Turkeys that won't gobble

[MK M GOBL]

If I've done my homework and know they are there, I'll know where he is going to be, I'll wait him out. Scout, Scout, Scout Scout


MK M GOBL

[Number17]

I'm so thankful for the guys that don't have the patience to kill a silent bird. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
There is something uniquely satisfying about about having a gobbler come in silent to your calls after the other guys hopped in their trucks and headed for breakfast because "they were all henned up".
The majority of my biggest spurs have come off mostly silent birds. It's not even close.

I watched a big Tom strut and spin for over three hours at 150 yards. He was in a field with a chunk of timber separating us. I kept telling my Dad I could see him and to just be patient. Every call I sent his way would make him puff up and spin.
Finally he decided to break strut and I told Dad to keep his eyes on the deer trail coming through the brush. He covered 150 yards in 10 minutes, broke out of the cover, and ripped off a booming gobble at 15 yards before Dad took his head off. Dad said, "If it wasn't for you, I'd have left 2 hours ago."

[Turkeytider]

I'm so thankful for the guys that don't have the patience to kill a silent bird. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
There is something uniquely satisfying about about having a gobbler come in silent to your calls after the other guys hopped in their trucks and headed for breakfast because "they were all henned up".
The majority of my biggest spurs have come off mostly silent birds. It's not even close.

I watched a big Tom strut and spin for over three hours at 150 yards. He was in a field with a chunk of timber separating us. I kept telling my Dad I could see him and to just be patient. Every call I sent his way would make him puff up and spin.
Finally he decided to break strut and I told Dad to keep his eyes on the deer trail coming through the brush. He covered 150 yards in 10 minutes, broke out of the cover, and ripped off a booming gobble at 15 yards before Dad took his head off. Dad said, "If it wasn't for you, I'd have left 2 hours ago."

If they hear you, they`ll always know where you are. They may not always come to you later, but many times they will when they get lonely.

[Number17]

I'm so thankful for the guys that don't have the patience to kill a silent bird. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
There is something uniquely satisfying about about having a gobbler come in silent to your calls after the other guys hopped in their trucks and headed for breakfast because "they were all henned up".
The majority of my biggest spurs have come off mostly silent birds. It's not even close.

I watched a big Tom strut and spin for over three hours at 150 yards. He was in a field with a chunk of timber separating us. I kept telling my Dad I could see him and to just be patient. Every call I sent his way would make him puff up and spin.
Finally he decided to break strut and I told Dad to keep his eyes on the deer trail coming through the brush. He covered 150 yards in 10 minutes, broke out of the cover, and ripped off a booming gobble at 15 yards before Dad took his head off. Dad said, "If it wasn't for you, I'd have left 2 hours ago."

If they hear you, they`ll always know where you are. They may not always come to you later, but many times they will when they get lonely.

And I can't tell you how many times I've had them come in silent until they hit the Red Zone......then they rip out their first gobble when they're in range. I think it's pretty awesome myself.
Hard charging loudmouths are a lot of fun too, but anybody can kill them.

[Jimspur]

I'm so thankful for the guys that don't have the patience to kill a silent bird. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
There is something uniquely satisfying about about having a gobbler come in silent to your calls after the other guys hopped in their trucks and headed for breakfast because "they were all henned up".
The majority of my biggest spurs have come off mostly silent birds. It's not even close.

I watched a big Tom strut and spin for over three hours at 150 yards. He was in a field with a chunk of timber separating us. I kept telling my Dad I could see him and to just be patient. Every call I sent his way would make him puff up and spin.
Finally he decided to break strut and I told Dad to keep his eyes on the deer trail coming through the brush. He covered 150 yards in 10 minutes, broke out of the cover, and ripped off a booming gobble at 15 yards before Dad took his head off. Dad said, "If it wasn't for you, I'd have left 2 hours ago."

If they hear you, they`ll always know where you are. They may not always come to you later, but many times they will when they get lonely.

And I can't tell you how many times I've had them come in silent until they hit the Red Zone......then they rip out their first gobble when they're in range. I think it's pretty awesome myself.
Hard charging loudmouths are a lot of fun too, but anybody can kill them.

That's what I always say - anybody can kill one if they come in gobbling straight up the gun barrel. It's much more difficult to kill a silent bird.

[Turkeytider]

I'm so thankful for the guys that don't have the patience to kill a silent bird. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
There is something uniquely satisfying about about having a gobbler come in silent to your calls after the other guys hopped in their trucks and headed for breakfast because "they were all henned up".
The majority of my biggest spurs have come off mostly silent birds. It's not even close.

I watched a big Tom strut and spin for over three hours at 150 yards. He was in a field with a chunk of timber separating us. I kept telling my Dad I could see him and to just be patient. Every call I sent his way would make him puff up and spin.
Finally he decided to break strut and I told Dad to keep his eyes on the deer trail coming through the brush. He covered 150 yards in 10 minutes, broke out of the cover, and ripped off a booming gobble at 15 yards before Dad took his head off. Dad said, "If it wasn't for you, I'd have left 2 hours ago."

