Quiet Gobblers

[shane071489]

I have a 200 acre tract that I can hunt in the spring but the turkeys did not seem to gobble on the roost last year. I started hunting it late so did not get to listen before season came in. Is this common and if so how do you approach it? I do know there are turkeys on the property/surrounding property. What I did is walk the road of the property and yelp every so often and wait a few minutes if no gobble I just kept on down the road and repeated this until I had walked the road around the whole property. Im newer to turkey hunting and this has been successful on other properties but it seems a lot of people will walk, yelp, then sit there for extended periods of time. So what you do if you hear no turkeys gobble?

[silvestris]

If no sign, you go someplace else.  If there is credible sign, you come back tomorrow.

[shane071489]

If no sign, you go someplace else.  If there is credible sign, you come back tomorrow.

So you will just keep coming back until you hear a gobbler on the roost? I rounded a corner and a field that butts up to the property had a gobbler in it and I heard one gobble not far from this area at around 9am. But I did not hear any gobble at day break. So again you would just come back on another day? I have cameras and have turkeys on camera in the fall but they seem to be quiet on the roost in Spring. Thanks for the response.

[GobbleNut]

My first question to you would be to ask if you are out listening for gobbling at, or before, first light in the morning?  From what I have seen, it is not uncommon for newer turkey hunters to think that being in the turkey woods at sunrise is good enough.  Not so. Most gobbling on the roost occurs well before sunrise and often, gobblers will become quiet once they get on the ground...which, quite often, is well before the sun comes up.  Summary: you may be getting out there too late.

Secondly, if you are getting out well before sunrise and not hearing gobbling, I would suspect that the turkeys in your area are not roosting on your property at all, but are roosting somewhere else and moving onto your property later in the day (assuming you are seeing them, or verifiable sign of them, once in a while during the day).

Having stated the above, I would not totally discount the possibility that there are gobblers on your property and they just don't gobble on the roost.  However, from my experience hunting a lot of different places over the years, I think it is pretty rare for adult male turkeys not to gobble at all on the roost at some point during the breeding season...which generally encompasses at least a portion of the hunting season.

Bottom line for me based on the information you have provided is that I would speculate that one or both of the points mentioned in the first two paragraphs above are the reasons for your dilemma. May not be, but if I was a betting man I would guess one or both apply. 

 

[eggshell]

Ditto to what Gobblenut said. Also, the best time to take inventory of your spring birds is right after the winter flocks break up. THat is when birds are most vocal and the flock pecking order is being established. I would leave the turkey call home, you are not gaining anything calling to birds before season. If you want to get gobbles then use a locator call. Look for sign and go from there. If there's sign there's turkeys. I have found high levels of gobbling is more related to competition between gobblers than courting hens. If there's nit a lot of competition a gobbler may only gobble a few times at dawn or through the day and once his hens are gathered he goes silent. That's why many time a parcel of land will not have any gobbling all season then all of a sudden towards the end of season you hear gobbling. They have lost their hens and are then trying to find a girlfriend. Also gobblers will move then.

[shane071489]

My first question to you would be to ask if you are out listening for gobbling at, or before, first light in the morning?  From what I have seen, it is not uncommon for newer turkey hunters to think that being in the turkey woods at sunrise is good enough.  Not so. Most gobbling on the roost occurs well before sunrise and often, gobblers will become quiet once they get on the ground...which, quite often, is well before the sun comes up.  Summary: you may be getting out there too late.

Secondly, if you are getting out well before sunrise and not hearing gobbling, I would suspect that the turkeys in your area are not roosting on your property at all, but are roosting somewhere else and moving onto your property later in the day (assuming you are seeing them, or verifiable sign of them, once in a while during the day).

Having stated the above, I would not totally discount the possibility that there are gobblers on your property and they just don't gobble on the roost.  However, from my experience hunting a lot of different places over the years, I think it is pretty rare for adult male turkeys not to gobble at all on the roost at some point during the breeding season...which generally encompasses at least a portion of the hunting season.

Bottom line for me based on the information you have provided is that I would speculate that one or both of the points mentioned in the first two paragraphs above are the reasons for your dilemma. May not be, but if I was a betting man I would guess one or both apply. 

 

Thank you for this response, I am trying to remember but I believe I get there app. 40-50 minutes before timed sunrise so app. 10-20 minutes before day break. How long do you typically get there before day break to listen? This is very likely I am not there early enough. This could definitely be an issue. This is my second year turkey hunting, called in 3 birds last year including one by myself and was able to shoot. Most of these birds were later app. 10 am.

