Times to gobble at a gobbler?

[RiverRoost]

When would be the ideal scenario to gobble at a gobbler? One that seems to be hung up and won't come in? I'm on all private ground so gobbling shouldn't be a safety threat.

[TRG3]

I use gobbling as my main way to entice a tom to check me out. In my experience, the decoys that you use are important and need to be such that they do not intimidate the real bird. I've yet to have any gobbler shy away from the Funky Chicken while I have had some hang up on a full strutter. Both the toms and hens spend time establishing a peck order and will often respond to another bird of the same sex challenging that peck order. The gobble tube gives the impression that there is an intruder in the area and the natural instinct of the real birds is to put him in his place, especially if there's also a new hen that he's courting. Over the years, I've watched what I assume is the dominate bird not responding to my gobbling until the very end of the turkey season (early May in Southern Illinois when most hens are on the nest) but instead allows one of his subordinates to deal with the matter. My biggest gobblers (25#+) have been taken in that last season and often take a couple of hours to finally convince to come in as they stand their ground, waiting for the hen to come to them as they have all spring. I feel that my gobbling just adds to the real birds frustration of not getting the hen to come on in while an unknown gobbler is not only intruding on his territory but is taking the hen. You need patience and a comfortable seat for this scenario.

[eggshell]

I'm like you it's generally a last resort call. I do have to feel safe where I am at.

One thing I'd like to say about safe. I see people repeatedly say, "I'm on private land so I'm safe". This is a mistake, your attitude towards safety should be the same everywhere. As many accidents happen on private ground as public. As one who hunts a lot of private ground, I can not count the times I have run into people who either was trespassing or wasn't supposed to be on the ground that day. I have known of two fatal hunting accidents in my area and both were on private ground. Sorry for the rant, but I am a statistic.....I have been shot while turkey hunting and seriously injured. So SAFETY FIRST we all want to come home

[guesswho]

If I think, or can confirm he's by himself, or better yet two gobblers together I'll gobble.   In my experience, late season gobbling can make for a quick hunt.  Around here by late season the gobblers are more interested in getting back with the survivors of the old gang as they are a hen. 

[Ctrize]

I use it mainly as a locator call mid day or a challenge call when I can't move a bird. I also use it during slow times to see if I can pull a hen in to get things rolling.

[RiverRoost]

Do y'all think it would be good to use on the late morning moves when walking and calling trying to strike up a lonesome bird mixed in with some cutting. I usually just walk and yelp and cut every 100 yards or so. Might could be helpful if nothing responds to the cuts to gobble with them?

[Dtrkyman]

I killed a public bird years ago that would not finish, called him in 3 mornings in a row and he would clear a rise, bird was inside 40 but would not crest the ridge!

Finally decided to gobble at him and he nearly ran me over on the way in!

Literally the only time it worked that well, and I've killed a semi load of birds since then!


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[Ctrize]

I use it as a mid day locator when things are slow and to call hens in if I am sitting and things are slow. The thing about using a mouth  tube to call is don't bellow as loud as you can ,muffle it a bit keep the volume real.

[TRG3]

Do y'all think it would be good to use on the late morning moves when walking and calling trying to strike up a lonesome bird mixed in with some cutting. I usually just walk and yelp and cut every 100 yards or so. Might could be helpful if nothing responds to the cuts to gobble with them?

At times, gobblers will go to their strut zones in the late morning and let out a single gobble every 5-10 minutes, sort of like broadcasting 'Hey girls, here I am. Why don't you come on over and we'll party!" From the gobbler's standpoint, this approach must work because several of them adopt this strategy. If I were to be slowly working my way through the woods and heard a gobble on his strut zone, I'd try to move in a little closer, say within 200 yards, as the terrain/cover would permit and try to get on about the same level if possible before answering his gobbles with some "Hey, I might be interested in joining you" replies. He will probably respond rather quickly and hold his ground, expecting the hen to come to him. Congratulations! You've got his attention and his excitement is building. After a short while, I'd yelp again and continue this back-and-forth process for 8-10 minutes. If he starts your way, just go silent and watch carefully. If he doesn't come any closer, I'd use my gobble tube to give the impression that an intruder has moved in on this late-morning hen. For the real gobbler, the situation has now changed from a pure breeding one to include dominance/peck order: he's now got competition for the hen he just though that he was going to convince to come to him. As the caller, you are playing with his mind, trying to convince him that his "manhood" is on the line if he lets this unknown tom encroach on his turf and steal what he considers to be his hen. By gobbling, you've just issued a challenge and basically uttered some fightin' word! He no doubt will continue to hold his ground, thinking that he's the better tom and his gobbles will still lure you away from the intruder, but as the hen, you continue to hold your ground while the intruder gobbles at your every call, sometimes double gobbling. In fact, the intruder is now gobbling aggressively back at the real bird, issuing a challenge that can't be ignored unless the real bird is too far down on the peck order to risk a challenge. If the real bird never comes in, then that's probably the case. If there's an open area where you can set up a jake or Funky Chicken just to the rear of a hen on the ground, that will act as a magnet for this irritated tom. If he does come in, it may be silently or on a dead run. This is an exciting way to hunt gobblers!

