Last week of MO spring turkey season - high pressure

[TreeFreak]

We are now in the final week of the Missouri spring turkey season. I am heading down to southeast MO Thursday - Sunday to go after some Ozark gobblers. I was spent 4 days down there the first week of our season. Birds were henned up quick off the roost and hunting pressure was high all around.

I am hoping the birds cooperate better this time. However, with the pressure the areas have been seeing, I still expect it to be challenging. I do not have access to private properties at the moment and would be hunting solely public land. Any late season high pressure area tactics, or do tactics essentially remain the same with grinding it out searching for a vocal gobbler?

[Marc]

I cannot speak to MO...

But, for me, higher pressure and especially late season, generally translates to less vocal birds, and less gobbling (even on the roost).  Very often the first sound I hear is drumming, clucking, or unfortunately putting.

This season, I tagged out with three birds, and managed to get my daughter on one...  All three of mine were killed after noon, and one was killed minutes before the end of shoot time (5 PM).

My last bird, I did not hear a single bird on the roost, and I could hear for a loooong ways.  Struck one up at 9 AM put eyes on him at 11 AM (and did not end up shooting him).  Killed a different bird at 1 PM.

I tend to stay in prime areas longer, and if I strike up a distant gobble (on property I can hunt/walk), I get up and go.  I feel like if I do get a bird to gobble late morning/afternoon late season, I stand a good chance of at least playing the game with him.  I will go a lot further after a bird mid to late season.

After moving in a long distance on a gobbling bird, I tend to call less aggressively than I would early season...  I know he is there (somewhere), and do mostly clucks, purrs, and some contented yelps.  Unless...  he is actively gobbling...  In which case, I will let him gobble several times before answering back with more excited yelping or clucking/cutting.

If you start off with more subtle calling, you can always ramp it up...  If you start off with aggressive calling, I have found that toning it down does not usually work.  I feel like the more excited my calling is, the more he expects the hen to go to him...  But...  If he is turned on, I want to keep him turned on.

Late season or pressured birds, I am far more careful about where I set up (I like a saddle or bench that when he comes over the rise, he is in range)...  I am far more careful to set up in a spot, in which where when I can see him (or he can see me) I can shoot him.  My impression is, that it is not so much that he will see you, it is that he is NOT seeing a hen that should be there (greeting him).

Later season and heavy pressured birds often come in from a different direction that I expect, and they often come in quietly.  I try to have a strategy for getting my gun on a bird that comes in from the wrong direction.  Listen for other clues outside of gobbling...  Warning calls of jays or squirrels, quail chatter or flushing, crows or ravens suddenly excitedly cawing, footsteps, drumming, quiet searching clucks, etc...

Good luck!

[GobbleNut]

For me personally, the first question to be answered when gobblers are not being heard is "am I not hearing gobbling because they are being quiet,...or am I not hearing gobbling because they are not there?"  One way or another, that question has to be answered before I will start hunting, either actively or passively, somewhere.  If there is no gobbling going on, I am on the move until I see fresh evidence that there are indeed male turkeys in the area. 

Bottom line for me is if there is no gobbling and no other evidence to confirm they are around, I am covering ground until I either hear them or see other visual evidence of their presence.  Regardless of how patient you are, I will pretty much guarantee you ain't gonna kill a gobbler if he ain't there to begin with.   

[Marc]

For me personally, the first question to be answered when gobblers are not being heard is "am I not hearing gobbling because they are being quiet,...or am I not hearing gobbling because they are not there?"  One way or another, that question has to be answered before I will start hunting, either actively or passively, somewhere.  If there is no gobbling going on, I am on the move until I see fresh evidence that there are indeed male turkeys in the area. 

Bottom line for me is if there is no gobbling and no other evidence to confirm they are around, I am covering ground until I either hear them or see other visual evidence of their presence.  Regardless of how patient you are, I will pretty much guarantee you ain't gonna kill a gobbler if he ain't there to begin with.   

Yes...  My advice above is based on the fact that there is the assumption that there are birds present.  Which is a considerable task in and of itself if birds are not gobbling or vocal....

I will likely not hunt a new area at the end of the season, unless I can get some sort of response...  My confidence would be too low in the presence of birds.

[TreeFreak]

Thanks for the reply's guys. Very good information and points made. I will keep this in mind. Very challenging when the birds aren't gobbling. While I have scouted out areas that hold great sign, my confidence level is always very low sitting and waiting on quiet birds. I've mentioned before , I think I need to extrude more patience.

I have learned a lot on this site.