Been seeing 2 Toms running together with 8 to 10 hens, made a move and thought I had 1 a few days ago but was a little late to the spot. They busted me and off they went.
Yesterday I went and set up near a known roosting spot with my jake strutter and a DSD breeding hen.
Saw a couple hens till about 6PM when I see the Red head coming in, it was him...
He saw the decoys but stayed 80 or so yards out just looking, then 2 hens stepped back out in the field and he went across to them.
Then I notice his buddy, he followed suit and went across the field dragging their 6 hens.
The hens pushed each other around a bit and the 2 long beards just strutted around. The hens would answer my calls and they would look but didn't come check things out.
What set up would ya'll use on the next attempt?
They are not gobbling, and they appear scared of decoys.
Birds in the past have come running in to this jake strutter so I just don't understand how or why he'd be 80 yards out and just watch a strutter over a hen???
Any help?
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Ambush em where they enter or exit the field.
Sounds like a challenge. If I were hunting there, I would try something from the following:
Use more than one hen decoy,
Use an alert jake, rather than the strutter,
Get movement from my jake (I have a sled that my jake decoy is mounted to, that allows me to move him 40 yds. in two directions.)
Use a mounted(taxidermied) jake as a decoy.
Lots of hen purring (or whatever calls the live hens are making), to see if I could get the hens to come over.
No jake decoy, only hens.
Wait them out and hope the hens leave the gobblers (maybe a longshot with 6-10 hens)
Flush the hens off their roosts, the night before, to try to get the hens farther away from the gobblers.
Good luck!
Sounds like you know where they roost.....there will be a spot they prefer to fly down too. Sneak in in the pitch black and shoot him when his feet hit the ground. I have done this quite a few times. If you get in early enough you wont bump them off the roost.
Quote from: K9Doc on April 09, 2015, 04:35:01 PM
Ambush em where they enter or exit the field.
:agreed:
Roost the night before and slip in early get in tight like right in the landing zone 30-40yds from the roost. I've dropped several birds within seconds of them hitting the ground.
I have the same problem and I am still trying to kill a bird.
Quote from: TauntoHawk on April 09, 2015, 07:58:57 PM
Roost the night before and slip in early get in tight like right in the landing zone 30-40yds from the roost. I've dropped several birds within seconds of them hitting the ground.
This^^^
Take the hunt to the birds. Seems like everybody these days has to rely on decoys to kill turkeys.
Call them.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 09, 2015, 09:56:02 PM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on April 09, 2015, 07:58:57 PM
Roost the night before and slip in early get in tight like right in the landing zone 30-40yds from the roost. I've dropped several birds within seconds of them hitting the ground.
This^
Take the hunt to the birds. Seems like everybody these days has to rely on decoys to kill turkeys.
If I have a bird roosted I like to get in close enough to see him in the tree, watching them wake up and fly down all around you is just awesome.
Patience! Wait em out where they like to be, forget the dekes!
This is risky but it works if you have plenty of land and all else has failed including the ambush which I would try first.
Go in after dark and wreck the roost. Send birds flying everywhere if you can. They will be looking to get back together in the morning and most of the time they will be vocal doing so. Good luck.
Be aggressive with the hens. When they call cut them off. See if you can can the lead hen aggravated enough she wants to come and fight.
If nothin else works, try low key cuttin, then jake gobble on top of your cuttin. Dont call too loud and blow them out of the field.
Remember...the peck order is always working with the gobblers and hens. If you can rile up one of the gobblers by sounding like an intruder gobbler, he just might decide to come and put you in your place! It often works for me...
Quote from: daveco on April 09, 2015, 04:50:19 PM
Sounds like a challenge. If I were hunting there, I would try something from the following:
Use more than one hen decoy,
Use an alert jake, rather than the strutter,
Get movement from my jake (I have a sled that my jake decoy is mounted to, that allows me to move him 40 yds. in two directions.)
Use a mounted(taxidermied) jake as a decoy.
Lots of hen purring (or whatever calls the live hens are making), to see if I could get the hens to come over.
No jake decoy, only hens.
Wait them out and hope the hens leave the gobblers (maybe a longshot with 6-10 hens)
Flush the hens off their roosts, the night before, to try to get the hens farther away from the gobblers.
Good luck!
The hen deke may be the issue....he may be waiting for her to come to him (that's instinct).
Leave the dekes at home, try getting back in the woods some where they crossed field. Postion yourself where they'd have to be in gunrange for you to see them.