[jims]

I expect there are several scenarios that exist.  These may change from early vs late season...or even 1 day to the next!  One scenario mentioned in the post above is one.  Another scenario would be if a tom got beat up by an aggressive dominate tom that is gobbling with a group of hens he is protecting.....the "satellite" tom on the fringes will likely keep his distance. 

This same scenario is true with herd vs satellite bull elk.  Satellite bulls generally follow a group of cows and keep their distance from dominate bulls.  They know they will get beat up if they get to close!  Early and late in the season may be different than during times when hens are flocked up with a single dominate tom.  If several toms are together searching for hens....this may be a totally different scenario.  The group of toms or jakes....or even an aggressive, dominate tom can actually beat up a single tom with hens and take over the hen group!  Lots of scenarios!

I always tend to watch the reaction of both toms and hens to calls. decoys, or what I'm doing and adjust accordingly!  The most important thing I've learned in the years I've turkey hunted is to remain flexible....watch and react accordingly!  What works one day may have turkeys running the opposite direction the next!

[deadbuck]

25 years ago I had a shaker gobble call that I used to try a little. It worked on a bird once that would not come to anything else and I thought I had found magic when it happened. I continued using it a lot from that point on without much more luck. It would occasionally get a bird to shock gobble but wouldn't bring them closer. Then 7-8 years ago when the Hale Fire and Haint calls came out I started using them and I started killing birds coming to the call, not just answering it. I think the difference is that the duck call style gobble calls out now are so much more realistic. However, they are difficult to master for most people and they give up on them before they master them. I use a Hale Fire on every hunt I go on now whether to locate or challenge a bird once I have tried the traditional route and a bird wont come in. Last Thursday I hunted a spot on my way to work and did not have a lot of time. Bird gobbled at my hen calls and I heard several hens with him. Decided to start off right then with gobble call and either kill him or go on to work if it didn't work as I didn't have all day to screw with the typicall scenario of chasing a gobbler with hens. In 30 minutes I had called his hens to me and he followed to come get them back and lost his life. I probably gobbled 15 times in 30 minutes and he did too.

[TRG3]

As you've described, a gobbler with hens is a very difficult bird to call in. Let's face it, he already has what he wants, so why would he leave several hens in hopes of adding just one more; however, the sound of another gobbler represents a threat to his harem and his manhood via the peck order. As Ray Eye noted, the peck order is always in effect. Like you, a gobbler tube plays a major part in my calling to a tom even though I still like to try different hen calls, such as a wingbone yelper or nail call, to see if I can bring one in with it.

[Gobble!]

I've had the most success on birds that are hung without a hen. Seems like they are ok gobbling at a hen and waiting on her to come but when another gobbler works in on a hen they have been gobbling at that can be enough to make them commit.

[Marc]

A good gobble call has become far more important in my vest.

One thing I noticed, is very often when you are not getting a response, and finally that one bird gobbles off in the distance, several more will gobble much closer.

Running & Gunning generally is a mid-morning or early afternoon activity...  Strike up a bird and hunt him.  Often, as I approach an area that I feel birds are in, I will gobble aggressively multiple times and listen for a response...  If I do not get a response, I will then move some reasonable distance and try striking up a gobble with a hen call.

My feeling is that "pre-gobbling" winds the spring so to speak, and when they hear that hen call, they might be a bit more likely to answer.

As far as gobbling at a hung-up bird (without hens), I generally do not gobble at them, unless they start to move further away.  I am more apt to wait for him to gobble, and then hen-yelp back if he is hung up (as opposed to calling to hear him gobble).  Often, if the terrain allows it, I will walk & talk (soft yelps and clucks) moving either parallel or slightly away from the bird and then stop and wait.

Last week, hunting with my young daughter (8 years old) and a buddy's son (same age) who had never hunted before, I had birds that were hung...  Come right up to the edge of a knoll and wander back down.  As the birds made this circle, and wandered away, I took one of the kids up to where the birds were coming, and we both yelped (and I clucked), making some racket while walking back to our spot.  And then we sat quietly for about 10 minutes when a quiet bird appeared in full-strut in front of us.

If a bird is with hens, I will gobble...  Nothing to lose.  Day before the hunt with the kids last week, there were two toms with a group of hens, and I gobbled the hens in...  Unfortunately, the toms hung up just out of range.  But I have had other experiences where the tom will come in to challenge the rival, or the hens will come in to investigate this new gobble, with a tom in tow...

Late in the season, with quiet woods, I will gobble a lot more (mixed in with hen yelps).

I believe there is some risk in gobbling though...  If a bird has been beat up a few times, he might hear that gobble and head the other direction.