Being on a neighboring property to roost was not a thought I was having since I saw them on our property before. Any tips for hunting birds that come to a property later? Call from the edge of the property if I hear them to try and lure on our property?

This is also great that not gobbling on the roost is a rarity.

I believed most turkeys flew down at daybreak or after, but you are saying they are on the ground before daybreak a lot of times? This is good to know as well, any examples on how early you have heard them fly down? Just to get an understanding of early. Thanks for your reply.

[shane071489]

Ditto to what Gobblenut said. Also, the best time to take inventory of your spring birds is right after the winter flocks break up. THat is when birds are most vocal and the flock pecking order is being established. I would leave the turkey call home, you are not gaining anything calling to birds before season. If you want to get gobbles then use a locator call. Look for sign and go from there. If there's sign there's turkeys. I have found high levels of gobbling is more related to competition between gobblers than courting hens. If there's nit a lot of competition a gobbler may only gobble a few times at dawn or through the day and once his hens are gathered he goes silent. That's why many time a parcel of land will not have any gobbling all season then all of a sudden towards the end of season you hear gobbling. They have lost their hens and are then trying to find a girlfriend. Also gobblers will move then.

Thank you for the response. That is my goal this year since I plan to be more prepared of going out in March and listen to all the places I have access to hunt and see if I can hear anything? When you go and listen are you just sitting at property edge like where the road stops or do you walk into the property pretty far. Ideally the middle I would be able to hear more but dont want to spook them walking to the center of the property.

[eggshell]

I stay out of my property as much as possible. If I am going to walk  the interior I wait until mid day to look for sign.

[silvestris]

If no sign, you go someplace else.  If there is credible sign, you come back tomorrow.

So you will just keep coming back until you hear a gobbler on the roost? I rounded a corner and a field that butts up to the property had a gobbler in it and I heard one gobble not far from this area at around 9am. But I did not hear any gobble at day break. So again you would just come back on another day? I have cameras and have turkeys on camera in the fall but they seem to be quiet on the roost in Spring. Thanks for the response.

If I found what I was seeking, I would spend time there.  I have killed several that never made a sound.  Only turkeys make turkey sign (especially turkey tracks.  If there is sign without sound, I would call softly and infrequently.

[GobbleNut]

I believe I get there app. 40-50 minutes before timed sunrise so app. 10-20 minutes before day break. How long do you typically get there before day break to listen? This is very likely I am not there early enough. This could definitely be an issue. This is my second year turkey hunting, called in 3 birds last year including one by myself and was able to shoot. Most of these birds were later app. 10 am.

Being on a neighboring property to roost was not a thought I was having since I saw them on our property before. Any tips for hunting birds that come to a property later? Call from the edge of the property if I hear them to try and lure on our property?

This is also great that not gobbling on the roost is a rarity.

I believed most turkeys flew down at daybreak or after, but you are saying they are on the ground before daybreak a lot of times? This is good to know as well, any examples on how early you have heard them fly down? Just to get an understanding of early. Thanks for your reply.

Sounds like you are getting out plenty early to hear gobblers on the roost if they are there and gobbling any. Depending on the circumstances, being there 45 minutes to an hour before sunrise should be good. So my next thought would be that the turkeys you are hunting are roosting elsewhere, especially since you indicate you have killed gobblers there several hours after sunrise but not earlier. 

Also, if you have walked the perimeter of your property listening for gobbling well before sunrise and have not heard distant gobbling on adjacent properties, that is a bit surprising to me.  Perhaps your thought that the birds in your area just don't gobble on the roost is true. Again, in my experience, if there are adult male turkeys roosting in the area, I would expect to hear at least an occasional roost gobble.

Regarding when turkeys fly down in the morning, under normal circumstances and weather conditions I generally expect them to fly down roughly a half hour before sunrise, although I have seen them fly down both much earlier and much later than that.

And finally, the fact that you have been successful as a new turkey hunter tells me that you are already doing a lot of things right...   

[eggshell]

I am wondering if you are hunting easterns or another sub-species. It's not unusual for the easterns I hunt to not be very vocal. as an example, in early spring I saw and heard birds behind my house, but there was a lot of hens. When season came I rarely heard them gobble, but come late season after the hens left them they opened up and gobbled a lot.

