What are the birds doing in your areas?
Roost gobbling here with very few gobbles when they hit the ground, they seem to be henned up good.
Hardly any gobbling at all on the national forest. I would have killed another one Wednesday that had a pile of hens with him. Had the bead on him when all of a sudden turkeys busted out everywhere. Some jack wagon had walked right into them then commenced to do a 100 note yelp as soon as they did. For the next 3 hours he wore out at least 5 different mouth calls, box call, and a slate.
Birds are gobbling their heads off on the roost, but when they hit the ground your lucky to hear five gobbles the rest of the day. When you do hear one gobble it is followed by yelps fading off. It's tough here in east Tennessee.
Not worth a crap were I hunt, gobbleing on the roost then get tight lip on the ground and henned up, the hens ain't even answering callling.
It's tough hunting right now. I didn't hear a single gobble this morning.
In Clarksville, we had great gobbling on and off the roost for the youth hunt weekend, birds were still gobbling good on roost for the opening weekend. Then this little cold snap hit and shut them up on and off. Friday morning I didn't hear a single turkey sound. This morning was better. A couple gobbles on the roost. The boss didn't gobble on or off, just got his hens and pranced around. I had a jake gobbling good and then at 9am I called in a 2 year old that gobbled all the way too me for a couple hundred yards. He got his head busted when he arrived.
Heard several on the roost and they gobbled a couple times after they hit the ground in Sumner Co. this morning. They shut up for a while. About mid morning i was set up calling and 2 fired off and came in. They were gobbling everything for a few minutes, me, a train, what i assume was a bushhog hitting a rock, etc.
Then they kinda hung up. One drifted off, one stood at 60yds or so without moving for 30 minutes. He eased closer to where I was comfortable shooting and I misses him. :(
Here, just west of Nashville, birds have been gobbling like crazy. This past tuesday I couldnt have had my head in a turkeys throat and heard more gobbling. They were a little late getting started yesterday but once they did they were hot. Both on and off the roost.
We seem to run a week or so behind you guys to the west, ours should be better next weekend I hope.
It makes it hard to hoof these mountains for birds that gobble 1-2 times and won't come in because their old hens drag them away.
I laid down 4 miles yesterday on some sparse gobbling birds. Luckily the terrain was nice and flat, it looked like this: V
Well, the sides were flat. :)
Quote from: Tom Foolery on April 08, 2012, 06:14:27 AM
We seem to run a week or so behind you guys to the west, ours should be better next weekend I hope.
It makes it hard to hoof these mountains for birds that gobble 1-2 times and won't come in because their old hens drag them away.
I laid down 4 miles yesterday on some sparse gobbling birds. Luckily the terrain was nice and flat, it looked like this: V
Well, the sides were flat. :)
We must be hunting the same spot cause I'm on a ridge top right now and if I stand at the edge and peak over the side I still can't see below me :D Heard 3 birds on the roost that gobbled 4 times combined. Haven't heard anything since.
Turkeys are henned up in the next county over from you Tom. Yesterday morning I got on one on TVA property that only gobbled maybe 5 times before fly down and not one of those were until it was about flydown time about 7:15 AM. I tried to hang with him and he shut up. Finally about 9 AM he started firing up again but wouldn't come in to a call (that part could be from it being public land).
Just a couple roost gobbles and then nothing the rest of the day.
I have a couple spots that the birds are getting fired up around lunch and are pretty easy to kill. The other spots are like mentioned above, couple roost gobbles and then nothing on the ground. Just that period of the season. I usually don't see it like this till arounfpd the third week of the season, though.
I hunt in both west and middle Tn...southwest is usually about one week earlier than north middle....I've hunted the same middle Tn. bird three times....He gobbles around 30 to 45 times on the roost, then gobbles every hour almost on the hour til noon.
by then I'm off to work.
So far he has failed to go the same way once he hits the ground, as far as 200 yds from the tree...but he will gobble.
In west Tn. they gobbled like crazy opening day, but were loaded down with hens...Wednesday of that week we caught them with no hens and they gobbled non stop for an hr...never heard so much gobbling...then my buddy hit his slate once and shot one of them in self defense.
Here's some MRI (most recent info) for my area in Middle TN:
Yesterday (4-10-2012) they gobbled more than I have heard all year. Both in the tree and on the ground. They were very henned up but gobbled heavily until about 7:15 then went silent.
At 8:15 they gobbled again and this time the hens had left them. So...I would say stay patient until at least mid morning cause it seems the hens are leaving them around 8:15-8:30.
We were able to have success once those hens left.
Lots of gobblers on our farm. May hear 2 or 3 roost gobbles and then nothing once they're on the ground. I've seen a lot of good birds but they're all henned up
They are still henned up on the Plateau! Hopefully this weekend will be a different story.
Mostly roost gobbling here, but have had two different morning where the birds hammered for 1-3 hours after flydown even though they had hens. Worked one lone gobbler from daylight till 3 hrs later that hammered second day of season but wouldnt commit. Finally his gobbling attracted a hen and she led him away.
Mine were more vocal before this cold snap hit. Sense this past Friday, I am not seeing or hearing much of anything.
Seen quite a few birds this morning struttin in fields with their ladies and watched a gobbler breed a hen this evening.
I have not been able to get out, this dang job won't let me hunt! LOL :)
From talking to some guys that have been hunting around here this cold snap has zipped their lips.
