Firts of all thanks to all the insight everyone gives here! I have permission to hunt around 8 thousand acres of land in Northern Nebraska. The locals up there have been telling me that the birds locate hunters by calls and they are seeing hunters blinds. Have any of you experienced any of this? I know much of this land has hunters from all over the country on it every day of the season, but to shy away from calls seems a little far fetched.
My guess is they are henned up and the hens are taking the Tom's away from the calls? The blind thing does make sense as I am a waterfowl hunter and have noticed over the years the birds getting "blind shy" to the bumps in the fields.
I would like to hunt this area because of the sure numbers of birds that are there. But not using calls has me a little perplexed and frankly does not sound as fun as sneaking (to me).
???How would you hunt in this situation?
Sounds like someone is pulling your chain. I would use your normal turkey hunting tactics the first day or 2. If that doesn't work, then adjust. Maybe they will prefer softer calling or maybe all the locals just stink at calling altogether. I hunted NE one time and it was laughable what some of the locals were doing.
I had one guy come walking down the railroad tracks with a box call in hand that was flat out getting after it on the boat paddle. Not a single bird was heard that AM. Not to mention, he was wearing blue jeans with a camo tee shirt... and this was around fly down time. Those birds were very wary and we ended up killing one, bc we got b/w the hens and him.
Truly call shy birds are few and far between. I have seen Toms walk the other direction after a live hen called that they couldn't see. However, this is rare. Toms are more likely to become hunter shy. They have been pressured by Hunters calling to loudly and to poorly. Calling to them won't send them packing, it may just make them cautious. They may even stop gobbling. But if call softly and sparingly and are patient, you can still consistently kill these birds. Quite often they will sneak in silently, they may even try to circle behind you, but if you stick with it they will usually come looking for you.
That is why just finding a good looking spot to sit and calling once in a while can be so effective in places like MO public land. Half of those birds don't even gobble, but they will come sneaking in to try to find you if you are patient enough.
Having said all of that, I would hunt like you usually do until you see a need to change.
Thanks for the reply's! I plan on trying to hunt like I have normally this year. Although the area's I have been going to do not have the pressure nor the bird numbers I have been successful calling them. I really want to try this new area because of the amount of birds and turrain.
The areas I hunt now are more fields with creek bottoms and this new area is hills and less grain.
To follow up on the calling question, do you start loud and get softer as the birds get closer (to make them feel the hen is moving away) or stay soft the entire time with more purrs? by loud I do not mean blowing everything out of the field...
I like to "take a bird's temperature" and feel him out. My calling depends on how he responds. If he is tearing it up on short yelps and cutts, I will get him hot on that. As he approaches, I will soften it up and point my calls behind me. If I know he is coming, I will shut up. I may throw a few soft purrs or clucks while my gun is up.
If they seem a little hunter shy, I would first try to locate one. Whether it be an excited call or locator call. Once you hear him, move in close and try some soft stuff. If that doesn't work, I'd just start throwing the kitchen sink at him.
That's the fun part of turkey hunting. Playing the game. I wish you luck at your new spot.
I was going to say the same thing. Every turkey is different and every turkey is different on different days. If a Tom is gobbling at everything he possibly can (crows, geese, trains), he is pretty fired up and you can usually get pretty aggressive with him. But if you call to a Tom and he doesn't gobble for ten minutes, you are probably going to have tone it down a little. Ths is one of those times clucks and scratching in the leaves can be deadly. You may have to be patient, and he may never even gobble again, but sometimes they will come sneaking in. If you see one seeking in, don't make another sound, just get your gun up and let him look for you. I once shot a Tom at 5 feet this way.
Have fun and remember that the only way to learn is to screw it up until you get it right.
If you can, hunt later in the day, after the toms have had their fun with the hens and the hens have gone off to nest... the toms are still looking... good luck!
Quote from: warrent423 on May 17, 2012, 05:21:09 PM
Patience and knowing the ground are priceless when it comes to killin educated turkeys. ;)
I agree. Knowing where they roost and where the are heading after they fly down makes your job a lot easier. Turkey are a lot easier to call if you are where they are already headed.
I also agree with soft calling in heavily hunted areas. Too many hunters over call. Doing something more natural will give you an advantage.
Another thing I have done is setting up in an unlikely spot that other hunters would walk by. Hearing a sweet sounding hen in a spot where you haven't heard one before has led to the death of a few toms. I know turkeys stay away from the thick stuff normally, but I have killed a few in there and in swamps too.
Basically give them something new that they are not used too.
I love to hunt pressured birds they really test your skill ,woodsmanship and Patience lay around in woods and purr and cluck and wait Ive killed dozens like that will make you a better turkey hunter to
I feel like anywhere you hunt in alabama you are hunting pressured birds. Or birds that have been over hunted by unexperinced hunters. You have to hunt these birds with patience. If you can get one to talk on the limb you can usually get within 100-150 yards thats ideal some sneak closer. If the bird pitches down and goes the other way your going to get real familer with the land that way maybe he will gobble a time or two more, but if not Id circle around and set up with soft yelps and purrs till around 9-10am. if no bird shows go after the lonsome tom in another area might get a shock gobble or a hot two year old somewhere else. if no luck go back to the area next morning where ol tom sounded off maybe he will come your way this day tone down the calling though. 6000 acrs is a "heap" of land use all of it.
Good luck
so you got permission to 8k acres, and they are pressured? They are tellin you some fishin stories is what it sounds like. Just hunt them normal. And by normal I mean, don't overcall, gauge a bird of its reactions, don't call too much on the limb, etc. I would also stay away from blinds, because lets be honest. this crap you see on tv where they deer hunt them out of blinds is not true turkey hunting.
Quote from: atoler on February 20, 2013, 12:12:49 AM
so you got permission to 8k acres, and they are pressured? They are tellin you some fishin stories is what it sounds like. Just hunt them normal. And by normal I mean, don't overcall, gauge a bird of its reactions, don't call too much on the limb, etc. I would also stay away from blinds, because lets be honest. this crap you see on tv where they deer hunt them out of blinds is not true turkey hunting.
:agreed:
If you are getting advice from someone that hunts the same area I'd take the advice and apply the opposite.
For example when people say "there are no turkeys in Kentucky" read; "Kentucky is loaded with birds." :)
Should be able to get on one at daybreak
hunt like normal if that doesnt work just re-group, alot of times people call too much, scratching in the leaves soft purrs and soft calling kill birds. Let the bird tell you what he wants i hunt alot of high pressure areas and have learned birds sometimes are more hunter shy than call shy they are vocal creatures thats how they communicate. Just listen to a hen in the woods sometimes she is excited and cutting and yelping aggresively and other times she is soft and easy.
If the birds are truely pressured, work them in an unlikely direction. If you have birds roosting in a particular area, and everyone is parking, owling, walking in and setting up, get a real early start and set up the opposite of the typical. Going the extra mile on pressured birds really can make a difference sometimes. I think some turkey hunters get patterned by the gobbler as the hen he never sees and won't come to him.