to learn to balance aggression and patience. It is always good to look at every encounter and don't think "What did I do wrong?" but think "What could I do differently?" You have to make so many choices every hunt and all it takes is the wrong one and you don't kill a bird. I did a lot more reading in those days, but most of what helped was talking to folks and trying to put a little bit of everything I heard and read. No one has it all figured out and most every person on here says something that will help.
The single piece of advice I have given the hunters that are now asking me (and I am still asking too) is on private land - be more patient in your approach if you know he will be there another day. On public, try to get in tighter on those good gobbling days.
Most of all, keep enjoying the ride and when you get that first one you did all on your own, I can't even describe what you are gonna feel.
One of the biggest mistakes I made as a beginning turkey hunter was giving up on a gobbler to soon. I'd have to take my shoes off to count the number of times I sat down to a gobbling turkey and called with no response and he went silent. Only to have him gobble in the exact location in just vacated 20 mins prior because I thought he left the area or he was call shy.
Which leads me to another point. Have confidence in your calling ability and what you are about to say to that gobbler. If you don't it won't sound right.
Quote from: g8rvet on April 13, 2023, 07:49:06 PM
when you get that first one you did all on your own, I can't even describe what you are gonna feel.
This is absolute truth. It was long ago but honestly one of the best days of my life! So stick with it. One thing I would suggest is trying different areas if you can. Are you hearing gobbling where you're hunting? You know a big part of turkey hunting is being where the birds are. In fishing they say 90% of the fish are holding in 10% of the ground. You're seeing some birds but is there a high concentration? Are you getting out extremely early, or scouting at dusk with your ears listening for birds?
Dazzler, I am a big believer in brainwaves. They discern your thoughts, so be careful that you do not think any thoughts that the gobbler may be frightened by.
Lots of advice to give a beginner...
I grew up bird hunting, but never even considered turkey hunting till an adult... I was self-taught... Hunted 2 properties back then that were absolutely thick with turkeys (just shy of hunting a turkey farm), and still took me a whole season to kill one...
After your statement of rolling a bird, you shot low... YOU MUST HAVE A HEAD SHOT. Pattern your gun. Tight chokes and small(er) shot sizes. I use a full-choke with some older original Hevi-Shot #6's... Were I to shoot lead, I would tighten up that choke a bit.
Shoot some paper and see what your pattern looks like. Shoot some turkey patterns and figure out where your hold point should be (mine is where the neck meets the feathers, as with most turkey shotguns).
When moving through the woods: Stay off of ridges; avoid walking in open areas, do not call in areas you can see a long ways (or can be seen).
Many times less is more with calling. The more you call, the more he expects the hen to come to him.
As Paulmyr states... The number of times I have called at a bird, and finally moved on, only to hear him gobble where I was just parked... Is actually a bit embarrassing. Nothing wrong with relaxing, taking in some nature, and being patient sometimes.
If I hear a hen and a gobbler... I will always address the hen. If I can pizz off a dominant hen to come over, there is a huge chance that a tom will follow. You ain't gonna' pull a tom off a hen, but if you can pull that hen, the tom will come.
We all have our little tricks that work (sometimes). But starting as an adult, before I figured out what "to do," I learned a lot more about "what not to do." :bike2:
And... Bird I am to this day most proud of to this day, is the first turkey I killed, which was a jake.
Quote from: Marc on April 13, 2023, 11:41:39 PM
Lots of advice to give a beginner...
I grew up bird hunting, but never even considered turkey hunting till an adult... I was self-taught... Hunted 2 properties back then that were absolutely thick with turkeys (just shy of hunting a turkey farm), and still took me a whole season to kill one...
After your statement of rolling a bird, you shot low... YOU MUST HAVE A HEAD SHOT. Pattern your gun. Tight chokes and small(er) shot sizes. I use a full-choke with some older original Hevi-Shot #6's... Were I to shoot lead, I would tighten up that choke a bit.
Shoot some paper and see what your pattern looks like. Shoot some turkey patterns and figure out where your hold point should be (mine is where the neck meets the feathers, as with most turkey shotguns).
When moving through the woods: Stay off of ridges; avoid walking in open areas, do not call in areas you can see a long ways (or can be seen).
Many times less is more with calling. The more you call, the more he expects the hen to come to him.
