On days when gobbling activity is slowed or non-existent I have often had good luck moving towards an area where the crows are raising cane. Especially when you know the birds are in the area somewhere.
This is a solid tactic in my experience.
Noticed this Saturday morning. Not a gobble to an owl or my expert owl hooter. When the natural crows started they lite up. A fun guessing game.
Crows get em fired up for sure. Which brings me to this experiance I bought a crow call early in my spring gobbler hunts decades ago then said to myself why did you buy that crow call when you got real crows screaming all day long in Pa. :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an
Quote from: King Cobra on March 19, 2024, 07:43:53 AM
On days when gobbling activity is slowed or non-existent I have often had good luck moving towards an area where the crows are raising cane. Especially when you know the birds are in the area somewhere.
Killed a turkey in the evening 2 years ago doing this. Heavily pressured public land, I was walking in down the main road way when I noticed a smaller road way going down the hill to my right that you'd miss if you weren't looking for it. I had hunted this piece for 3 years and never noticed it and figured it was likely others hadn't either. I walk about 75 yards down this trail and stopped to take a pee when a crow to my right over in a holler just absolutely went crazy hollering. I went over to the side of the road way, there is an old fence line from back when this place was a farm, right on the edge of the woods. On the wood side there was a probably 7 or 8 yard deep patch or briars and then pretty open hardwoods. I sat behind the briars and done a couple soft clucks and purrs and scratched the leaves. I noticed the crow was pretty intent on that holler. About 5 minutes later I hear heavy foot steps and not being able to see, I was afraid it was another hunter that came in from a different way, next thing I know, there's a red head and a long beard standing 6 steps away right at the edge of those briars, in the only small opening it had. I was sitting on my knees, didn't have my face mask on and my gun was laying beside me. I was able to get my hand on my gun and in one slow motion get the gun to my shoulder and kill him. At the shot 3 more gobblers flew up in the air and ran back in that holler. If it wasn't for that crow, I'd have walked right past them turkeys and never knew it.
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I have ALWAYS wondered about this!!! I have noticed that crows like to aggravate turkeys and we all know crows calling can generate Gobblers gobbling. My question would be is there any scientific or practical knowledge, to go to where crows are if gobbling is nonexistent?? Or is this just a coincidence??
Quote from: ScottTaulbee on March 19, 2024, 11:52:21 AM
Quote from: King Cobra on March 19, 2024, 07:43:53 AM
On days when gobbling activity is slowed or non-existent I have often had good luck moving towards an area where the crows are raising cane. Especially when you know the birds are in the area somewhere.
Killed a turkey in the evening 2 years ago doing this. Heavily pressured public land, I was walking in down the main road way when I noticed a smaller road way going down the hill to my right that you'd miss if you weren't looking for it. I had hunted this piece for 3 years and never noticed it and figured it was likely others hadn't either. I walk about 75 yards down this trail and stopped to take a pee when a crow to my right over in a holler just absolutely went crazy hollering. I went over to the side of the road way, there is an old fence line from back when this place was a farm, right on the edge of the woods. On the wood side there was a probably 7 or 8 yard deep patch or briars and then pretty open hardwoods. I sat behind the briars and done a couple soft clucks and purrs and scratched the leaves. I noticed the crow was pretty intent on that holler. About 5 minutes later I hear heavy foot steps and not being able to see, I was afraid it was another hunter that came in from a different way, next thing I know, there's a red head and a long beard standing 6 steps away right at the edge of those briars, in the only small opening it had. I was sitting on my knees, didn't have my face mask on and my gun was laying beside me. I was able to get my hand on my gun and in one slow motion get the gun to my shoulder and kill him. At the shot 3 more gobblers flew up in the air and ran back in that holler. If it wasn't for that crow, I'd have walked right past them turkeys and never knew it.
This is a perfect example of a situation where birds have been pressured and they realize gobbling only draws the wrong kind of attention and go silent. I have had similar situations... but yours is truly one you will never forget. Congrats
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Quote from: bbcoach on March 19, 2024, 12:18:14 PM
I have ALWAYS wondered about this!!! I have noticed that crows like to aggravate turkeys and we all know crows calling can generate Gobblers gobbling. My question would be is there any scientific or practical knowledge, to go to where crows are if gobbling is nonexistent?? Or is this just a coincidence??
