When they won’t gobble

[Bwhntr68]

So I'm a relatively new turkey hunter, self taught. Over the past 4 years I've either killed or called in for my buddies to kill 5 birds. I don't seem to have a problem with birds when they're gobbling but if they have lockjaw I wander around lost. This weekend I heard one gobble at first light and I couldn't get a location on him before he flew down. I walked around the rest of the day along the ridges, calling every couple hundred yards to see if I could get one to sound off. I know there's birds in the area because I heard multiple gobbles throughout the area preseason. I couldn't seem to even find scratching or much turkey sign at all in my walk though. How would any of y'all tackle a situation like that? What would you look for on a map to help narrow it down?

[Mossyguy]

If you know kinda close where he roosted that morning I'd go back in the area that evening, set up and call every 15 minutes or so. I've shot a few birds using this technique.

[Paulmyr]

What type of terrain/ habitat are you hunting?

[Bwhntr68]

This particular area is mostly hardwoods, with steep ridges leading into wide open bottoms. There's a few pine stands along the edges between public and private but for the most part it's open oak stands

[Paulmyr]

In my experience hens like to roost in pines if thier big enough to offer limbs they can dig thier toenails into.

In steep terrain like you describe they like to hang on the points of ridges and along the sides. I would think if there are turkeys around you'll find most of your sign/ scratchings in these areas.

Sounds like your hunting public so there's probably a fair amount of pressure. In terrain like this the roads and trails usually follow along the tops of ridgelines and so do the hunters. I find turkeys like to hang in the bottoms where the only way to get into them is by going down in from the top.  Most hunters are pretty lazy. The thought of climbing 300' or more in elevation after a hunt to get out doesn't appeal to them. They hang close to the top. Calling down to them may draw a response but generally they aren't coming out. They've heard that before. Your probably gonna have to go in after them. If they aren't gobbling that's a tough decision to make.

The more experience you get on this property the more you'll learn where turkeys like to hang. If your looking for sign your going to have to get off the tops and get on the sides where walking I difficult.

Look for for opening in the woods like clear cuts, also pay attention to transitions from Hardwoods to any other type of habits like the pines you describe or older clear cuts with new growth.

As far as blind calling pick spots where you you can hear a good distance usually from an elevated position.

[GobbleNut]

This particular area is mostly hardwoods, with steep ridges leading into wide open bottoms. There's a few pine stands along the edges between public and private but for the most part it's open oak stands

First of all, I absolutely HATE hunting non-gobbling turkeys.  There...Got that out of the way up front!   

Your description of the habitat you hunt sounds similar to some that we have here.  Based on that, I would suggest identifying specific areas (if you have them) that are adjacent to agricultural/farmed areas that would attract turkeys and hunt that transition area between those fields and those steeper ridges.  Around here, the turkeys tend to hang right along that transition during the day so they can have easy access to those ag fields (or if there are no farmed areas that would attract turkeys, they will still hang out adjacent to the open areas they prefer to feed in).   

A recurring tactic we see time and time again in turkey hunting videos is that of hunters driving the roads looking for turkeys in private fields (or even just open areas/fields on public lands), and then approaching them as closely and inconspicuously as they can from the public land around them.  Doing this, often the turkeys can be spotted (Note: having good binoculars is a key ingredient) and a set-up made such that the behavior of the turkeys can be assessed visually, rather than audibly, if it is a situation where they won't respond to calling. 

Being able to SEE the turkeys, even if they are not vocal, will make it a lot easier to have that patience necessary to hunt silent gobblers.  Not only that, it also allows you to make the necessary adjustments in your set-up to put you in the best position to kill one of those birds based on their behavior and movement patterns. 

Of course, the specific conditions you hunt under might not allow for any of the above, but if those conditions exist, that is how I would approach it. 

[Bwhntr68]

I did manage to find one spot where this piece of public butts up to private land with a food plot and a large cattle pasture. About 3/4 of a mile from any trails, and just hard to get to in general. Seemed perfect on paper but we know how that goes. Turns out the property owner had pushed all the trees into the public when he cleared those pastures, in my mind it was too thick for a turkey to feel comfortable walking through regularly. How thick is too thick for a turkey? Roosted another bird bordering a power line, just over the property line, leaving the power line as the closest setup option, but it's very overgrown(2-3 foot tall grass and briars)

[Paulmyr]

If the wide open bottoms you speak are open oak stands look for flats in these bottoms instead of the ridge rising directly up from the creek bed. A smaller point with ridges on each side that extend out past the point usually have a decent flat where the 2 valleys meet. Benches on the side of the ridge are also good for some investigation.

