Too many calls to choose from.

[HFultzjr]

Ok, here is what happened yesterday on PA opener.

I've been scouting and found where several gobblers were roosting and hanging around in the morning.
Parked about 100 yards down the road, so as not to shine my headlights on them.
Went to my blind, without flashlight, the moon was bright enough. Was in blind about an hour before light.
A couple of "Johnny come lately" fellows came in about 2-300 yards above me and to my left.
it's pretty thick in there, so no problem, they probably didn't even know I was there.
Turkey started to gobble about 20 min later than usual, I think the other headlights "spooked" them.
They were also about 200 yards further than normal.
Waited until I was sure they were on the ground and left out a few "clucks" on my one box call.
Got a response. Talked back and forth a few times, then he went silent. I thought he was coming in.
Next time he gobbled, he was back where he started, further away.
This time I switched over to a pot call and got a few more responses from some clucks.
Up to this point I didn't do any yelping, as I wanted to play "quiet and soft".
Went quiet and again.
This time I tried some yelping on a different box call.
Got a response ABOVE me and heard one of the other hunters yelp about 4-5 times. Good sounding calls.
2-3 min. later.......Bang, I'm presuming he bagged him.
Yes, I was calling the whole time this was going on with various box and pot call clucks.
Everything was silent then for about 15-20 min.
Left out a few clucks and got another response from the same place as the original.
Talked for a few minutes and he didn't seem to get any closer.
Bang!.....2nd guy out to my left and above me shot. I didn't hear him calling, as he was a bit further.
Both of these birds seemed to "circle" me and go to the guys above me.
I was above the turkeys to begin with, in what I thought was their "travel" route.
I know there are several left, so I plan on going back mid-week.
Did I screw up by by using too many different calls....3 box calls and 1 glass pot and 1 slate.
The only thing I didn't do was a much yelping, sticking with clucks.
I also had 2 hen decoys about 15 yards from me, but I don't think they ever got close enough to see.
Should I ditch the decoys?
The other guy just did 1 set of yelps and he went right to him.
I tried not to call much, but when they were not coming my way, but going to them, I called.
Should I have Yelped more, even though they were pretty close.....100 yards at some point.
I started 2nd guessing what call (box or pot) and what sounds (clucks or yelps). Too many choices.
I'm thinking of leaving some of my calls home and just concentrate on my favorites.
But then, if I don't get any responses, I'll probably wish I had them with me to try.
I've been patterning the birds (5) for about 2 weeks, getting in before daylight.
Not calling them before season. They gobbled on their own.
Thought I had them down good, only to be taken by a couple of "Johnny come lately" guys.
These guys cam in just as it was breaking day and I've been set up for at least 45 min.
Set my blind up the afternoon before and snuck in by moonlight, so I don't think they new I was there.
Very frustrating morning!
Stayed until season hours closed, but no other activity.
By the way, I don't mean to be little the "Johnny come lately" guys, they did what they did and won.
Man I wish I could "talk turkey" better.

Thanks, Just wanted to vent my frustrations.

[coyote1]

Your situation is frustrating, particularly the other guys sitting so close to you. I like to carry quite a few calls myself because you never know what they will respond to on a given day.

I am only in my fifth season so i'm no expert. I run a jake decoy behind a breeder hen with a feeding hen within 15 feet of the pair and all the gobblers i have killed ran right to them. I got one 2 days ago that i shot within 10 feet of the decoys because he ran in so fast. The decoys can definitely be benificial.

As for calling: there is nothing wrong with trying several different calls throughout the day. I try to portray the decoy setup with the calling. Yelps and cutting mimic an excited hen(the breeder with the jake approaching) and some clucks and purrs (the feeder hen). I call every 15-20 min if no turkeys are in view. sometimes through the day i stay silent for an hour or so.

I probably didn't do a great job of explaining this but it is what works for me. I guess what i'm tryin to say is make your setup look and sound real. Don't call too much and mix up your calls, don't yelp the same number of times every time. All the birds i have taken came in to yelps and cutts on a box call.

[HFultzjr]

coyote1,

Thanks for the input.
I only use hen decoys, as I don't feel comfortable with Jakes and Toms.
Too many "Hear a turkey, (even a hen), go find them" type of people out there where I hunt.
I don't gobble for that reason also.
If I had to do it again, I think I would stick more to yelping on the box calls.
By the way, my decoy set-up was 2 hens. One feeding and one "just standing".