As Paulmyr states... The number of times I have called at a bird, and finally moved on, only to hear him gobble where I was just parked... Is actually a bit embarrassing. Nothing wrong with relaxing, taking in some nature, and being patient sometimes.
If I hear a hen and a gobbler... I will always address the hen. If I can pizz off a dominant hen to come over, there is a huge chance that a tom will follow. You ain't gonna' pull a tom off a hen, but if you can pull that hen, the tom will come.
We all have our little tricks that work (sometimes). But starting as an adult, before I figured out what "to do," I learned a lot more about "what not to do." :bike2:
And... Bird I am to this day most proud of to this day, is the first turkey I killed, which was a jake.
How to you call at the hen, but not the gobbler. Are you just listing for her to talk about and argue with you?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: ETXhunter93 on April 14, 2023, 05:11:14 AM
How to you call at the hen, but not the gobbler. Are you just listing for her to talk about and argue with you?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The dominant hen will almost always get vocal if another "hen" starts talking loudly. Challenge her. She yelps, cut her off. She cuts, cut over her. She's used to her word being the final say so, and when that's challenged on occasion she'll come search out that mouthy hen to set her straight. If you can get that to happen that gobbler will almost always be in tow. Also had it where you piss her off and she gets loud but just pulls him off someplace else. That's always frustrating. Can happen either way, but if he's actively with that hen that's about the only shot you've got anyhow is to try your best to pull her in because he's not leaving her side.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Good to know!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: ETXhunter93 on April 14, 2023, 06:51:13 AM
Good to know!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If you're not real confident in your calling or what call to do when, just match her note for note. She yelps loud five times, you yelp loud five times. She cuts ten notes, you cut ten notes. One, you'll learn quick how it should sound. Two, that I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I mirroring is often exactly what will piss her off enough to come.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Did exactly this last Wednesday. She was so pizzed after it was over I told my bro that was with me that if I had heard a turkey hunter calling as loudly and as aggressively as this hen was calling, I would tell him he was an idjit. I did a three note tree yelp and she went nuts, and then I just kept it up right back, often over top of her. All this was on the limb! She flew right into our laps (like 7 yards) and proceeded to put on a calling show - yelps, cutts, purrs, you name it. Just knew a gobbler was gonna pitch down or show up with her. No dice. Was about as much fun as you can have without a BOOOOOMMMM.
If you have birds, especially private birds, you should be able to network to find someone to show you how to kill them. If you don't have that, get it.
If you can get to a place a gobbler will come to in his ordinary daily travel, and if he must come within about thirty yards to see your position in that location, and if you can convince a gobbler there is a hen present at your location by calling, and nothing like a hen or predator takes the gobbler's attention from you, then you'll probably get a shot. Putting all that together in the same instant is the difficulty. Keep your strategy simple. Try only one different tactic or call at a time as you learn.
And never, ever, give a gobbler the high ground.
All great advice.... keep after it .... the 1st is the hardest .....it will click and when it does , try and learn something new every trip
This morning got set up right at day break. On the slow walk in I heard no gobbles. When I sat down I heard one way off, possible across the river. Stayed out and finally a shock gobble from a plane passing overhead. Never gobbled at my call, so I just called softly every 20 minutes or so. No response. I felt my setup was good. All of a sudden two came up on my left like ninjas at 15 yards.
Started to figure out how to get my gun on them, but they were stretching that neck eyeballing my direction. Didn't look them in the eye or move. Waited for them to go behind a tree to make a move. Well they went behind and never showed up again. They went back down the hill. I heard a few clicks or putts and then gone. Not a fast walk just a 180 slow walk from whence they came.
So what should I have done? I gave it about a minute and did some soft purr and cluck. Nothing.
Should I have swung for the fences and hoped for the best When they were at fifteen giving me the turkey eye?
I'll be back in the morning to try again.
Quote from: Dazzler on April 20, 2023, 09:51:52 AM
This morning got set up right at day break. On the slow walk in I heard no gobbles. When I sat down I heard one way off, possible across the river. Stayed out and finally a shock gobble from a plane passing overhead. Never gobbled at my call, so I just called softly every 20 minutes or so. No response. I felt my setup was good. All of a sudden two came up on my left like ninjas at 15 yards.
