I know this bird is not really unkillable just has been so far lol. Here goes. Got on this bird last sunday morning on the roost slipped within 70-75 yards of him, hits the ground and struts and gobbles with no hens for two hours and wouldnt commit. Get back on this bird this moring and does the exact same thing only this time he almost commits, struts into 60 yards and flies up on a limb to look around. He never sees the hen so he flies off. Im thinking wth just happened. I give him 10-15 mins and he sounds off on the next ridge. I circle over in front of him and get him coming again. Well, guess what, he did the whole limb hop routine again with the same results. After he flew off this time I never heard another word from him. Idk what else to do besides just wait till this ol rascal is so horny he cant stand it I guess. Any suggestions?
Hen decoy....then he can see something when he hops on that limb. :z-guntootsmiley:
Wow! That's cool. That's using his head. I have always said to myself why don't they do that.
I agree with gophert give him what he wants. Something to look at. Decoy. I bet he is big and old.
Good luck. You gonna have to take off from work I can't wait until next week to hear how you make out.
Quote from: mikejd on April 20, 2012, 11:33:25 AM
Wow! That's cool. That's using his head. I have always said to myself why don't they do that.
I agree with gophert give him what he wants. Something to look at. Decoy. I bet he is big and old.
Good luck. You gonna have to take off from work I can't wait until next week to hear how you make out.
Ill be back on him in the morning and sunday morning. The war is on now haha
I had some tree hop on me Sunday, but it was away from me. I got too close to the roost and got busted.
For your bird I would try him from a different spot/angle with a decoy and not call very much. Do some wing beats with a hat, throw in a few clucks and purrs and wait. If he answers you he'll come. I've messed up a lot this year by keeping them gobbling on the ground. The hens show up before they make it to me.
Ya that happened last weekend to me but it is driving me nuts bc this bird is HOT! He is gobbling like crazy on his own I ain't doing alot of calling just enough to let him know where I'm at!
Last one that tree hopped on me made a unforgettable thump when he hit the ground.
It's called turkey hunting not turkey calling.
Roost him and sneak within 40 yards of his bedroom in the wee hours of the next morning. Wait til he pitches down and give him a headache.
OR
Deliberately start working him from longer distances and sneak towards him to eliminate the hang-up after you call.
Get creative. You have to be multi-dimensional if you want to consistently kill birds and taking the same failed approach morning in and morning out is a recipe for additional failure.
Do not make a call til he hits the ground.
Also, once he leaves the roost tree, he is fair game, and nothing thuds like a turkey
Yep don't call to him on the limb.
These are like PREDATOR turkeys limb hopping. As soon as they go transparent well need Arnold.
Quote from: ccleroy on April 20, 2012, 07:33:26 PM
Yep don't call to him on the limb.
Really? I'm not saying doing it or not doing either is right or wrong but the guys I hunt with on occasion( veterans) all give em one soft little tree yelp just to let em no we are there then shut up till they hitthe ground is this what y'all are referring to? I know not to keep calling on limb but what about a little yelp just to let him know were there.
They don't hear anything from me until thier on the ground and I'm where I think he will come. Sometimes this means I don't make a call for a couple of hours or so. I don't want him to know where I'm at while he's on the limb.
Quote from: guesswho on April 20, 2012, 08:25:37 PM
They don't hear anything from me until thier on the ground and I'm where I think he will come. Sometimes this means I don't make a call for a couple of hours or so. I don't want him to know where I'm at while he's on the limb.
Yep, let me put it to y'all this way.....the same way we can tell the difference of whether he's still gobbling on the roost they can tell a hen is on the ground and before they should be....another words he can tell the tree calls are coming from the dirt,he's not stupid......I never call before they hit the ground. He knows his surroundings. Like Ronnie said being where he wants a hen to be or where she should be is the name of the game as well.
There are going to be gobblers you run across that are soo skittish and educated that they are next to , or are impossible to kill - your going to have to get creative to get these gobblers
Hunting these type gobblers will make you a better turkey hunter or/and drive a hunter closer to being admitted into a mental health facility
You cant kill them all -
I hunted the same bird 4 years before I killed him and he was old when I started...He lived primarily in a three hundred acre lowland field surrounded by swamp....he seldom ever roost gobbled and I never heard him ground gobble. He'd just show up in a big field everyday and he never came in the same way twice two days in a row. He would also chase other gobblers out of the field until finally he was the only one left on the farm..One day he saw me get out of my truck mid morning at 500 yds and ran like crazy. I had nightmares about him....come to find out he'd been shot at and missed in the past and was extremely wary. I meant to kill him or die tryin' so last day of season I was sitting in silence in the part of the field he tended to wind up in sometimes....About 9:30 I saw him strutting about 150 yds from my truck (probably 600 yds from me) he strutted down an old railroad bed til I couldn't see him because of an island in the field that grew up because it was too wet to plow...I sneaked/crawled for an hour and a half til I got within 50 yds and gave one soft yelp....a jake that was with him came over to look and the old gobbler chased him down and flogged him....I guess he still thinks that jake killed him...then I laid down beside him and took a short nap....I could have killed several turkeys with the time I spent on this one, but it was so worth it...he only weighed 19 lbs, the beard was worn down to about 8 inches, but he had a good set of hooks on him....1 5/8 spurs....one tough old bird.
Gtr, love those legendary birds/deer stories whatever. He could have weighed 8 lbs and still would have been the best trophy ever. 1 5/8" hooks now thats a trophy.
Set yourself up away from his roost tree,preferably around a corner that he can't see from a tree and stay silent until he hits the ground and still listen for hen action then only use subtle calls such as soft clucks and purrs or just scratch in the leaves, hens don't like competition and weather you see them or not hens are around and will drag him away without you ever knowing they were there. Subtle calls are not a threat to them most of the time and he might just get interested in your " I don't really give a crap attitude". ;)
Good luck with him, I look forward to the pics!!!!!!
Well boys I did anything and everything I could this morning. He would only shock gobble on the roost but once he hit the ground he gobble every so often. He hit the ground running it sounded like. I was 40 yards from his roost 45 mins before light. Once it got daylight I never called and once he flew down he covered 300 yards in a hurry the other way. Located him again and got in front of him but he skirted me and started hammering at 8 am. Circled one last time and he answered my calls twice. Never could seal the deal on this ol warrior though.
Every bird and situation is unique. Try something different. Just from what you have written, I too would suggest less calling, scratch the leaves, etc. If the terrain allows, something else you might try is giving a quick series of calls, then move toward the bird as far as you can without him seeing you and set up. He's apparently figured out that not all calls are real turkeys, so he might cover enough distance to investigate, putting him in range.
The other side of the coin is to call him to death. I've seen a few birds that if you keep hammering at them with yelps and cuts, they will eventually break down and commit.