Quote from: Tom Foolery on April 11, 2012, 07:01:22 PM
I have not been able to get out, this dang job won't let me hunt! LOL :)
From talking to some guys that have been hunting around here this cold snap has zipped their lips.
I was supposed to work today but overslept so when I did wake up I just went hunting they were on the ground by the time I got to em and only heard one gobble once today.
I'm hunting NW Georgia about 30 miles from the Tennessee line....We are having the same problem. I wen day before yesterday and was set up an hour before daylight. Didn't see or hear anything all day. It's tough this year.
The week before season opened while scouting we seen and heard so many....now nothing!
My first bird I downed on opening day gobbled all the way to my call. The second nice bird I called in was quiet as can be all the way to the call. The last week, they have gotten lock jaw. Saw two good birds today and will resume hunting tomorrow.
Had one hammering off the limb today and hammered till 845, he just wouldnt come farther than 75 yards to see his mistress lol
One bird gobbled one time today, hunted from daylight until noon.
Quote from: Tom Foolery on April 14, 2012, 12:44:17 PM
One bird gobbled one time today, hunted from daylight until noon.
Didnt hear or see the first bird today.
All quiet in West TN. Didn't see or hear a thing today or yesterday. Saw several single hens in the fields. Very difficult hunting.
Dropped my 16 year old off at 2:15 this afternoon and went about 4 miles down the road to my spot. Just got out of the Jeep and was putting my vest on when he calls and says " Come get me, I got one". I hung up the phone and looked at the time...2:30. This is his 4th bird so hes done in Tennessee. Maybe now I can get my other 2 and head to Kentucky.(http://img.tapatalk.com/a6f9cf0b-3b7b-3f3b.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/a6f9cf0b-3b93-65ab.jpg)
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Sounds like he is becoming a turkey killer. Congrats,
TRKYHTR
ive hunted 4 days this week here in mountains in east TN heard 1 bird worked him for about an hour an a half got him within 50 yards just over a little hump and he hung up.but thats been it this week theve took lock jaw for some reason.Got this on opening morning.
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Saw 3 hens and about an hour later saw 2 jakes, everything was as quite as a church house mouse. Heard on gobble fire off one gobble, but could not do anything about is as the jakes were less than 15 yrds from me. By the time they left, where ever the gobbler was, he had moved on as was keeping his mouth shut.
Went Saturday morning not expecting much but heard one sound off about 6:20....he was all alone across a heavily wooded creek.... got him with a load of Hevi 13 6s at 7:50...great hunt.
probably one of them years you better be glad to get what you get when you get it, I think because of the warm weather earlier than usual this spring they started early in west TN, and are about done. saw to many lonely hens and toms alike. came in good for me for the first week now won't do anything. time to bushwhack and I hate hunt'n that way.
Yeah I really wish season could have started in early March...it would have been more along normal lines.
However, if you can strike a gobbler now, you stand a pretty good chance of killing him.
Its not done yet. The hatch this past year was excellent. Even though a lot are seeing lone hens theres still plenty that are with the toms. It will break loose soon.
on my farms in Wilson, Trousdale and Smith Counties it is as good as it has been all year for gobbling after flydown and actually being able to call in.
Quote from: reynolds243 on April 17, 2012, 10:34:48 AM
on my farms in Wilson, Trousdale and Smith Counties it is as good as it has been all year for gobbling after flydown and actually being able to call in.
Can I come hunt with you. Where I am, you would think they all packed up and moved away.
Gobbling constantly until about 8:00 in Wilson County. Unfortunately they have a bunch of ladies with them. Last week they left the hens around 8:30...today they were still with them. I couldn't hang around, the office was calling.
Got some ground in Picket Co. Tenn, I have never Hunted it, I was woundering if any of you guys are that far East, The land in Picket Co, I do not owne, But I do have 80 acers in Clinton Co Ky and a total of 200 acers to Hunt, Heard any news from them parts, I live in Indiana and are season is still 8 days off.
Hoot
I had 4 gobbling on roost saturday morning. One gobbled all the way to me, but couldn't close the deal. Sunday had one gobbling at noon, but he was homosexual and left with his buddy showing no interest in hen sounds. Saw one in full strut at noon today and he was still there strutting 30 minutes later when I came back from lunch.
I haven't seen any jakes this year...hopefully it's because the big old gobbler ran them off.
Nary a gobble this morning.
I did call in a coyote to 5yds........straight behind me. It got an arse full of 6's as it left.
I left when the monsoon started.
It's been a tough year on my farm in Williamson, Co. Toms were relatively hot beginning two weeks before season and for the first full week. They've been quiet since. There's a flock of 7-8 hens that frequents the same field and I haven't seen a tom with them in 10 days. During the day, I've been seeing single hens feeding through the middle of the day. I'm convinced those hens are sitting nests already.
The mild winter/early spring really hurt things around here. The big winter flocks with 50-100 hens broke and dispersed at least three weeks early this year. I started seeing toms establishing pecking order in prime fields much earlier too. I drove several backroads in eastern Williamson mid-week get an idea of whether the issue was mostly local to my area (i.e., College Grove) or broader. I saw two toms and three jakes is quite a bit of early morning driving. In most years, I would see 20+ out working fields.
Heard 2 gobble a long ways off this morning, they gobbled 4 or 5 times hit the ground and shut up in Benton County.
As of Saturday, they are still not gobbling in East Tennessee. At least not where I hunt. I saw 3 toms on Friday all alone at the foot of the mountain, went back into that area Saturday morning and didn't hear a bird.