When to move

[Kevin6Q]

I move all the time as I cannot sit for too long. In doing so I've lost the fear of getting busted and learned quite a lot in the process. If it is suspected the bird has stopped coming in I move. It is a lot more fun being engaged with a bird and losing then getting ditched while sitting and waiting.. The ability to move almost at will is why I enjoy hunting in the rain. The sound is all but covered and there is usually enough movement in the woods from falling rain  to diffuse motion caused by me.

If you are convinced the bird is gone or not coming in, what is there to lose?

[DumpTruckTurkey]

If the gobbler hasnt moved... Im not moving either.  I only move when the bird has left.. or is leaving.

Here is why.  My biggest bird took a little over an hour... he was in the same spot.... not gobbling much, but never really moved.  Normally I would have circled around, and tried to call him a different direction.

I couldnt do that here as he was across the road on private, I was on public.  I waited him out and eventually he came my way... and I was in a bad spot.  Blow downs and thick.

If he hasnt left.... hes interested.  Turkeys are in no hurry 90% of the time.

[EZ]

Well that's the essence of the answer. I think terrain, distance matter without that it'd be hard to do a survey. Sometimes best to even move away or lateral right? Not sure I personally could ever give an answer without being totally in a set up. Bet you'd have a hard time w it too but let's see the survey answers. Just a note to you that might add to the survey perhaps anyone answered could write what state theyre hunting n what type land. Might be interesting n prove/disprove some theories. Good luck w it

Well said.
I'm certainly not afraid to move when the situation warrants it. That being said, I sit tight and give the birds more time than I did years ago. That's from experience

[Greg Massey]

I've seen many gobblers come back looking for that first hen he heard that morning, on up in the day...so i stay put with lot's of patience's. I always try to be the first hen he has heard that morning. Also other gobblers in the area, could come your way also from all the calling through the morning..patience's patience's patience"s ............

[greencop01]

     When he ain't lookin.......

[Marc]

1.  I'm probably not waiting the 45 minutes.   There's usually one of two reasons he hasn't shown up.  Either he has hens or he's not comfortable coming to where your at.   Either way I feel he's not coming and  I'm comfortable enough in my ability to move on him that I'll usually close the distance on him. 

I agree...  If he has not come in, he is with a hen, or waiting for her to come to him...

However, generally if birds are hung up, they are somewhat close, and I have had little luck closing the distance on them (at least in the terrain I hunt).  I have had better luck moving parallel and slightly away from birds at times though.

I discovered this on accident when I had a time constraint.  Had to be home for some event, and when it was time to start heading back to the truck, I started calling (bird was hung up in a wooded canyon about 100 yards from me).  As soon as I started moving away, he closed the distance quickly.  That tactic has worked for me several times since, but I cannot think of a time when trying to close the distance (on a bird 100 yards or less) has ever worked.

For a distant bird, I will always try and close the distance if possible...  I want to be 200 yards or less before I settle in...  I have tried to get too close on more than one occasion though.

[g8rvet]

In the morning, on public land, once I am sure he is leaving, I am in the re-position crowd.  Never straight at him.  If I can, I try to find terrain or woods that are different from where I am calling him to me.  That has worked twice (moved out of tall pines into scrub pine and turkey oaks and he came right in-always lateral to him, never straight at him - that tells him the hen is coming, and he should hang tight).

Later in the day, I am way more likely to sit tight as he is less likely with hens. 

I hunt two private tracts that are very small. Experience there has taught me to sit tight, because a) there is not much room to move, b)he is very likely to come back.  But I am also not battling other hunters to get to him before he moves off. 

[catman529]

1. Go quiet for a while and if he doesn't come in silent or gobble any closer I'll get bored at some point and try to cut him off and call again.

2. If I've gotten response for 30 minute but he hasn't moved then put down the call and take a nap for another 30 minutes or so... Or try to stay awake in case he comes in silent. Reminds me of a bird I struck one time that gobbled back but went silent so I took a nap and was awoken by a gobble within 30 yards, he came strutting to the gun and I shot him.


