Reasons?

[flintlock]

Another Hen
Terrain or obstruction
Predator

[redarrow]

I think it is because he doesn't see that hen he hears.  I think there are very few situations in the wild where he doesn't see that hen because she is moving around all the time, not just sitting and calling.

Thats my thought.

[Old Gobbler]

Either they are too scared to come in , not turned on enough to bother , or have a love interest already -


I feel the first reason is a variable {scared gobbler}that some hunters have more control over than the the last two, most of the time - but fail to realize it - Years of observing hunters habits while they are entering the area of a gobbler{dark or light}  has left me with the impression that some guys make too much noise and movement while approaching a gobbler or have not concealed their location well enough - be sneaky.

The second reason{turned on} is where your calling and hunting ability play a strong hand and if a hunter is experienced enough they can overcome this obstacle ,sometimes... 

The third reason { love interest already} is what sticks most hunters , we all know gobblers like hens and when they have them it seems like anything else doesn't matter

[Hognutz]

I believe that there are a few reasons for a gobbler to hang up.

1) I believe that they see or hear something that is not normal.

2) The terrain

3) Hens

4) The gobbler is used to displaying and having the hens come to him.

These are not in any kind of order. Just my humble opinion..Mike

[HARDCORE]

Most birds will respond to the call, some more than others. Some come running, others take their time getting to you, and there are the ones that may gobble their heads off but never seem to take the first step in your direction.

A lot of good common reasons/mistakes have been mentioned but I feel that one of the most common mistakes made by the hunter is sitting down/setting up too far away from the gobbler.

Terrain has been mentioned and I agree, down falls, ditches, fences, etc, etc can create a problem. Competition with the ladies is always a problem as well.

The closer you get to the gobbler before sitting down on him will always lesson the chances of hang ups be it something he wont cross or go around or that hen that picks the tom up before he gets to the hunter.

HC

[mikejd]

In real life thats how it goes. The hen goes to him, so really he is not hanging up he is just waiting. how often do you see a hen standing in one spot yelping, rarely, she is always on the move heading towards the male. so in reality he is just going about the way he knows.

[GobbleNut]

Good topic, Ronnie,...and lot's of good points made.  The fact is, there are lots of reasons why a gobbler might not come to turkey calling he hears.  The primary reason might be that, in the natural order of the turkey world, he expects hens to come to him, rather than the other way around.

There are certainly factors that will influence his willingness to alter that natural way of business and travel towards the hen he hears.  Having hens in his presence already is one of them.  His level of excitement is probably another.  A third is the natural-ness of the way the hen is calling to him.  And a fourth is likely where the calling is coming from.

From my experience, perhaps the most important factor is how many negative encounters a gobbler has had with turkey-call-wielding humans.  The more such encounters a gobbler has, the less likely he is to approach turkey calling,...of any sort, except for under the most ideal of conditions.

[Struttinhusker]

I've always thought the older boss gobblers expect the hens to come to them.  I've had some hang up and gobble only to see all that gobbling attract a hen or two. Once they see the hen they are willing to move to follow her anywhere, usually away from my calling.

[BOFF]

It's getting closer to turkey season and my mind is starting to come out of hibernation.  

I hear every year about gobblers that hang up.  In your opinion what are some of the reasons they hang up?  What would you think the number one reason is?  No right or wrong answers just opinions.  Plus I want to see if anyone is on the same train as me.

Ronnie,

I don't believe they hang up at all.

In my opinion, take it for what it is worth, as I'm not a professional turkey killer, we expect the turkey to come in too quickley.

I honestly feel, if a turkey answers me, he will eventually come find me, IF, I can stay in one spot long enough and be still.

I don't always want to play his game, so I become too impatient, or move and he sees me and I miss seeing him.

I'd love to know how many gobblers have seen me, but I never saw them.

Just my thoughts, and a different approach.


God Bless,
David B.

[CASH]

These are all great points. After thinking about it more, I feel that they're just being turkeys. Period.

We can somewhat pattern a turkey, but only to an extent. He may respond nonstop to your calling one minute and decide he doesn't like it the next. He may have hens and stay put, or he might be intrigued by the one playing hard to get. He may not cross a creek or fence for days on end, then decide he will.

There's no rhyme or reason to what turkeys do, they just do.

[guesswho]

I agree that all these are good points and they do come into play a lot.  I've seen them fly rivers and creeks, jump over a log, fly a fence or step through a fence ect. ect. if given enough time.

I'm good at convivncing myself of certain things, sometimes even if it doesn't make sense.  I spend a lot of time in the spring in the woods and usually pay pretty close attention to whats going on around me.   I have visually seen gobblers hang up for no apparent reason in the same spot or close to the same spot a couple days in a row and rufuse to take another step even with no visual obstacle in front of them and with live hens in sight, then all of a sudden they will just walk off.   Day three I move to the other side and the bird comes in on a string without hesitation. 