Just didn't like the way I sounded I guess.
I get answers and get them moving in my direction, just can't seem to finish them off.
This time I went quieter than normal, only to have them sneak into somebody elses calls.

I'll be back out Tuesday and should have it pretty much to myself.

Think I might try just 1 hen decoy. It's pretty thick where I'm hunting and between me and them, they should be in range (30yards) when I spot them.

Thanks and good luck.

[coyote1]

I didn't think about the safety factor as i hunt private land. Good luck to you this season!

[TRG3]

Most of my turkey hunting the past few years has been on private ground, so there's rarely any other hunters there. When I hunted public ground, I'd walk 20-30 minutes back in the Shawnee National Forest, Pope County, Illinois, to get away from folks who stayed within a few hundred yards of the road, so I never had to contend with other hunters. All of that being said, my experience over and over notes that hens do not like competition with unknown other hens and will almost always lead the gobbler(s) off in another direction away from my calling, especially earlier in the season before the hens become full-time nesters. Because of this, I often set up in a field they typically head for after fly down and let the sight of my gobbler or jake decoy hovering over a hen in the breeding position entice another gobbler to come in to inspect the situation. I do limited calling in these situations since they are headed my way anyway, often waiting until I feel they are close and my calling will serve to convince a gobbler that a hen awaits him. Sometimes I'll throw in a gobble to make him think that not only is a new hen there waiting on him but an intruder gobbler has already shown up. While this often works, sometimes it doesn't and the gobbler hangs up, as happened to me this season when he would not budge any closer than about 80 yards regardless of my best coaxing. I'd planned to return to that gobbler at the tale end of the season when hens still looking to breed would be in short supply, but fortunately took one a week later that fell for the set up I just described.

[GobbleNut]

My guess is that your lack of success had nothing to do with the calls you used.  I suspect it had more to do with what you were saying to those gobblers as compared to what the other hunters were saying,...especially early in the season when turkeys have not yet figured out that they are being hunted yet.

Here's my interpretation of what went down.  Your soft and infrequent clucking told those gobblers that there was a hen there, but that she was not really much interested in them.  Their gobbles at your calling were an invitation to either go to them,...or to let them know that you were interested enough in them to make them come looking for you.

The other hunters were likely calling a bit more aggressively,...or at least more enthusiastically to them.  The yelp series one or both of them used told those gobblers that here was a hen that was possibly interested in being bred,...and that they should go check it out,...which appears to be exactly what happened.

In my opinion, you fell for the "less calling is always better" mantra that we all often hear.  In fact, there are regularly instances and situations where less calling is not better,...and I think you found out why.  Learning to "take a gobbler's temperature" is an important component in turkey hunting success. 

In this instance, you may well have been the one pulling the trigger had you tried a bit more aggressive calling,...maybe some excited hen yelps,...to encourage those gobblers to come your way instead of going to the other guys.

Some of the most successful turkey hunters I have been around do nothing but short series of excited hen yelps, regardless of the situation.  Their success in doing so has made me a strong believer in the idea that "less is not always better". 

[HFultzjr]

My guess is that your lack of success had nothing to do with the calls you used.  I suspect it had more to do with what you were saying to those gobblers as compared to what the other hunters were saying,...especially early in the season when turkeys have not yet figured out that they are being hunted yet.

Here's my interpretation of what went down.  Your soft and infrequent clucking told those gobblers that there was a hen there, but that she was not really much interested in them.  Their gobbles at your calling were an invitation to either go to them,...or to let them know that you were interested enough in them to make them come looking for you.

The other hunters were likely calling a bit more aggressively,...or at least more enthusiastically to them.  The yelp series one or both of them used told those gobblers that here was a hen that was possibly interested in being bred,...and that they should go check it out,...which appears to be exactly what happened.

In my opinion, you fell for the "less calling is always better" mantra that we all often hear.  In fact, there are regularly instances and situations where less calling is not better,...and I think you found out why.  Learning to "take a gobbler's temperature" is an important component in turkey hunting success. 

In this instance, you may well have been the one pulling the trigger had you tried a bit more aggressive calling,...maybe some excited hen yelps,...to encourage those gobblers to come your way instead of going to the other guys.

Some of the most successful turkey hunters I have been around do nothing but short series of excited hen yelps, regardless of the situation.  Their success in doing so has made me a strong believer in the idea that "less is not always better".

I think you hit the nail on the head. I played it too "seductive", when I should have played "hot and ready".

Live and learn.

Thanks.