If they hear you, they`ll always know where you are. They may not always come to you later, but many times they will when they get lonely.

And I can't tell you how many times I've had them come in silent until they hit the Red Zone......then they rip out their first gobble when they're in range. I think it's pretty awesome myself.
Hard charging loudmouths are a lot of fun too, but anybody can kill them.

That's what I always say - anybody can kill one if they come in gobbling straight up the gun barrel. It's much more difficult to kill a silent bird.

It often takes A LOT of patience, which eliminates a lot of hunters. It`s the type of hunting in which the more you enjoy the woods just for the wood`s sake, the greater your chances of success.

[Spitten and drummen]

Depends. You want to kill a bird or just play with one that's vocal. I see both sides but if I am in the killing mindset , I will wait him out for as long as it takes. Its fun calling in a gobbling turkey but to be honest I love the spit and drum more. I have a nice collection of nice spurs from silent gobblers. Most birds I hunt , once they commit gobble very very little on the way in.

[Jimspur]

It often takes A LOT of patience, which eliminates a lot of hunters. It`s the type of hunting in which the more you enjoy the woods just for the wood`s sake, the greater your chances of success.
[/quote]

Well said. It definitely doesn't fit in with the "gotta have it now",
instant gratification culture we live in.

[Muzzy61]

Where I hunt i don't have the luxury to decide if I'm only going to hunt gobbling birds. I'm going to do what it take to kill one. Run & Gun, sit them out or " deer hunt" them. Whatever it takes.

[RutnNStrutn]

No gobbling might get your spirit and enthusiasm down, but I never leave the woods just because they don't gobble.

[Pluffmud]

Daggum non-gobblin' turkeys.

Theres a WMA that I love to hunt for turkey. But its heavily pressured, and you can only hunt it on certain days of the week. Turkeys on this WMA stop gobbling early on in the season, and the ones that do like to gobble get killed quickly. It was a fairly sunny, but very windy day towards the last days of the season. Didnt hear or see a turkey all morning. So I slipped off to eat lunch, with the intention of coming back and checking certain open areas in the afternoon. Ive found that on very windy days, it is easier to walk the woods as the vegetation moving and noise from the wind conceals your movement. Also, Ive found that the abundance of moving vegetation keeps turkeys out of the woods a little more than usual, as it makes predators more difficult to detect.

I found a lone gobbler on the first field I checked late in the afternoon. I tried to kill him there, but he remained largely uninterested in what I had to offer. I watched him slip off into the woods towards dusk, and given my knowledge of the terrain, I had an idea of where he was headed to roost. The good news in this situation, was that no one else saw this bird today, as I was the only one in this area to the best of my knowledge, and also, the sun had set on the last legal hunting day of that week. No one else could hunt him until the following week, and it just so happened thatbI had that day off of work.

I got to the WMA the next legal day at 3am and waited in the parking lot. A few other guys must have found him during the week, because 3 other trucks showed up not too long after me, each one had the intention of hunting that field, but all gave me respect and went to their respective Plan B's. This made me a little less confident that he would be patterned like he was last week, as these guys may have pressured him, but i stuck with my game plan.

I set up a hen decoy right where he was hanging out last week and got some good cover under a limb on the field edge. I had intentions of hunting him like a southern whitetail buck in peak rut... Just sit there all day until he shows. I brought water, lunch, and a book and phone charger.

To my surprise, that joker caught me off guard and came walking straight to my hen decoy at 6:54 AM. Dead at 15 yards. He didnt strut, he didn't gobble. Didnt make a sound when he pitched off the roost. Just a good a hunt as Ive ever had though.

[dzsmith]

How do you hunt them? If you know birds are definitely in the area and they are not gobbling after sunrise, do you stay in the area or do you leave and go to the Quick Stop for breakfast?

it just depends on my options. Being from the same area as you ....there usually isn't many other options. If I know the bird is there, theres an amount of time im going to spend there. Ive set up on birds like this , and waited them out...and low and behold one late morning gobble is all it took for me to adjust my position and kill. If nothing has happened by 11 oclock or so. Ill usually leave...but I give him a chance to gobble at least once or come in completely blind. I have gotten up and left before and busted a bird  that had been there the whole time. Not per say a fun way to hunt, but always rewarding.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I roosted some last year that gobbled like crazy on the roost and never made a peep later.  I thought I was out of luck but I saw them about 3-400 yards away at about 8:00 AM.  Big group of turkeys.  I'd call and I'd hear nothing.  They'd go in the field and go in the woods over and over.  Each time they'd get a little closer there would be fewer hens.  By the time they got within shooting range it was just 2 very young hens and the Tom.  My son shot the Tom.


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[Chris O]

Be patient and wait.  9:00 can be magical.

Most of the birds I kill are from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 pm.  I love it when I kill one off the roost but mid morning is my best times.