Started to figure out how to get my gun on them, but they were stretching that neck eyeballing my direction. Didn't look them in the eye or move. Waited for them to go behind a tree to make a move. Well they went behind and never showed up again. They went back down the hill. I heard a few clicks or putts and then gone. Not a fast walk just a 180 slow walk from whence they came.
So what should I have done? I gave it about a minute and did some soft purr and cluck. Nothing.
Should I have swung for the fences and hoped for the best When they were at fifteen giving me the turkey eye?
I'll be back in the morning to try again.
Sometimes that just happens, and, no, I don't think I'd have tried to swing and shoot if I thought I had another chance or another day to get on them again. 15yds is a hard distance to try to get away with any movement at all even if you think they're fully behind a tree. They just caught you. That happens. Happens more times than not.
Now, think about where they came from and what terrain they crossed to get to you. Use that to your advantage on the next hunt. Also, since they're grouped up like that, you might try some jake yelps mixed in with your hen talk. That presence of another male bird might get them to you. Congrats on the fun hunt. Birds at 15yds is a win. Stay at it. Like the colonel said, "We pay for every bird we kill and the coin we use is time."
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've read each post and everyone was well said .... but calling to a hen is awesome advice .... just mimic her .. itll show you where your calling needs to be tweaked and she will get upset and come looking for ya....hopefully
Time in the woods is invaluable. I retired 3 years ago and I'm in the woods almost everyday a month before season.
Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on April 20, 2023, 11:32:16 AM
Quote from: Dazzler on April 20, 2023, 09:51:52 AM
This morning got set up right at day break. On the slow walk in I heard no gobbles. When I sat down I heard one way off, possible across the river. Stayed out and finally a shock gobble from a plane passing overhead. Never gobbled at my call, so I just called softly every 20 minutes or so. No response. I felt my setup was good. All of a sudden two came up on my left like ninjas at 15 yards.
Started to figure out how to get my gun on them, but they were stretching that neck eyeballing my direction. Didn't look them in the eye or move. Waited for them to go behind a tree to make a move. Well they went behind and never showed up again. They went back down the hill. I heard a few clicks or putts and then gone. Not a fast walk just a 180 slow walk from whence they came.
So what should I have done? I gave it about a minute and did some soft purr and cluck. Nothing.
Should I have swung for the fences and hoped for the best When they were at fifteen giving me the turkey eye?
I'll be back in the morning to try again.
Sometimes that just happens, and, no, I don't think I'd have tried to swing and shoot if I thought I had another chance or another day to get on them again. 15yds is a hard distance to try to get away with any movement at all even if you think they're fully behind a tree. They just caught you. That happens. Happens more times than not.
Now, think about where they came from and what terrain they crossed to get to you. Use that to your advantage on the next hunt. Also, since they're grouped up like that, you might try some jake yelps mixed in with your hen talk. That presence of another male bird might get them to you. Congrats on the fun hunt. Birds at 15yds is a win. Stay at it. Like the colonel said, "We pay for every bird we kill and the coin we use is time."
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Do you think setting out a Jake or laying hen or both might help my situation? In hindsight I always think it will.
(https://media0.giphy.com/media/lKXd9sYM5dI9W/giphy.gif)
Quote from: Dazzler on April 20, 2023, 12:26:19 PM
Do you think setting out a Jake or laying hen or both might help my situation? In hindsight I always think it will.
(https://media0.giphy.com/media/lKXd9sYM5dI9W/giphy.gif)
I don't hunt decoys at all. I just don't like them. So I'm not going to be much help here. If you've got terrain that would allow them to get within 15yds and pop up on you then you've got terrain to get it done without decoys. Whether they'd help or hurt, I honestly don't know. Some much more knowledgeable folks on here with regard to that style of hunting. Hopefully they'll chime in.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on April 20, 2023, 12:30:49 PM
Quote from: Dazzler on April 20, 2023, 12:26:19 PM
Do you think setting out a Jake or laying hen or both might help my situation? In hindsight I always think it will.
(https://media0.giphy.com/media/lKXd9sYM5dI9W/giphy.gif)
I don't hunt decoys at all. I just don't like them. So I'm not going to be much help here. If you've got terrain that would allow them to get within 15yds and pop up on you then you've got terrain to get it done without decoys. Whether they'd help or hurt, I honestly don't know. Some much more knowledgeable folks on here with regard to that style of hunting. Hopefully they'll chime in.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I do t use them either, but I have the sad looking $10 foam ones from cabelas. Figured it might give them something to focus on when they pop their head up over the ridge of course they might not like what they see.