I have seen birds hang up for an hour gobbling, strutting and drumming, then all of a sudden they break and come on in but their demeanor has changed, no gobbling, strutting or anything and they have this oh crap approach like their scarred to death. 

I have convinced myself that the pecking order can be a big obstacle.  I think in some cases MacDaddy has drawn a line in the sand or in this case the turkey woods and certain birds are afraid to cross it.   How far fetched does this seem to some of you?   Be honest, if you think its a load of crap say so. 

I'm trying to convince myself it couldn't possibly be my calling.       

[anthonyjhallen]

 The primary reason might be that, in the natural order of the turkey world, he expects hens to come to him, rather than the other way around.

Bingo   

[GobbleNut]

I agree that all these are good points and they do come into play a lot.  I've seen them fly rivers and creeks, jump over a log, fly a fence or step through a fence ect. ect. if given enough time.

I'm good at convivncing myself of certain things, sometimes even if it doesn't make sense.  I spend a lot of time in the spring in the woods and usually pay pretty close attention to whats going on around me.   I have visually seen gobblers hang up for no apparent reason in the same spot or close to the same spot a couple days in a row and rufuse to take another step even with no visual obstacle in front of them and with live hens in sight, then all of a sudden they will just walk off.   Day three I move to the other side and the bird comes in on a string without hesitation. 

I have seen birds hang up for an hour gobbling, strutting and drumming, then all of a sudden they break and come on in but their demeanor has changed, no gobbling, strutting or anything and they have this oh crap approach like their scarred to death. 

I have convinced myself that the pecking order can be a big obstacle.  I think in some cases MacDaddy has drawn a line in the sand or in this case the turkey woods and certain birds are afraid to cross it.   How far fetched does this seem to some of you?   Be honest, if you think its a load of crap say so. 

I'm trying to convince myself it couldn't possibly be my calling.       

Sounds perfectly plausible to me.  Of course, if you agree that it is possible for that to be the reason, then one must, by inference, agree that turkeys do indeed have some sort of reasoning ability going on in their pea-brains.  I happen to believe that is the case, but have seen that theory psshawed by others on numerous occasions around here.

[Struttinhusker]

I agree that all these are good points and they do come into play a lot.  I've seen them fly rivers and creeks, jump over a log, fly a fence or step through a fence ect. ect. if given enough time.

I'm good at convivncing myself of certain things, sometimes even if it doesn't make sense.  I spend a lot of time in the spring in the woods and usually pay pretty close attention to whats going on around me.   I have visually seen gobblers hang up for no apparent reason in the same spot or close to the same spot a couple days in a row and rufuse to take another step even with no visual obstacle in front of them and with live hens in sight, then all of a sudden they will just walk off.   Day three I move to the other side and the bird comes in on a string without hesitation. 

I have seen birds hang up for an hour gobbling, strutting and drumming, then all of a sudden they break and come on in but their demeanor has changed, no gobbling, strutting or anything and they have this oh crap approach like their scarred to death. 

I have convinced myself that the pecking order can be a big obstacle.  I think in some cases MacDaddy has drawn a line in the sand or in this case the turkey woods and certain birds are afraid to cross it.   How far fetched does this seem to some of you?   Be honest, if you think its a load of crap say so. 

I'm trying to convince myself it couldn't possibly be my calling.       

Sounds perfectly plausible to me.  Of course, if you agree that it is possible for that to be the reason, then one must, by inference, agree that turkeys do indeed have some sort of reasoning ability going on in their pea-brains.  I happen to believe that is the case, but have seen that theory psshawed by others on numerous occasions around here.

All the reasons given so far sound logical to me, and I'm not sure how much reasoning ability they have.  I'm just glad enough of them are randy enough to throw caution to the wind or just plain stupid enough to get within range of my gun.

[timbrhuntr]

Good post and lots of good points.

I don't believe the dominance line in the sand is a reason for them to hang up. There is only one time I can say I ever saw a tom hang up because of dominance and I'm not sure it is really hanging up. A group of turkeys with 3 big toms, several probably 15 hens and a group of 3-5 jakes entered a field I was set up on. While I watched a single tom came into the field from the opposite side and approached. The jakes immediately ran accross the field and chased him around then out of the field. This happened 2 more times. I had a hen and tom decoy out and when eventually the flock left the field the tom returned again. He ran accross the field to the decoys and began to strutt. I shot him as he was about to jump the tom decoy. I guess he was hung up by dominance because when the flock left he came right in. But he sure wasn't afraid of the single tom decoy. Also eveytime I have seen toms they are in a group of 2 or 3 and all come in. When they are single the don't seem to hesitate to come. However they do seem to hang up for lots of other reasons. It would take me forever to type them all out here and I have only been hunting turkeys for about 10 years I'm sure you guys that hunt them for longer would have many more.

I do agree that calling and closeness of set up play a big part. As my calling gets better I get more birds to respond and as I lost my fear to move closer and began to figure out when to move I seem to get better results when I get in their lap.