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[TauntoHawk]

I wish I knew what to tell you.. sometimes I move sometimes I dont, when I do that it works somethings others it doesn't lol

[midmslongbeard]

As long as I can tell he is staying in the same spot I will wait and see if I can tell we here he is going and try to cut him. In other words if he moves much I move if not I wait him out

[MK M GOBL]

Too many variables for me to answer but I can say If I killed that gobbler I made the right "Move"

Seriously it comes downs to that hunt, I have the patience to work a bird (I know) for most of a day if that what it takes to kill him, and then there are times I will move until it works or I bust.  I have even just left the bird to work later that day or even another day...

MK M GOBL

[rockymtngobblers]

For me it does not mater if he has hens or not if he is not coming to me I  will either  get ahead of him or move closer witch ever makes sence and is less likely for me to be spoted. I just feel by experience when I  need to move and in what way, when gobblers return to the strut area in the evening  they often will respond to my calling but not come in so as soon as I realize he won't  budge I  move 25- 50 feet closer and they usually come  in fired up.   

Getting busted by birds is not the end of the hunt or your chances at that particular gobbler I've been  busted and killed that gobbler later, one day I was busted  twice because I was in to much of a hurry he didn't leave the country but I didn't get him either. Patience is key but I would say as soon as you realize he is not coming in you need to either call more aggressive or move don't wait any longer.

[TRG3]

I love these situations where the gobbler seems to be hung up some 100-200 or more yards away! If I can get my Funky Chicken set up over a hen in the breeding position is a fairly open area, I'll continue to give some hen yelps and, at some point, introduce my Primos gobble call. This gives the impression that another gobbler has moved in on the hen while the real bird was trying to entice her to come to him. Knowing that the peck order is always in full swing with both gobblers as well as hens, there's a very good chance that the real bird will start to make his way, usually silently, toward me to size up his competition. When he sees the Funky Chicken, which any respectable tom could easily whip, his confidence in winning the hen is bolstered and he will often come on in on the run. At this point the most difficult part of the hunt may be not shooting your decoys since the real bird will be very aggressive in challenging the Funky Chicken! I've used this technique in the early as well as the late morning with success. Of course, nothing is fool proof and, if you have a boss gobbler, you may have to wait until later in the season when he's not having much luck with hens that are still available for breeding as was the case in the Southern Illinois 2015 last (5th) season. A gobbler which I'd hunted a couple of weeks before would gobble but always go the other way, never returning to my yelps or gobbles even when I stay until noon. On the morning of the successful hunt, he again went the opposite direction of my calling. I could faintly hear him some 300+ yards away where he'd gobble every 4-5 minutes. Apparently, there were no hens that responded to his gobbling. After about 30 minutes, I heard him gobble but not as far away. I gave a few hen yelps quickly followed by my Primos gobble tube to which he responded, even closer. From that point on, I kept silent. Within a minute or so, I caught a glimpse of him less than 10' away as he skirted the thicket in which I was sitting, wings dragging the ground and making turkey challenging sounds. He went directly to my Funky Chicken and was nose-to-nose with him. I had to give a few light putts to get him to jerk his head up which allowed my Remington 1889 double barrel hammer shotgun to send a load of #5 shot his way, allowing him to ride home with me. It's those types of moments that get me out of my cozy bed and heading to the turkey woods! Best of luck this season!

[Rzrbac]

I move a lot on birds. As stated above, hens don't stand in one spot and call they are almost always moving. My preferred way of hunting is to sit down only after I know he is committed and on his way. You might think I get busted some and you would be right!  I used to sit stands daylight to dark waiting on one particular buck but no patience for waiting on turkeys.

I don't mean to sound like I never sit in one spot and call, sometimes there are situations you just can't move on them because of terrain and then I'll do my best to exercise patience and get creative with my calls.  If he's not coming to me, I'm making a move and sometimes it's straight away from him. That can make a bird commit when other moves won't. After all he's expecting the hen to move to him not away and I think it may just hurt his feelings a little.