Pegging you, then walking behind a tree and turning dead away is SOP for a gobbler. Old buck deer will do it, too. May as well go for if you can do it in one swift move. If you decide to shoot at them on the flush ignore the body and go for the head. Missing into the body can turn into a rodeo and leave you disgusted with yourself.
It helps if you sit with the butt under your arm and the gun rested across your knee whenever you're set up.
Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on April 14, 2023, 06:15:26 AM
The dominant hen will almost always get vocal if another "hen" starts talking loudly. Challenge her. She yelps, cut her off. She cuts, cut over her. She's used to her word being the final say so, and when that's challenged on occasion she'll come search out that mouthy hen to set her straight. If you can get that to happen that gobbler will almost always be in tow. Also had it where you piss her off and she gets loud but just pulls him off someplace else. That's always frustrating. Can happen either way, but if he's actively with that hen that's about the only shot you've got anyhow is to try your best to pull her in because he's not leaving her side.
Quote from: ChesterCopperpot on April 14, 2023, 07:42:54 AMIf you're not real confident in your calling or what call to do when, just match her note for note. She yelps loud five times, you yelp loud five times. She cuts ten notes, you cut ten notes. One, you'll learn quick how it should sound. Two, that I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I mirroring is often exactly what will piss her off enough to come.
Great advice/well said... I completely agree!
I would add, that gobbling birds in the morning let you know where they are and it is fun to hear, but outside of that there is no strategic advantage to hearing or making those birds gobble... But I am far more interested in the hens, for reasons mentioned above. As well as listening to the calls and cadence of different birds... I am going to address that dominant bird right off, but later in the morning if that has not worked, I might access my memory banks and try and emmulate some of the other hens with their tones/pitch cadence as well.
Listening to those hens gives you an idea of the "feeling of the woods," and helps you learn what hen turkeys sound like.
I used to keep a "turkey log" describing the amount and enthusiasm of the gobbling, as well as the what sounds and when the hens were making them. I no longer keep a log, but it did help me with my learning curve early one (I was blessed with hunting an area that had lots of turkeys and turkey sounds when I started).
Quote from: howl on April 20, 2023, 02:18:22 PM
It helps if you sit with the butt under your arm and the gun rested across your knee whenever you're set up.
10-4. That's one of the first lessons I learned. Got one of those gun rests that straps to your leg.
Don't give up. Took me almost 10 season to finally kill 1. I'm self taught, no youtube when I started. Messed up a ton of hunts, missed a few birds and each trip was something learned. Doesn't help that I hunt florida and these birds are tough to kill.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
I started to hunt them around 95 or 96 and did not get one until 2019 because I was in a car accident and could not hunt 17 years, believe me even having to wait that long it was worth the wait.
After them again this morning about 30 minutes befor daylight. Heard a couple birds fly down. Not one gobble all morning. Decided to move around 945. As I stepped over a small hill/mound there was a turkey sitting on side of the road. He/she flew off. Couldn't Errol if there was a beard. All I saw was the backside. Light brown with a white layer. Doing some soft calls see if he/she comes back. Any tricks to determine sex from the backside. Seemed awfully large, so I'm leaning towards Tom.
Quote from: Dazzler on April 21, 2023, 11:31:34 AM
After them again this morning about 30 minutes befor daylight. Heard a couple birds fly down. Not one gobble all morning. Decided to move around 945. As I stepped over a small hill/mound there was a turkey sitting on side of the road. He/she flew off. Couldn't Errol if there was a beard. All I saw was the backside. Light brown with a white layer. Doing some soft calls see if he/she comes back. Any tricks to determine sex from the backside. Seemed awfully large, so I'm leaning towards Tom.
I am going to offer a piece of advise that helped me get mine, when they are quiet stay where you are and only call maybe every 15 minutes to half hour, I waited half an hour and then all of a sudden they just started to open up. Which subspecies are you hunting?
Bad weather last night .... I didn't hit the woods till 530
Not a word until around 10 .... sun started peeking through ....when the gobbling started it didn't stop until the benelli went off ..... hunt everyday you are physically able
Quote from: Sir-diealot on April 21, 2023, 12:39:46 PM
I am going to offer a piece of advise that helped me get mine, when they are quiet stay where you are and only call maybe every 15 minutes to half hour, I waited half an hour and then all of a sudden they just started to open up. Which subspecies are you hunting?