Yep ditch the dekes. Get to a know entrance or exit be it morning or evening. Use hen yelps to get their attention then switch to deep gobbler yelps or Jake yelps. Throw in a gobble if you feel safe doing it there.
Get there early near there roost but not too close to scare them, when it's dark.....Put out 1 single hen decoy....When the lead hen starts too talk on the roost, she will be the one to talk first, mimic her exactly what she says only.....Forget about the other birds talking, she will fly down and lead the whole group by you, shes the boss hen, good luck.. :funnyturkey: :turkey2:
Quote from: turkeyhunter60 on April 10, 2015, 03:07:19 AM
Get there early near there roost but not too close to scare them, when it's dark.....Put out 1 single hen decoy....When the lead hen starts too talk on the roost, she will be the one to talk first, mimic her exactly what she says only.....Forget about the other birds talking, she will fly down and lead the whole group by you, shes the boss hen, good luck.. :funnyturkey: :turkey2:
:turkey2:
I like this idea. If they still get around it, I would try a passive jake decoy or 2 hens. Get that Tom fired up or rile the boss hen.
No decoys, dig a hole get in it and wait
Hunt them as many days as you can. Observe how they react to everything you do,...decoys, calling, where you set up, etc. Modify your tactics and approach to hunting them based on those observations. If they will not approach decoys,...don't use them. If they react negatively to any sort of calling,...don't call.
In the end the only thing that might work is hunting them enough to pattern them and then set up where they want to go and wait them out for as long as it takes. Personally, however, that is not really what turkey hunting is about,...to me. If I come to the conclusion that ambushing a gobbler is the only way I'm going to kill him, then I will go look for another gobbler that wants to play the game the right way.
Quote from: turkeyhunter60 on April 10, 2015, 03:07:19 AM
Get there early near there roost but not too close to scare them, when it's dark.....Put out 1 single hen decoy....When the lead hen starts too talk on the roost, she will be the one to talk first, mimic her exactly what she says only.....Forget about the other birds talking, she will fly down and lead the whole group by you, shes the boss hen, good luck.. :funnyturkey: :turkey2:
Bingo. :z-winnersmiley: I don't use a decoy though. Just make sure your hidden well b/c this is what I do and have had hens nearly step on me looking for a fight.
Next best is a good old fashioned bushwacking, 3/4 of the time they'll do the same flydown and travel route if they haven't been messed with in that spot.
personally no decoys. if you have the patience the hens will start nesting and those ole boys will get lonely. hang tough and one day you will set up and they may come running to you. as the season goes on , changes in the breeding stage constantly change. un killable birds become killable. they become willing to play more as the season wears on. jmo.
Get within 40-50 yards of the roost and be the first hot hen on the ground. If a hen comes, he will follow. There's been plenty of times that a mad hen got a big boy in trouble. Turkeys too! ;D
Get rid of the strutter. I had two longbeards hold off and strut out of range because of a strutter deke. I now only use a hen. My 2 cents.
Just killed a bird in Nebraska that would only gobbler on the roost. Day after day, flydown with his herom of hens and that was that. Silence. Got some wet weather, got in within 40ish yards of the roost wayyyy early. Blind, jake and hen, game over 30 seconds after hitting the ground at 18 yards.
I got him this evening, had 2 DSD hens out and waited till I saw the birds enter the field, I mimicked the hen and she got mad and came over, 35 yards shot
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Quote from: K9Doc on April 09, 2015, 04:35:01 PM
Ambush em where they enter or exit the field.
Yep. :z-guntootsmiley:
Quote from: 762hunter on April 10, 2015, 11:45:52 PM
I got him this evening, had 2 DSD hens out and waited till I saw the birds enter the field, I mimicked the hen and she got mad and came over, 35 yards shot
Congratulations!
Thank you!
Thanks for the help/suggestions ya'll
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:fud: glad you got him.
Been following this thread... glad your persistence payed off!! Congrats
Quote from: 762hunter on April 10, 2015, 11:45:52 PM
I got him this evening, had 2 DSD hens out and waited till I saw the birds enter the field, I mimicked the hen and she got mad and came over, 35 yards shot
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Good for you how big was he......I like to use a hen decoy in this situation because she will come looking for that hen to run her off....
Congrats, way to stay after him!
Quote from: mgm1955 on April 09, 2015, 10:22:24 PM
Be aggressive with the hens. When they call cut them off. See if you can can the lead hen aggravated enough she wants to come and fight.
This has worked for me more times than anything else bya wide margin.