[Marc]

Some good advice given... 

But you say you are (relatively) new to turkey hunting?

Walking around the woods blindly and calling, is more likely to put birds down than drum them up.  Make sure you are not walking a sky-line, and try to cover ground in such a way that birds cannot see you from across a ridge or whatnot..   Avoid walking across large open areas when possible, and most certainly avoid calling in open areas (unless you are setting up to hunt there).

Birds shutting up after fly-down is one thing, but not calling on the roost even, would be very discouraging.  I have often seen birds vocal on the roost and shut up as soon as they hit the ground and group up...  The more pressure (whether from humans or animals) the more likely birds are to clam up.

If I know birds are in the area, and are quiet, I am more likely to hunt prime areas for longer periods, periodically calling (clucks and purrs with the occasional yelp).  Learn what drumming is and listen for it.  Just cause a bird is not gobbling, does not mean he is totally quiet.

I have killed a fair number of birds eating lunch...  Pick a good spot, and do some calling before eating lunch.  Maybe the infrequent cluck or quiet purr between bites...  And then call again before packing up to move to another spot.

Couple years back, my young daughter tagged along, and it had been quiet all morning...  She could run a box call, so before eating lunch, we had some fun walking in circles calling in the area we were going to eat; we then sat down and quietly enjoyed a long lunch...  As we finished eating, and packed up, she asked if she could call again...  Four birds hammered back at us 30 yards away on the other side of a brush line, and walked right into us...  She got to see her first turkey harvested...

[GobbleNut]

...in my mind it was too thick for a turkey to feel comfortable walking through regularly. How thick is too thick for a turkey?

Turkeys will go through whatever they need to, to get to where they want to be.  Personally, I think the old mantra that turkeys will not travel through thick areas is way overblown.  I have seen turkeys come through terrain and stuff I would never have thought they would, to get to where they wanted to go. They may well choose the route of least resistance to get somewhere, so you may need to assess where those travel routes might be in the areas you are hunting and focus on set-ups relative to those routes. 

In the specific instance you speak of where the landowner has created a barrier for turkey travel, finding where they access his fields could be the key to your success.  That barrier could actually be a benefit to you.   

[Old Gobbler]

Birds that won't gobble ...

A few things that can cause that ...

1) they are nervous ... something they saw or heard spooked them (car headlights , coyotes howling at 3 a. m., Barking dogs , somebody walking in a opening , slammed truck doors ...hunters with flashlights ..unnatural sound... the list goes on ...some you can never have control over ..there are the ones that are easy to  fix... Trust me a gobbler hears that truck , sees that headlight and hears you walking real loud.. take measures to eliminate that and you will start to notice more birds gobbling

2) they got hens ... They gobble to attract hens , if they got em all ready that's a problem ...or at least till the hens run off ...you decide to stick it out then they fire up again ..early in the season ..late in the season books have been written on this subject

3) the weather .... I've said it for decades especially the wind , if you were a turkey and you were hanging on for dear life all night long while the wind was moving that limb around all night long ...you as a gobbler are not going to be in a frisky mood ....but later the day the mood might strike them

The one thing a hunter can control is determination..that's the key ingredient , you got the day off your in the turkey woods there are birds in there somewhere , they won't gobble ...don't go home ! Stick it out ! Bring food and drink make yourself comfortable ...enjoy the day , take a nap read something on the phone , call a bit ..move to another spot eventually that gobbler will make a mistake and you'll be there waiting

[Paulmyr]

Birds that won't gobble ...

A few things that can cause that ...

1) they are nervous ... something they saw or heard spooked them (car headlights , coyotes howling at 3 a. m., Barking dogs , somebody walking in a opening , slammed truck doors ...hunters with flashlights ..unnatural sound... the list goes on ...some you can never have control over ..there are the ones that are easy to  fix... Trust me a gobbler hears that truck , sees that headlight and hears you walking real loud.. take measures to eliminate that and you will start to notice more birds gobbling

2) they got hens ... They gobble to attract hens , if they got em all ready that's a problem ...or at least till the hens run off ...you decide to stick it out then they fire up again ..early in the season ..late in the season books have been written on this subject

3) the weather .... I've said it for decades especially the wind , if you were a turkey and you were hanging on for dear life all night long while the wind was moving that limb around all night long ...you as a gobbler are not going to be in a frisky mood ....but later the day the mood might strike them

The one thing a hunter can control is determination..that's the key ingredient , you got the day off your in the turkey woods there are birds in there somewhere , they won't gobble ...don't go home ! Stick it out ! Bring food and drink make yourself comfortable ...enjoy the day , take a nap read something on the phone , call a bit ..move to another spot eventually that gobbler will make a mistake and you'll be there waiting

Everything you've said is spot on! I would add one other thing to that list of why they are not gobbling, pecking order. If the Boss don't feel like gobbling that day then woods will be quiet, unless of course your hunting an area over run with dominant Tom's, highly unlikely.