Eastern. North AL for reference.
I try to keep it to every 15-20.
So with no gobble response to gauge temperature or even the presence of a bird, I feel like I'm doing the right thing by sitting as long as possible and calling as you said. Obviously today I should have just stayed out, but is there a time to move around or is that hunter preference?
If you have confidence in your area ... stay put....turkeys hear really well .... if you call every so often most times they will seek you out
Spending time with turkeys and learning from your mistakes is more than any of us can tell you how not to make mistakes or how to hunt these gobblers.
Quote from: Greg Massey on April 21, 2023, 09:02:02 PM
Spending time with turkeys and learning from your mistakes is more than any of us can tell you how not to make mistakes or how to hunt these gobblers.
Every one will agree with this 1
Time in the woods ....
Quote from: Dazzler on April 21, 2023, 11:31:34 AM
After them again this morning about 30 minutes befor daylight. Heard a couple birds fly down. Not one gobble all morning. Decided to move around 945. As I stepped over a small hill/mound there was a turkey sitting on side of the road. He/she flew off. Couldn't Errol if there was a beard. All I saw was the backside. Light brown with a white layer. Doing some soft calls see if he/she comes back. Any tricks to determine sex from the backside. Seemed awfully large, so I'm leaning towards Tom.
Never a good idea to guess whether a bird is a gobbler or not, especially when they are going away and with no obvious confirmation of sex and legality. Now, you can make a guess in the situation you describe based on size, general coloration (gobblers will look darker than hens when looking at them side-by-side), and head size and coloration, but "guessing" at a turkey's sex with the intention of pulling the trigger is a bad idea all around.
Gotta see the beard plainly. Last several years I'd had to hold off to see a full fan. We have too many of those short beard gobblers that could be jakes.
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 22, 2023, 09:58:34 AM
Quote from: Dazzler on April 21, 2023, 11:31:34 AM
After them again this morning about 30 minutes befor daylight. Heard a couple birds fly down. Not one gobble all morning. Decided to move around 945. As I stepped over a small hill/mound there was a turkey sitting on side of the road. He/she flew off. Couldn't Errol if there was a beard. All I saw was the backside. Light brown with a white layer. Doing some soft calls see if he/she comes back. Any tricks to determine sex from the backside. Seemed awfully large, so I'm leaning towards Tom.
Never a good idea to guess whether a bird is a gobbler or not, especially when they are going away and with no obvious confirmation of sex and legality. Now, you can make a guess in the situation you describe based on size, general coloration (gobblers will look darker than hens when looking at them side-by-side), and head size and coloration, but "guessing" at a turkey's sex with the intention of pulling the trigger is a bad idea all around.
Already got in trouble once with GW for a buck that came under antler requirements. I'll have to see a swinging beard before I shoot.
Got set up this morning before daylight. Waited for a while before soft calling. Didn't hear any fly down, clucks or gobbles. Over the course of two hours I tried a few different calls to get something going. Around 0745 something pitched out of the tree 30 yards in front of me. Long dark wingspan. Maybe two flaps before it disappeared further into the canopy. No noise other than wings. Not turkey fly down noise.
Would a turkey sit in the tree and listen to me throwing the kitchen sink only to take off later. I can't ID what it was for sure as it flew away and disappeared.
That is an absolute possibility.... earlier this year while doing some scouting before season I bumped 1 out of a tree at noon.
Quote from: Dazzler on April 23, 2023, 09:06:59 AM
Got set up this morning before daylight. Waited for a while before soft calling. Didn't hear any fly down, clucks or gobbles. Over the course of two hours I tried a few different calls to get something going. Around 0745 something pitched out of the tree 30 yards in front of me. Long dark wingspan. Maybe two flaps before it disappeared further into the canopy. No noise other than wings. Not turkey fly down noise.
Would a turkey sit in the tree and listen to me throwing the kitchen sink only to take off later. I can't ID what it was for sure as it flew away and disappeared.
