Hung up birds .What could have sealed the deal ?

[turkeyfeathers]

Looking for opinions for what I could have done. So this weekend was NY's youth hunt. Saturday we heard nothing. Sunday we heard a couple of birds gobbling off about 500 yards. They eventually gathered together as they started off pretty far apart. This is about and hour and a half into legal shooting. My daughter and I overlook a field where I've killed 13 birds sitting below the same tree. Perfect set up. Birds roost far off property I'm allowed to hunt so working them great distances is the norm. Eventually worked them into 200 yards and they just entered the opposite side of the field and strutted doing 360 degree turns and ripping. For a good 45 minutes they did this. We noticed more movement behind them still in the woods. Binocs showed a harem of hens. I had a DSD upright hen and a DSD jake in our fields edge. Honestly don't know if toms saw them or not as their is a slight rise that perhaps blocked their view of dekes. I ditched the soft yelps and went soft purrs and soft clucks. Scratched leaves in behind us. I definitely didn't over call or call too loud.  They eventually slowly meandered back the way they came. Great show and I could see a smile thru her headnet. The sun thru their tailfeathers was gorgeous.  Looking for what 'maybe" I could have done differently. After they went away challenge them with a gobble call? Continue with yelps ? Go biatchy hen and try and call the lead hen in with gobblers in tow ? Good part is maybe we can double on the regular season opener. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[tomstopper]

I really love to use fighting purrs in situations like this. Sometimes it works other times not.

[gotcha]

Who knows another day they might run to your calling.It gets a lot of debate but I have great success with a strutting decoy(real fan on a killer B).It the past few years I have really begun to understand dominance often overrides romance in the turkey woods.

[stinkpickle]

I don't worry about calling too often or too loud in that situation.  What's the worst that could happen...they won't come to ya, anyway?  The fighting purr idea sometimes works, too.  Make it sound like there's a bigger party on the other side of the field.  They pull that kinda crap with me all the time. 

[Gooserbat]

I don't worry about calling too often or too loud in that situation.  What's the worst that could happen...they won't come to ya, anyway?  The fighting purr idea sometimes works, too.  Make it sound like there's a bigger party on the other side of the field.  They pull that kinda crap with me all the time. 

This

[R AJ]

You never know but some aggressive cutting, even some gobbling might get them stirred up. Many many many times I have tried not to overdo if there are several days ahead to hunt and as the last day gets there I'll throw the play book at one. I just don't always go to the same spot to set up of course.

Hope you and the daughter bust a biggun.

[MEbeardlover]

Toms with hens in tow are not too interested in "potential" hens. They h ave the real thing. Other Tom's, however, can spur a reaction. When it becomes obvious they are not reacting to hen calls, I switch to Tom calls. Loud and raspy gobblerr yelps, fighting purrs, and gobbles. And the gobbles don't need to be perfect. I've called in birds with some lame imitations of a gobble on a mouth call. All they need to know is that there is competition in the area.

[arkrem870]

I always try fighting purrs and gobbling as a last resort. It has worked for me several times. Other than that I try going silent, calling a lot, getting excited, different calls. Set up from other directions. One of the most deadly ways is leave him and show back after lunch and get real weird

[mgm1955]

Not sure you could've done anything different except hope they respond better next time. Good luck!