If the Boss man decides it's time to gobble he'll let everyone know and they will follow suite. If he feels no need to gobble for whatever reason than the woods will be quiet. If a sub tries to announce his presence and stick with it I'm pretty sure the Boss will let him know in short order that behavior is unacceptable. By the time the hunting season rolls around the order is set. If the Boss gobbles the rest will follow. If the Boss is quiet the rest will wonder where he's at and if they are ready for a butt whooping if they do decide to gobble.

There may be a token gobble hear and there but nothing you can hang your hat on. One gobble here, maybe another gobble over there. You maybe able to pinpoint it but there will be no back and forth unless the Boss is participating either with you, another hunter, his harem or trying to attract new girls. If the Dominant Tom in that area isn't in the mood to gobble get ready for a quiet mourning.

I'm not saying you can't kill a Gobbler is this situation it's just highly unlikely they'll be gobbling when you do it unless you get the Big Boy fired up. Granted there are no 100% guarantees in anything except death and taxes but for the most part this is how a feel about why there is no gobbling that mourning.

The later mourning gets, IMO the more likely subordinate gobblers will test the Boss. Either to see if he's around and/or if he cares a sub is trying to score.

[Marc]

Had a hunt today that made me think of this thread...

Hunting a large property, and while there were a couple birds gobbling, it was rather quiet for this time of year?

Late morning, there was some sporadic gobbling, and I went into a draw between two birds...  One bird would come closer, with a few sporadic gobbles, but there was a line he would not cross... 

I had a hen come in, and she was cutting and purring, and "shadow boxing."  She was fighting, but there was no other bird to fight?  She got within a couple feet of me at one point, and circled me for almost 30 minutes making quite a racket.  Whilst she was carrying on, I never heard a gobble, until she left me.

I stayed in the same spot, and that first gobbler continued with some sporadic gobbling after the hen left, and I figured he is not coming in.  I went out of the draw, got around him, and dropped back in.

I picked a good (and comfortable) location, and did a series of calls...  After that, I did some quiet clucks/purrs, and hoped to drum up a bird...  Never heard a thing...

And then I saw that tom...  He was about 100 yards from me, and went behind a bush...  20 minutes later, he came out the other side, going in and out of half-strutt....  He was heading up the hill wide of me, so every time he went behind an obstacle, I gave a quiet purr or cluck, and he would veer back my direction...  He would occasionally stop and periscope me, and then casually continue forward (at a painfully slow pace).

Finally, he went behind a tree that was in range...  I did some clucking, and he came out the other side with his head up...  And that was it for him...

From the time I saw him, till the time I shot him (probably about 65 yards closer than where I spotted him), was well over 1 hour.  I would classify him as mildly interested...  Had I not seen him (due to his bright red head), I would have never known he was there.

While I would always prefer to hunt a gobbling bird, there was a surprising amount of excitement and anticipation with this bird, and after spending so much time on him...

[deadbuck]

Blow a gobble call and get one to shock gobble back. Works fairly frequently in my woods

[Marc]

Blow a gobble call and get one to shock gobble back. Works fairly frequently in my woods

I have a theory that a gobbling bird also puts the birds in competition mode...  Many times, after getting a very distant gobble, one will light up much closer that did not respond previously.  Often before setting out to drum up a bird, I will do a series of gobble calls followed by some hen yelps, just to wake up the woods (especially late morning/afternoon). 

I then hit prime locations with hen yelps as I run & gun, and I find that if I have done the gobbling series a short time earlier, I am more likely to get a bird to respond.

I honestly do not get a lot of direct responses to a gobble call, but I do find that I get more responses to a hen call shortly after doing a series of gobbles... 

Also, if I am going to set down for a bit, I might do a series of gobbles at a good location within a couple hundred yards from where I will sit for a bit...  I then do a series of hen yelps where I plan to hang out (i.e. eat a relaxing lunch, take a siesta, etc.).  All too often, I will either get a bird to respond, or have one come in quietly.