Any thoughts?

[Marc]

Opening day for me today, and I took my brother-in-law...

Started off having to walk the road we normally drive (someone put a lock on the owner's gate, and it was not the owner)...

While walking in, we heard a couple birds fire off (about 1 hour before sunrise), and set up on one of them (I could not set up where I wanted, cause I know he would have seen us).  As it turns out, there was another hen about the same distance from the tom that we were (like a triangle).  I was talkin' back to the hen, which really got that gobbler fired up...

The live hen shut up after she flew down, and I did the hat-flap thing, a small series of cuts, and shut up...  The gobbler flew down, and was double and triple gobbling, and coming in fast.  At this point, I stayed quiet.

He kept gobbling, and we could hear him drumming, and he was moving in fast on us...  Then he just stopped...  25 minutes later we heard him gobble in the opposite direction from us (and off the property)...

Only thing I can think of is that he saw our decoys and did not like the jake...


A bit later, we heard more birds gobble...  Three birds in the same vicinity, but not together...  We walked around a small pond and set up around them (where I thought they might be headed)...  We called in a bobcat, which ended up killing a squirrel, and he winded us, at which point I waved him off to scare him out of the area...

About 10 minutes later, we got a gobble, and about 20 minutes later, we had a bird running in (silently)...  I had been quietly clucking and purring.  He got about 100 yards away (right were we saw the bobcat), stopped, and just turned around...  Coming in at a dead run (head down, tail up), and just stopped, and meandered off (he did not look nervous).  I know he saw the decoys, and once again, I am thinking he did not want to fight... 

Next trip out, I will be leaving the decoys in the truck... (DSD hen and Avian X jake).

It was my brother-in-law's first turkey hunting experience, and I told him that we had more than normal activity for my area.  A bit frustrating for sure...  I know if I had done something different we could have killed a bird.  And frankly that is what I enjoy about turkey hunting, but outside of leaving the decoys in the truck, I honestly do not know what I would have or should have done differently...

Any thoughts?

[Bowguy]

First bird I'm thinking found a real hen

[born2hunt]

It only took me a couple times of having  birds shying away from or hanging up on decoys to decide the same thing.  Leave them in the truck. Or better yet the attic.

[owlhoot]

2nd bird bob kitty was still lurking around

[mudhen]

Real hens....


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[Marc]

2nd bird bob kitty was still lurking around

I was thinking the same thing, but when he turned around, he did not seem to be all that concerned or alarmed...  Went from a dead run, stopped, and just turned around and walked away.

[owlhoot]

Ya i got it now

Turn around , you had two big 30  lb dominant toms sneak in quiet behind you strutting only , that 20 lb 2 year old seen them strutting behind you and backed out quick. Kinda like the accountant who followed the two hot girls across the club until they sat down with the two NFL line backers. 

Now you can always send those dekes to me. I will test them for ya!    lol

[Ihuntoldschool]

Real hens on the 1st bird.

2nd bird, could be several things,  could the gobbler have seen the bobcat?  Maybe he came back when he saw/heard the bird running in.  1st turkey hunting experience, could your brother in law have moved?   Doesn't take much if the bird can see 100 yards.

[sbraham]

When i get a bird fly down and hammer at me constantly i generally talk him to the gun barrel. If he shuts up then so do i and he usually commited by then. Not everyone's thoughts i know but it hasn't cost me a bird yet. As far as decoys, i have learned to face the jake/tom decoy toward me and away from the incoming bird. They don't seem to mind attacking from the rear where they may shy from one front facing

[Dan Mallia]

Real hens....


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Yep. 

[stinkpickle]

My guess would be that bird #1 had eyes on the real hen.  He may have seen your decoys but just decided to follow the "unoccupied" girl, instead.  It sounds like bird #2 might've been scared of your jake decoy.  Once the pecking order has been established, single hen decoys work much better.

[Marc]

My guess would be that bird #1 had eyes on the real hen.  He may have seen your decoys but just decided to follow the "unoccupied" girl, instead.  It sounds like bird #2 might've been scared of your jake decoy.  Once the pecking order has been established, single hen decoys work much better.

I believe I would agree with you...  Upon reflection, and hunting the same area a couple days later with extremely vocal hens, i am guessing I got cut off on the first bird, and the second one saw the jake decoy and headed out...