Absolutely. Especially if it saw you getting setup or moving around. I had 1 stay on roost 1 morning till after 9. And he had gobbled before daylight. He saw me getting setup n never said a word. Figured he left without me knowing and got up to move and he flew out the other direction.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Quote from: Lcmacd 58 on April 23, 2023, 10:00:02 AM
That is an absolute possibility.... earlier this year while doing some scouting before season I bumped 1 out of a tree at noon.
I already scan the tree tops before I start calling. This tree was so close that I didn't consider that a bird would have stayed put while I walked around the base to pick a setup much less while I was calling.
I've spooked them off the roost as late as 11am while walking through the woods. Had one time when I was using a creek bed to to get closer to a strutting gobbler that I couldn't pull across a field. It was just after 10am when the reason the strutting gobbler stayed put was revealed. When I came out of the creek bed to set up a bunch of hens spooked off the roost. Never even thought about looking in the trees that late in the morning.
We had a cold snap last night, so maybe that kept them quiet and in the tree later than usual?
Who knows why they do it. This spring I spooked a gobbler and 2 Jake's off the roost a 10:30. The weather was sunny and calm. Perfect for what you expect to be a good gobbling morning but nothing was going. I was sneaking through an area and setting up in random spots to try and stir something up.
I just finished a yelp series when I believe I heard a cluck. I thought it came from the trees but wasn't sure. I clucked back and 2 more clucks in totally different locations than a woodpecker knocking. I wrote the clucks off as the woodpecker. To my dismay, after I set for a while and got up to relocate, after moving about 100 yds the 1st Jake spooked and flew directly over my head. A couple more steps and the other Jake spooked followed by the gobbler a few seconds later.
Why they were still in the trees I have no idea except to say turkeys will be turkeys!
357magnole gave you some good words of advice for sure. Me personally, if i am hunting a field edge, I am going to use at least one decoy, maybe two. If I use a lone hen, i turn her away from the direction that i am expecting the tom to come from. If 2, then i go with a tom with a white head (breeding mood) and a hen a few feet in front of him on the ground in a breeding postion. Deadly combination. On several occasions i have turned the solo hen toward his direction, only to watch him look, gobble and strut about 60-75 yards away and never come any closer. I learned my lesson lol. The man that mentored me, really helped me not to overcall and to be patient. If a tom honors you by gobbling at you on the roost, he will probably at some point come through your area looking for love later. I too live near the Ala. line but in TN and our birds are super bad to hook around you when coming in. I work hard on my set up to try to eliminate that. Jason Cruise has some very informative videos that you could watch. I think his stuff is as good as anyone. Good luck and have fun. PM me if we can be any more help
I've learned the importance of calling wisely. This means calling with intention as turkeys only make sounds when they have a reason. I have about three volumes of calling sequences that I'll rotate through about every 20-30 minutes. I'll start soft, next will be medium, third will be a little louder, then I'll start over. These sequences are not very long. I'll adjust these depending on time of day and if I get responses. I do this from one location in the woods where I know turkey are around and is clear enough to get a good shot if one shows up. I stay there as long as possible and I try not to move at all. After I do all of this, it comes down to luck. Sometimes a hen will take a gobbler away and sometimes they won't.
Lots of really good knowledge has been given to you. I didn't read every post but I read enough...... no need in repeating but one thing I can throw at you is that you made the comment that a hen drug the Tom away from you. If he is responding to you , Next time that happens if you have the time be patient, sit tight, don't call loud or a lot. He knows exactly where you are at. Keep your eyes peeled. If he doesn't get boogered along the way he will be back at some point before the end of the day more times than not. That's the way I was taught growing up. It's not easy to do but it's productive until you gain confidence in yourself. When it finally happens you will remember it for the rest of your life. Best of luck.
You're in the game for sure. The more woods experience and encounters, the better you will get. It will happen, no doubt. The only tactic I can give you that changed the game for me is try calling softer and less frequent. I've found that once he answers you, he knows precisely where you are. Curiosity kills many gobblers, make him find you. Stay the course and a nice Tom will ride home with you, no doubt!
I always try to keep it simple ... patience and persistent
Quote from: silvestris on April 13, 2023, 11:28:29 PMDazzler, I am a big believer in brainwaves. They discern your thoughts, so be careful that you do not think any thoughts that the gobbler may be frightened by.
;)
;) lol
It took me 4 years of hunting to get a gobbler. Get out real early,and try to stay out of the open.