Forgive me for intruding here, but this is a subject that gets far too little discussion.
Over the years, I have found that the more hens a gobbler has with him, the less likely they are to be CALLED in. For me, the question is "why is that?"
Again, to me, the answer lies in the fact that the more hens there are, the more likely there are older hens in the group that have "rid in this rodeo" enough times to know not to come to unknown turkey calling they hear. The explanation, as I see it, is that those hens have very likely, at some point in time, gone to turkey calling, dragged a gobbler along with them, and have watched that gobbler get mowed down by a hunter. Anybody that thinks those turkeys do not "learn" from those experiences is fooling themselves. The more hen turkeys in a group, the more likely one or more of them has "been there, done that".
I live and hunt in places where turkeys tend to often be visible while hunting them. I can't tell you how many times I have watched a group of turkeys hear unknown calling in the distance and deliberately move away from that calling...almost always led away by what appears to be the older hens in the group.
Now, on the other hand, I have also had those times when a hen has come to my calling and brought a gobbler with her. Invariably, however, those instances have always been a single hen...maybe a couple...but NEVER a larger group. ...Just food for thought...