Yes, crows will predate on turkey nests. There is some data that shows crows will follow individual hens as well to try and find nests. Crows are one of the most intelligent animals we have in North America and don't do much of anything without reason. I can't tell you how many times I have killed gobblers that never said a word and were being followed by crows. If it is a bad gobbling day that is one of the things I will try and key on.
A few years back a buddy and I made a mid-morning spot change to a piece of private land that has been very successful for us in past years. Upon arrival, the sound of crows was deafening, fortunately allowing us to slip in quietly and set up. There must have been 50-100 crows centered on one piece of the hardwoods bottom 150 yards below us, sounded like a fight but honestly couldn't hear myself think with all the noise. Within a minute of the murder dispersing and shutting up, two gobblers erupted from that exact area. We walked out of there 30 minutes later with my buddy's first longbeard.
In thinking back, there have been several similar scenarios of crows seemingly centered directly over turkeys on that specific property .
Stop spreading these secrets lol
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Quote from: sasquatch1 on March 19, 2024, 08:28:40 PM
Stop spreading these secrets lol
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Haha! Right. Crows for turkeys and blue jays for deer and coyotes. Been many times jays are raising a ruckus and a deer or coyote comes in.
Praise the Lord for crows and crow calls. Cause I suck at owl hooters and any mouth call in general. So I agree with you here. I rely on crow calls and real crows to get me through a turkey season.
Oh. And donkeys. I love hunting near donkeys.
This time of year I think it's neat to see how much theyll harass a breeding pair of hawks. Set up within 150 yd of where hawks are building a nest, and you'll be ready to pack it out within 45min.
Makes it hard to wanna head towards them when theyre commotion is a deterrent to me. Lol
You gotta pay attention to what the crows are doing. If it's a general overall ruckus that sounds like a fight than they probably chasing an owl around or hawks as stated earlier. If they're changing their pitch and cadence they're trying to pull a gobble.
Just like squirrels barking at deer during deer season, crows can give away turkey for sure. Even a gang of those little chickadees have proven to be a sign.
Great info Ken. I will look for that now........
Killed a many gobblers because of crows. My 12 old daughter actually killed her first gobbler last year because of crows.... We hadn't heard a gobble all morning and about 10 in the morning crows started going off so we went around the side of the hill where they was and I hit the call and he gobbled and came right in!!!!
Quote from: Paulmyr on March 21, 2024, 09:08:55 PM
You gotta pay attention to what the crows are doing. If it's a general overall ruckus that sounds like a fight than they probably chasing an owl around or hawks as stated earlier. If they're changing their pitch and cadence they're trying to pull a gobble.
I should have said generally with statement.
If it's really slow I'll chase the mob. But I've been paying more attention when I hear a crow or murder switching between the standard cadence and pitch to a faster cadence and drop to that gravely growl caw that they do. If you listen to them when a gobbler is gobbling sporadically they'll come and go. One will show up hit with different sequences if the turkey gobbles sometimes more will show. If they don't succeed they leave and come back later after he gobbles again or just to check on him
3 years ago I just set up in time to watch a murder of crows chase an owl into a thick group of trees on the edge of a meadow. They were giving that owl the business
When the dust settled and the owl and crows moved on, I got back to the business at hand. I had set up there because I heard a few gobbles from the area when I was up the on the ridge line above.
I threw out some calls and settled in. Low and behold I see a turkey slink from out of the thick group of trees at about 150 yds. It was veering to my left and when it disappeared below a rise at about 120 I never seen it again.
The crow is a very good indicator. I've located a turkey or even deer moving several times while deer hunting. I pay close attention when crows are active.
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Thank you all for the great insight on your experiences over the years. Turkey hunting is a constant learning experience for me. Good luck to you all
I find corn piles using the same tactic. So far I've had 7 poachers busted for illegal baiting between deer and Turkey season. Yes there are usually turkeys there
Im a believer..
Just this morning I had a couple crows tell me to be ready because the subordinate gobbling longbeard I just set up on and called too would come in silent.
How did they tell me he was a subordinate and would come in silent? The nearby crows weren't messing with him they were down to my right 150yds from the gobbling turkey messing with the alpha who wasn't gobbling because he had the hens. Now I don't think for one second those crow were picking the alpha because his status. I'm sure it was a matter of there were more turkeys over there than with the one subordinate satellite lurking in the shadows.
How could I tell they were messing with the alpha? Because they were doing the pitch, cadence and tone changes I spoke of earlier trying to pull a gobble and he was most likely too intent on performing for the ladies to notice
When I realized the situation I stopped calling and waited for him to show. I knew there would be no more gobbling, I just needed to be patient and ready.
