Henned Up Gobbler

[Greg Massey]

Let's say you see a group of hen's and a gobbler together in a field you easy up to the field edge and get setup on this group of turkey's who do you challenge within the group of birds to try and draw the flock within gun range? What is your next move and tactic on these bird's?   No ambushing or running and gunning are used in this scenario it's all about calling tactic and setup.   You have at least 2 possibilities in this hunt, what are they?

[Happy]

I don't do anything without watching them a bit.

[J.D. Shellnut]

 Whoever answers first. If its him I'll try to give him what he wants to hear and MAYBE bring him in. But more than likely one of his ladies is going to get pissed and start yapping which is okay. Because whatever she does I'm gonna do it a little bit louder and when she goes to speak I'm gonna cut her off and hope she comes looking for a fight! 

[Dtrkyman]

I am going to determine their direction, get in their way, make a couple calls to get his head up and shoot em, then post on every forum and text everyone I know that I yelped em right up!

Seriously I am with J.D. but field turkeys with hens, literally calling them in is not a high percentage opportunity!

Seems I piss off a boss hen once or twice a year that is actually with a gobbler and kill him, calling in lone hens, well that is another story!

I remember one spring in Missouri I had called in over 20 hens in a few days, singles to as many as 6 at a time, none were dragging a gobbler with em...UGG

[Hobbes]

I'm going to assume that the hens will drift away as the morning progresses, but I will start off calling to them to see where it leads.  Sometimes turkeys are just interested as a group or one girl gets bent out of shape and drags them all in.  On rare occasions you'll find a crazy gobbler that'll check you out anyway.  Often, that's not the case and they wander all over the field except where I'm calling from.  Once that becomes clear, I'm probably staying put and soft calling with the occasional excited call just to keep contact in hopes the hens drift off and he becomes interested.  Late morning to mid day is probably the best chance.

[Chris O]

[quote author=Dtrkyman
Seriously I am with J.D. but field turkeys with hens, literally calling them in is not a high percentage opportunity!
I don't care to hunt field turkey's either. I feel decoys work more in this situation than calling usually does. I feel you have a better chance of calling them in by targeting the hens mostly, but you never know until you try. Location of the setup is a huge factor in your success in this scenario. Most of the field turkey's I have actually called in from some distance away usually hang up out of range and move off
[/quote]


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[Kygobblergetter]

Not usually my first option but something that hasn't been mentioned is I will often try to challenge the gobbler with a group of hens by gobbling at him. Sometimes it works great and sometimes you never hear from him again. Usually a last resort but it has killed me several birds


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[MK M GOBL]

I'll see if I can get the "boss" hen worked up, I cut her calling off if she tries to respond if he gobbles back, I'll keep it going, if they move off then I cut down into the timber to get in front and start up with some soft calling, last of scenario I'll gobble once everything else doesn't work.


MK M GOBL

[Yoder409]

There's only two....maybe three places where I hunt my home turf that this scenario could occur.  In all instances, I wouldn't set up on the field edge.   I'd drop back about 30-40 yards into the woods and find a very comfortable setup.  I'd call.  If he gobbles back, I'll cut him of very aggressively then go silent.  I'll get the gun on the stick and turn the dot on.  And wait.  And watch.  All I need him ........or one of his satellites.......to do is walk the field edge, looking in for me. 

[GobbleNut]

Under the scenario outlined, the only option seems to be to call to them and see what happens.  For me, it would be a few conservative calls to see their reaction.  If nothing, I would get more aggressive and judge the response.  If all else failed, I would throw the book at them. 

Without having the option of moving on the birds based on where they are headed (which would fall under the two forbidden categories of "ambushing" or R&G), I would be extremely surprised if they just randomly decided to come take a look.  Having said that, I have actually had just calling to a group of turkeys in the outlined situation work on some very rare occasions. 

Another thing, success in this scenario is often a function of how much the birds in question have been hunted.  Lightly hunted turkeys are much more likely to come to an unseen caller in a situation like this than are a group of turkeys that have "rid in this rodeo" before. 

Finally, if someone really wants to kill a gobbler in this sort of scenario, there is one pretty sure-fire way to get it done.  I think a lot of us know what it is,..it's just a matter of if you want to stoop to doing it and risk soiling your reputation...   

[Kylongspur88]

I'll throw calls at him until something sticks. Sometimes challenging a hen works and they drag him along. It all depends. If nothing works I'll kick back and relax and give him some time. Once those hens leave he'll be easier to call. I've killed several birds mid day and afternoon by sticking around the same area that didn't want to have anything to do with me that morning. Heard Dr. Chamberlain talk about how gobblers can pinpoint a location of a hen/hunter and return there many hours later looking for that hen after his real hens leave him to go to nest. Persistence pays off 

[ferocious calls]

We encounter this senerio often. The 2 options discussed have worked for us many times. When I am losing the battle or they seem disinterested often I will become a flock of hens inside the woodline far enough not to be expected to break the edge. Have had toms leave their hens and actually run to us. Often becoming more turkeys can peek their interest enough to pull them all over.  Being gregarious creatures they long to know who is in their area.
Of coarse better responses from unpresssured birds.

Many times sharp clucks are his demise. Something about those clucks that has a way of firing them up enough to break our way.  Love it.

[Tom007]

Let's say you see a group of hen's and a gobbler together in a field you easy up to the field edge and get setup on this group of turkey's who do you challenge within the group of birds to try and draw the flock within gun range? What is your next move and tactic on these bird's?   No ambushing or running and gunning are used in this scenario it's all about calling tactic and setup.   You have at least 2 possibilities in this hunt, what are they?

This happened to me 2 years ago in NY. I looked up a gas line ad spotted 2 hens, and a strutting Tom. I set up just inside wood line. I started soft calling, he would gobble back. He was strutting around the 2 feeding hens. I got aggressive, cutting, yelping. He gobbled back hard, but wouldn't break. This went on for about 30 minutes. It started to drizzle, nothing hard, just a misty drizzle. Had 2 push pins in a ziplock, I hit him with the fighting purr. He triple gobbled, but did not break. Drizzle stopped, I hit him with the fighting purr again, then a series of lost calls on my diaphragm. Unbelievably, the hens stated coming to me.  He followed, strutting as he approached. I hit the lost call one more time, then soft yelped. I stopped calling, I ended up harvesting him at 30 yards. Thank you hens for bringing me a turkey dinner. Thanks for listening.....