Hunting Silent Birds

[g8rvet]

2 of the last 5 birds I have killed never said a word.  I knew they were there by the strut marks and tracks. I would rub them out every time I was there and check to see when they were back.  I never yelp, just purr and cluck sparingly.  Had one sneak in on my blind side. He was at 8 yards when I first saw him (I did hear him coming).  I have a ground blind made of cut down natural cover. I waited for him to get to about 20 yards, putted once and up came his head and down went the bird.   It really is just about patience. 

Did have one on public land last year that was roosting with his hens on the last day of the season (I know cause I snuck in close enough on a clear cut an hour before daylight that I watched him in full strut on the limb!).  Watched him fly down away from me following the two hens that were roosted with him.  Went right to my nephew a couple hundred yards away.  Never said a word.

[davisd9]

Soft lost yelps and a few clicks. Can also do some scratching in the leaves/straw. You do not want to be any more vocal than they are, but if you hear a hen then mimicking her calling. Silent birds can be exciting and are always very rewarding cause many will not kill them. Having a bird just show up is an awesome adrenaline rush. Good luck!

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[Old Gobbler]

Birds go silent for numerous reasons , not in the mood....weather...or negative factors like being spooked


Get in he area totally undetected , that means don't drive up with your headlights on , idle in quietly load your gun quietly etc..... I've seen birds fly out of trees in the dark because of trucks driving 200 yards  away with the lights on - take your time getting to the spot , don't make any noise setting  up , and no flashlights ever  -- l

Calling .... Sound like a turkey , not like a person - given enough time and if your in the spots he wants to be in anyway he may meet his end

[ilbucksndux]

I have not been turkey hunting all that long(5-6 years) but I have found that if I get in a place that he wants to be in and call VERY soft every 20 minutes or so it has worked for me. Just stay ALERT he will be on top of you before you know it.

Two years ago I was on a ridge that I knew they liked to strut on. I slipped in there around 10 and sat quiet for 30 minutes before I made a call. I sat calling every 20 for a hour and a half. Next thing I know I doze off and hear the leaves crunching. I open my eyes and see him standing RIGHT THERE and I cant move. He was nervous and walked down the ridge a bit but I was afraid to move. The next 3 days I did more or less the same thing. Day 4 as he peeked over the ridge I gave him a parking ticket.

[Gooserbat]

Set back 30 yards off that Rd and act like your deerhunting.  call a little bit if you like but know this, if you make a sound they will know you're there before you know he's there.

[Tommythreetoes]

Had a bird a few years ago that we hunted and he gobbled sparingly.  Very sparingly.  My dad and I slipped into his area about 9ish one morning.  I was setup looking one way, and my dad was setup 60-70 yards away and facing the other direction.  I started calling, sometimes a lot, other times not so much.  Dad, never did call at all.  I just assumed he was over there taking a nap.  Anyways, this went on for awhile, and at 11ish, I gave up.  I quietly looked around, stood up and eased over to where pops was sitting feeling skunked.  He was laughin at me because apparently, I had a bird strutting "30 yards" behind me for almost an hour of that sit.  It was breezy, and I never saw the bird, or heard him, not once.  Dad never had a shot.  Apparently the bird showed up shortly after I started calling, and must have got tired and left a bit before I gave up.

Long story short is, sometimes that can be hard to see, even when they're right there.  That bird worked just perfect, but unfortunately I didn't get to witness any of it.  I learned that day, that you must keep your head on a swivel, and expect the unexpected.  We never did kill that turkey...but we should have.  That day makes me wonder just how many birds I've called in that I've never known about...

[olejake]

We have a good number of coyotes on one of our leases..and have deer hunted there for years..have NEVER heard a gobble on this property..never,ever..and have sat for countless hours deer hunting in the fall and seen boo-coodles of birds...have these birds gotten wise to the "dogs" ??
the other places we hunt, turkeys gobble as you would expect..makes me wonder

[bamagtrdude]

I'm actually in the middle of writing a brand new slide blues tune called the "Tight-Lipped Tom Blues"!  Warren Haynes instructional DVD has inspired me!    But seriously, man, you must be trespassing & hunting on my land, 'cause they're some quiet deg'gum birds here; been gobbling a little more in the past few years, but it's been tough sledding for a while.

Others have mentioned it, but ...  I've learned to "trust" my scouting, and setup in "known" turkey spots & hunt 'em out...  It's worked for the most part over the years...  What it's taught me is that I don't have to have a bird gobble & put on a show to have success in the turkey woods; I believe it's made me a much better hunter, but ...  it can certainly be a grind...

[TJK68]

Like others said you have to be patient with them, not as exciting sometimes but the way it is. Yes, they do get wise to the Song Dog's I think.

[AlabamaLongbeards]

Ive hunted him a couple days during the week and have had no luck. And of course the day Im out of town he strolls by!

[silvestris]

I hate to deer hunt turkeys.  I would go find a gobbling bird and come back in a week to see if he has changed his ways.

[redleg06]

If you have him on camera then there's a pretty decent chance he's in that immediate area quite a bit more than he's actually showing up on camera, and just not getting his picture taken.

If you know a general time frame  (say mid-day like your picture shows) that's pretty consistent then I'd be trying to figure out where he's coming from in the hours earlier in the day and if I didnt find him that way, I'd  work my way tighter to the area you're seeing the sign/pictures around the times you got him on camera.  If you've never seen him there before 10a.m for example, then why sit there on that spot before that?  Go try to kill him before that, where ever he may be coming from, and if you come up empty, go to your spot where you got him on camera, at the times he's been there.

I wouldnt waste time hanging out in that one spot all day if he's consistently on camera (usually by himself it looks like) mid day.  That means he's spending most of his morning doing something else, somewhere else, and the more chances you have to encounter him during the day, the better your chances of finding him alone and willing to work.  Plus I just dont like to deer hunt them if I can avoid it.

[surehuntsalot]

Patience patience patience,  killed a lot of silent birds at 10 am or so.

And more patience.

that sums it all up right there