After about 10 mins there he was standing there looking to sneak some action while the big guy was tending to his harem. He didn't gobble because he didn't want the big guy to know what was going down.
All I had to do was pick the right place as where he was going to show himself.
Quote from: Paulmyr on March 26, 2024, 03:08:56 AM
Just this morning I had a couple crows tell me to be ready because the subordinate gobbling longbeard I just set up on and called too would come in silent.
How did they tell me he was a subordinate and would come in silent? The nearby crows weren't messing with him they were down to my right 150yds from the gobbling turkey messing with the alpha who wasn't gobbling because he had the hens. Now I don't think for one second those crow were picking the alpha because his status. I'm sure it was a matter of there were more turkeys over there than with the one subordinate satellite lurking in the shadows.
How could I tell they were messing with the alpha? Because they were doing the pitch, cadence and tone changes I spoke of earlier trying to pull a gobble and he was most likely too intent on performing for the ladies to notice
When I realized the situation I stopped calling and waited for him to show. I knew there would be no more gobbling, I just needed to be patient and ready.
After about 10 mins there he was standing there looking to sneak some action while the big guy was tending to his harem. He didn't gobble because he didn't want the big guy to know what was going down.
All I had to do was pick the right place as where he was going to show himself.
Wow, that was some pretty in-depth observation of what was going on in that situation. Thanks for sharing
Quote from: King Cobra on March 22, 2024, 07:53:40 AM
Thank you all for the great insight on your experiences over the years. Turkey hunting is a constant learning experience for me. Good luck to you all
X-2
Quote from: Paulmyr on March 26, 2024, 03:08:56 AM
Just this morning I had a couple crows tell me to be ready because the subordinate gobbling longbeard I just set up on and called too would come in silent.
How did they tell me he was a subordinate and would come in silent? The nearby crows weren't messing with him they were down to my right 150yds from the gobbling turkey messing with the alpha who wasn't gobbling because he had the hens. Now I don't think for one second those crow were picking the alpha because his status. I'm sure it was a matter of there were more turkeys over there than with the one subordinate satellite lurking in the shadows.
How could I tell they were messing with the alpha? Because they were doing the pitch, cadence and tone changes I spoke of earlier trying to pull a gobble and he was most likely too intent on performing for the ladies to notice
When I realized the situation I stopped calling and waited for him to show. I knew there would be no more gobbling, I just needed to be patient and ready.
After about 10 mins there he was standing there looking to sneak some action while the big guy was tending to his harem. He didn't gobble because he didn't want the big guy to know what was going down.
All I had to do was pick the right place as where he was going to show himself.
You brought back a great memory.
Many moons ago. This same has happened once to me.
Dead silent, cool early spring morning, except for the crows. I was sitting quietly and listing as they were a good way off. I was oblivious to what was happening until it happened. I wasn't doing much calling and there were no turkey responses. I decided to nod off, enjoying the sounds of spring and sunshine on my face. Then it happened. A LOUD KaWwwwwww right on top of me scared the Bjesus outta me snapping me out of it.. lol. the second I opened my eyes... GrrrrrObblObble!
My heart rate went from 0 to 120 in 10 real quick! The gun was up, one soft yelp. The bird was on the end of my barrel in seconds. The #4's waffled him.
Almost like your story,.. These birds heard me the whole time and didn't answer me, or the crows. One subordinate broke off and came in silent. One Ol' crow decided to follow him and continue to harass him and he finally sounded (at the wrong time). Later I found out the birds were roosted on the lower ridge above a field. It was a day when you say there lip locked... and changed real fast. It turned into a great hunt.
You right buddy I had a crow fly in the other day during a slow afternoon of hunting and right when the crow landed on a tree in front of me a hen came walking through right after. Ole crows some turkey stalkers no doubt
Lots of crows at home so no gobbles there to crow calling. I hunted the GA opener this morning a crow made one gobble for me about 11:30. He was down around 11:50.
I don't carry a crow call but may break it out for my home opener.
Has anyone ever seen a crow or murder roost? I've worked in the woods half my life and also hunted the majority of my life and have never seen a crow roost or spooked them off the roost in the evening/mornings. It's like they just appear out of nowhere at daylight.
Seen them fly out of pines very early in the morning in my area
up my way, lot of times crows follow nesting hens around in hopes of locating eggs.