Gobbles, doesn't ever commit

[Spring_Woods]

Say it's late in the season and the birds have been worked over pretty good. 

But there's this one bird who gobbles but never comes in. You've tried nearly everything in your book. 

You must kill this bird. Explain your approach and plan in detail. 

[redleg06]

Stay with him until he changes his mind or try to get a good idea of where he is headed ( keep track of him by the gobbles) and get to that place before he does then re-establish your calling with him.... It's easier to call a bird to somewhere he already wants to go.

[jakebird]

If its very late in the season and i detect that the breeding instinct has waned, i may challenge him with only gobbling and/or gobbler yelps. Setting up on a bird and gobbling back in response is something very few guys are willing to try, but it can be deadly. Just like mimicking a boss hen to get her fired up, gobble back at him, cut him off. If this bird is "the champ", he won't stand for it. By assuming the role of a challenging male, you attack from a new angle other than breeding, you appeal to the pecking order of the flock, a system that exists year round as opposed to breeding. Turkeys fight year round and the pecking order is always revolving. Play the role of another male who has "forgotten his place", you may just wrap a tag around that bird. 'Course u could always just bush wack him..... 

[BrowningGuy88]

If he will come part of the way and just not close, I will leave whoever is hunting with me there and start moving away scratching the leaves and clucking every once in a while. This has been the death of a few gobblers.

Now if I am by myself and he is in his "Strut Zone" and not coming or going, I will get as close as possible and then yelp or cutt followed by a double gobble. This tends to royally tick one off and he generally comes in running with beard swinging.

[TauntoHawk]

that bird is just asking to be bush whacked

Id like to give the challenge gobble a shot this year

[Grunt-N-Gobble]

Challenge gobbles work!!!

I've had birds hang-up in the past......they'd gobble at most of my hen calls but never commit to my set-ups.  This happened over a couple days, so The next time I moved in on him as close as I dared, started with a few hen calls, then once he answered, I hit him with a gobble again and again.  He got mad and came on in.

But you gotta be careful where your hunting too.  Gobbling will call in other hunters.

[MOStrutter]

If you have been hunting the same turkey and he keeps doing the same thing then you go to him but do a 180 with your tactics.  He clearly isn't coming to you, but you should have an idea of the daily pattern of this turkey at that point in the season.  Use his habits as your advantage.  Get in on him close first thing in the morning and see if he will fly down or walk past you in range.  If you have been calling a lot, then don't call hardly at all.  If you have been using decoys, then don't take them out of your vest.  This is where good knowledge of the area/terrain comes in handy, and this is also where you learn to be patient.

[mightyjoeyoung]

You might be interested to know some folks think gobbling to call up a turkey is right on par with ambushing.   

And those folks would also be wrong.   

[tiggere]

I have found that most people "yelp" to a turkey WAY TO MUCH and WAY TO LOUD...soften your calling and do more purring and clucking...about the only time I yelp is first thing in the morning right before I do my fly down...and it's more of an excited yelp ON fly down...after that its all purring and clucking...

an old gobbler knows for a fact that the hens are supposed to come to him...not the other way around...

[turkey harvester]

If he don't come to you then you go to him, ambush the stubborn thing. Some may not like doing this but I have no problem with it.

[Trevor2]

Say it's late in the season and the birds have been worked over pretty good. 

But there's this one bird who gobbles but never comes in. You've tried nearly everything in your book. 

You must kill this bird. Explain your approach and plan in detail. 

It depends, he is gobbling but is he moving or staying put? If he is staying put and gobbles at everything I throw at him then I lay down the call scratch the leaves and kick back and wait. Hell get pissed and come in.
Now if he is on the move then I would have to play it by ear do something judging by which terrain and area I was in.

[guesswho]

There are several reasons why a bird won't commit.   Got hens, won't intrude on a dominant birds ground, breeding all but done, obstacles ect.   Figuring out the problem is the hard part, once you know why he's not coming then it's easier to come up with a solution.

[jfair]

Had one like this a couple years ago.   Fell asleep (kinda) for about 2hrs.  He woke me up with a gobble 20 yards behind me.  11:45 and we can only hunt til noon.  Once I stopped calling to him he came to find me.  Can't claim to have planned on using this strategy but it worked.  If I have time, I'll wait him out.  I agree with tiggere.  I don't do much yelping anymore.  Most hens I see in the spring are clucking.

[Bigsho69]

Sounds like a smart old bird.  Also sounds like you might be calling at him too much.  Try just a few light clucks and then go silent for at least 20 minutes.   It will drive him crazy.  If it doesnt then figure out where he is going and set up there the next day in the dark and wait for him.

[nalley1952]

If its very late in the season and i detect that the breeding instinct has waned, i may challenge him with only gobbling and/or gobbler yelps. Setting up on a bird and gobbling back in response is something very few guys are willing to try, but it can be deadly. Just like mimicking a boss hen to get her fired up, gobble back at him, cut him off. If this bird is "the champ", he won't stand for it. By assuming the role of a challenging male, you attack from a new angle other than breeding, you appeal to the pecking order of the flock, a system that exists year round as opposed to breeding. Turkeys fight year round and the pecking order is always revolving. Play the role of another male who has "forgotten his place", you may just wrap a tag around that bird. 'Course u could always just bush wack him.....