Let's say the gobblers are henned up early in the season do they have a period of time where the hens stay with the gobblers all day or do they leave to start nesting from the get go? Not hearing much and wondering if I'm wasting time waiting on hens to leave the gobblers.
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15 views in two hours and nobody had an opinion?
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My experience is that they are not henned up all day. I've had some success by trying for a gobbler right off the bat and if he gets with hens often times the game is over, however, in my experience the hens will leave around 9 am or so to go sit and the gobblers will be out looking for a hen. I will just sit in an area I know they frequent, a strutting area or dusting area and do some infrequent calling with a hen decoy out. FYI.....they often come in silent for this set up
Quote from: memert116 on March 31, 2014, 12:18:23 PM
My experience is that they are not henned up all day. I've had some success by trying for a gobbler right off the bat and if he gets with hens often times the game is over, however, in my experience the hens will leave around 9 am or so to go sit and the gobblers will be out looking for a hen. I will just sit in an area I know they frequent, a strutting area or dusting area and do some infrequent calling with a hen decoy out. FYI.....they often come in silent for this set up
X2
You are not wasting time any time you're hunting turkeys. ;D
If I don't have success right off them limb, I usually see an uptick in activity at 9:30 or so and then again at 11:30. I have always attributed this to the fact that they leave the hens for a period of time.
I also agree that they often come in quiet during these times. You might have a two year old sneak in without a peep because he got a beatdown after flydown.
Gobblers do eat too. They may break off even when the hens are not nesting. Or you may strike a subordinate bird that is skeered of Mr Big in your area. One club I was in several seasons ago had 2 birds gobbling on 2000 acres. They were both killed opening weekend. The next week I heard 7 different birds. May have been coincidence or may have been a reestablishment of the pecking order.
get closer and work the hens and gobbler if he don't want come go to him
I think it depends, but in general I have found that sooner or later either the hens leave or the gobbler leaves. I just checked my game cameras this weekend and had huge groups of birds, hens, jakes, and gobblers early in the morning, then small groups and even single gobblers later in the day.
We got on some that gobbled but not hot hens were calling to not very far ahead of them never saw them this was any an hour ago around 12
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try to work the hens, the gobblers will follow em.
What I've seen is the hen's take off late morning to early afternoon. After which the gobblers are lonely and in need of company. Try calling softly at first to get him to move. The other thing you can try is to tick off the boss hen and get her to move towards where you are, when she moves he'll follow. When the big boy is with hens it's sometimes hard to get to move but the above tactics have worked for me. Hope it helps and good luck.
I think they all break apart at some point in the day sometimes it's just latter than others.
Quote from: Gooserbat on March 31, 2014, 02:22:17 PM
I think they all break apart at some point in the day sometimes it's just latter than others.
Yep, just like us. We love our wives dearly, but at some point you just got to get away!
Quote from: jblackburn on March 31, 2014, 02:24:26 PM
Quote from: Gooserbat on March 31, 2014, 02:22:17 PM
I think they all break apart at some point in the day sometimes it's just latter than others.
Yep, just like us. We love our wives dearly, but at some point you just got to get away!
lol x2
A preferred male will call each of his contingent by name. When she fails to show up when called , he is vulnerable. The other gobblers will sneak up on you, a back door man so to speak.
Right now in tenn where I am there mostly staying together all day. Not all flocks haven't even broke up yet
Quote from: jblackburn on March 31, 2014, 02:24:26 PM
Quote from: Gooserbat on March 31, 2014, 02:22:17 PM
I think they all break apart at some point in the day sometimes it's just latter than others.
Yep, just like us. We love our wives dearly, but at some point you just got to get away!
Well we at least like 'em...a lot...
They weren't having any of it today my legs feel like they've been ran over with a Mack truck walked all over the place today. I tried cutting the hens off after just some normal chatter with them didn't work the gobblers would gobble if I got aggressive but they wouldn't work in. They gave us the slip without indicating where they went. Tomorrow's another day.....
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You are gonna get these birds. Say it with me. "I am gonna get these birds". You got the hard part figured out. Just get in their living room and they will eventually wander in. You got em. Just stick to it. Please tell us when it works. It will seem so easy that day. I got faith in ya brother.
Turkey hunting is hunting. Play the cards you are dealt the best you can.
At the start of the season in my area gobblers will stay with hens all day. I notice this more when the Tom has a large group of hens, but if they only have a couple hens or later in the season, they tend to leave the hens around 9:00.
Good luck