What do you do?

[srmturk]

When you set up on one first thing...one gentle series...they fly down and go the other way.  How long do you stay put?  Then what?

[sbraham]

I will generally try to make a wide sweep around to try to get ahead of him. Probly has hens. Try to cut them off using the terrain. Or if another bird is in earshot i will go after him hoping he is still looking for hens.

[GobbleNut]

First thing I will do is simulate a hen flying down and then hit him with a moderately loud series of yelps,...and listen.  If he responds, I will wait a bit longer to see if he has turned back,...repeating the yelp series in a minute or two.  If he is still moving away, I will hit him hard with some loud and aggressive cutting and yelping,...and wait to see how he responds to that. 

If he continues on his way,...and I know there are no other turkeys close by, I will immediately plot a course to get around and in front of him as quickly as possible without the chance of busting him,...and I will be up and moving quickly.  If I can get in front of him, I will wait to see if he is on a line toward me,...or if he is angling away.  If he is coming directly at me (not likely), I will just wait him out.  If he is not, I will try to reposition again to get in front.

Any calling I do at that point will be very subtle, soft, and quiet,...because I am assuming, at that point, that he flew away from me off the roost because he is a wary bird, especially if he had no hens with him.

Now, if he has hens with him, that is a horse of a slightly different color.  I may try to get their attention with some longer and slightly more aggressive calling to see how they respond.  If I do any calling during this process and the bird (or birds) continue to move away from my calling,...and especially if they change course away from me when I call to them (and regardless of what anybody tells you, there are birds out there that will do this),...I will stop calling altogether and just try to position myself ahead of them and wait them out.

At any time during this exercise, if I hear any distant gobbling, I will often break off of these stubborn birds and head towards the other one to see if he is more willing to play the game the right way.

[TX Aggie]

Any calling I do at that point will be very subtle, soft, and quiet,...because I am assuming, at that point, that he flew away from me off the roost because he is a wary bird, especially if he had no hens with him.

Now, if he has hens with him, that is a horse of a slightly different color.  I may try to get their attention with some longer and slightly more aggressive calling to see how they respond.  If I do any calling during this process and the bird (or birds) continue to move away from my calling,...and especially if they change course away from me when I call to them (and regardless of what anybody tells you, there are birds out there that will do this),...I will stop calling altogether and just try to position myself ahead of them and wait them out.

Not to hijack srmturk's thread but this is what happen to me this past weekend. The other hunters I was with wanted to keep calling to the group and i wanted to sit quietly. We were all frustrated as what to do and needless to say we came home empty handed. We will be back at it this next weekend - isn't it amazing how extremely frustrating this can be BUT it is some much fun.

[Bigspurs68]

If I can't turn em and they are headed away for sure, I try to head em off before they leave town completely. I don't wait long at all.

[Vabirddog]

If gobbling and im sure its the same bird moving away i will go right to his roost and try him from there first. If that does not turn him then get to a good location ahead of him if possible.

[Marc]

If I can hunt within the next day or two, I might just call it a loss, and set up for them on the next hunt in a better location.

If it is going to be a bit before I get to hunt them again, I might try and get around them, if I thought I could do so without spooking them...

Another option would be to stick with them at a more than reasonable distance, and wait for the hens to leave them...  Seems to me, that when they are in a group like that, they might have some staging area that they hang out in for the morning...  Staying behind them lets you figure out where they are going for the next hunt, and gives you an opportunity for a bird when/if the hens leave them.

[srmturk]

This is why I love this forum...esp this time of year.  Thanks very much to all of you.  All helpful.  Hadn't heard of the vabirddog strategy...going to roost site.  Interesting

[Gooserbat]

I go after him or more correctly I go the direction he's going and try  to get ahead of him.

[Erno86]

I might hang around for 20 minutes...but you gotta be careful that he or another gobbler might just be sneaking up on you. I would try to get ahead of the flock, or just head towards his favorite strut zone for an intercept. Try to pinpoint his flydown point from his roost --- and possibly ambush him another day --- by calling or not calling.

[jbrown]

Awesome replys, I love this sport!