[shane071489]

Sounds like you are getting out plenty early to hear gobblers on the roost if they are there and gobbling any. Depending on the circumstances, being there 45 minutes to an hour before sunrise should be good. So my next thought would be that the turkeys you are hunting are roosting elsewhere, especially since you indicate you have killed gobblers there several hours after sunrise but not earlier. 

Also, if you have walked the perimeter of your property listening for gobbling well before sunrise and have not heard distant gobbling on adjacent properties, that is a bit surprising to me.  Perhaps your thought that the birds in your area just don't gobble on the roost is true. Again, in my experience, if there are adult male turkeys roosting in the area, I would expect to hear at least an occasional roost gobble.

Regarding when turkeys fly down in the morning, under normal circumstances and weather conditions I generally expect them to fly down roughly a half hour before sunrise, although I have seen them fly down both much earlier and much later than that.

And finally, the fact that you have been successful as a new turkey hunter tells me that you are already doing a lot of things right... 
[/quote]

This property I have not killed late gobblers but have ran into them in the field next to it when walking the road. I have not walked the perimeter listening, I usually sit at the gate the edge of property or try to walk near the center of the property to listen. I will consider walking farther back this year to where I heard a late gobble last year. Doing the things right is probably more luck than skill, I play hard to get. If they gobble back to me, I respond once and put my call down and wait.
When I mentioned walking the perimeter what I mean is I wait until 30-60 minutes after sunrise and if I heard no turkey gobble to go to I will walk the roads and call on occasion trying to get a gobbler to respond, what I consider as running and gunning. This is how I have had success on the late birds but has not seen successful in the mornings.

Also, would you suggest trying to roost a bird. If no gobble in the afternoon, likely roosting somewhere else? We have some coyotes so I figured that may spook the birds some. Thanks again for your response, you are definitely helping me.

[GobbleNut]

I am wondering if you are hunting easterns or another sub-species. It's not unusual for the easterns I hunt to not be very vocal. as an example, in early spring I saw and heard birds behind my house, but there was a lot of hens. When season came I rarely heard them gobble, but come late season after the hens left them they opened up and gobbled a lot.

Eggshell brings up a couple of important points in this discussion. The different subspecies have varying willingness to gobble on the roost...or at all. Both Easterns and Osceolas are notorious for being stingy with their gobbling, although there are exceptions. On the other hand, Rios, Merriams, and Goulds are generally much more willing to gobble which makes them much easier to locate...which, in turn, generally makes them much easier to pattern and kill...although there are exceptions to that statement, as well.

The point eggshell made about gobbler densities in an area being a factor in how much they gobble is also right on target. In an area with good numbers of gobblers, you are likely to hear much more gobbling (and for obvious reasons) than areas with just a few. A single gobbler in an area may remain silent because he hears no competing gobbling going on around him or in the distance...which, in your case, Shane, may be the situation you are in if you are convinced there are silent gobblers roosting on your property.

On the other hand, multiple gobblers in an area may well result in one vocal bird causing the others to join in. I would bet most of us have sat in a silent woods early in the morning wondering if there are any gobblers around. Then, one starts up and suddenly the woods will start lighting up with gobbling coming from multiple directions. (unfortunately, doesn't sound like this is happening where you are at, Shane     ) 

 

[shane071489]

If no sign, you go someplace else.  If there is credible sign, you come back tomorrow.

So you will just keep coming back until you hear a gobbler on the roost? I rounded a corner and a field that butts up to the property had a gobbler in it and I heard one gobble not far from this area at around 9am. But I did not hear any gobble at day break. So again you would just come back on another day? I have cameras and have turkeys on camera in the fall but they seem to be quiet on the roost in Spring. Thanks for the response.

If I found what I was seeking, I would spend time there.  I have killed several that never made a sound.  Only turkeys make turkey sign (especially turkey tracks.  If there is sign without sound, I would call softly and infrequently.

Thank you. It is hard to look for them on this property as most ground is hard packed, so I am looking in wet spots for tracks. We will attempt to plow in March and should see more.

[shane071489]

I am wondering if you are hunting easterns or another sub-species. It's not unusual for the easterns I hunt to not be very vocal. as an example, in early spring I saw and heard birds behind my house, but there was a lot of hens. When season came I rarely heard them gobble, but come late season after the hens left them they opened up and gobbled a lot.

Yes, I should of included this, Eastern. South Carolina. Did they still gobble on the roost for you? I slacked off hunting near the end. I killed one bird off of a family property and chose to not hunt it anymore after this was taken. So I was trying another property.