creek obstruction

[turkeynewb]

How do we get a gobbler to cross?

[Spring_Woods]

Million dollar question!

I've had more success when I ask myself- "I'm not asking too much for him to come to me, am I"? At this point I try to remember and visualize the path he might take to get to me. Creeks, large logs, briar bushes etc are all bad in my mind. Try to be somewhere that is convenient for him!

[Gobble gobble boom]

Does he have hens with him?

[jakebird]

Fighting purrs, wingbeats and brush kickin. A few heartfelt prayers and the left hind foot of a rabbit wouldnt hurt, either. 

[Dan Mallia]

Fighting purrs, wingbeats and brush kickin. A few heartfelt prayers and the left hind foot of a rabbit wouldnt hurt, either. 

Ain't that the truth. 

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

A healthy dose of silence after an aggressive call sequence.

It all depends on how bad he wants to die after that.

You should never knowingly setup with a barrier between you and a gobbler unless property lines force you to do so.

[guesswho]

How do we get a gobbler to cross?

Get on his side.  I don't know how many times I've crossed only to find out he did the same.

[NYbassman]

How do we get a gobbler to cross?

Get on his side.  I don't know how many times I've crossed only to find out he did the same.

Haha, so true. The ultimate kick in the nads, when you spend 45 minutes walking waaaay around a swamp, only to hear him gobble on the side you just came from.

[Punisher]

LUCK!!

[Siwash]

What kind of a creek/barrier are we talking about? I hunt in a spot that has a tiny creek (like 2 to 4 inches max).. surely they wouldn't be deterred by that...

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

What kind of a creek/barrier are we talking about? I hunt in a spot that has a tiny creek (like 2 to 4 inches max).. surely they wouldn't be deterred by that...

That's a rookie comment right there...

[Siwash]

What kind of a creek/barrier are we talking about? I hunt in a spot that has a tiny creek (like 2 to 4 inches max).. surely they wouldn't be deterred by that...

That's a rookie comment right there...

Uh, yup...it's not a crime to ask questions here if you're trying to learn about the sport, is it?

only been hunting them for about a year.. so a 2 foot wide, 2 inch creek will stop a gobbler? I see them on both sides and I doubt they are "distinct"/separate populations

[Brent]

What kind of a creek/barrier are we talking about? I hunt in a spot that has a tiny creek (like 2 to 4 inches max).. surely they wouldn't be deterred by that...

That's a rookie comment right there...

Uh, yup...it's not a crime to ask questions here if you're trying to learn about the sport, is it?


It's different when you're trying to call them in though.  Don't ask me why they're just funny that way about alot of stuff.  It's kinda like they look for a little obstruction just so they can say "I'll come this far but not an inch more"   I can show you an old broke down fence that looks like it hasn't been servicable in fifty years that turkeys act like they can't cross to save their life if you're tying to work them........same with little creeks and ditches.  They just gotta draw the line somewhere.
You can use it to your advantage though, If you know where an obstacle like that is and there's a turkey on the other side of it just get back from it eighty yards or so and call to him then slip up to the obstacle and go silent on him.  Most times he will come to the edge of the obstacle and gobble and strut.

only been hunting them for about a year.. so a 2 foot wide, 2 inch creek will stop a gobbler? I see them on both sides and I doubt they are "distinct"/separate populations

[tomanyturkeycalls]

Last year I got a gobbler to cross the mackinaw river here in Illinois.. probably at least 60 feet wide... I killed that gobbler... but it was late season off the roost and he wasn't henned up... lots of factors play in to something like this but it can be done..  What kind of a question is a 2 to 4 in wide creek... come on... no factor what so ever there...This weekend we witnessed hens crossing a creek... they would go down one side of the creek bank then you would see them go up the other side .. not a very big creek about 6 feet wide..Watched 3 jakes cross a wider creek probably 20 feet wide... along with some hens and one gobbler   then they crossed back awhile later...Have had gobblers hang up on creeks, fencelines, thick briars ... like I said lots of factors play into it... you just got to try.. sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't

[NYbassman]

Bottom line, and I don't think anybody can argue this, is that you should never KNOWINGLY set up with an obstacle between you and the gobbler, unless you have absolutely no other choice. Why take the chance? Sure, he may cross it, but I try to stack the odds in my favor as much as possible, and putting anything between him and I is not doing that.

A couple weeks ago I called a horny gobbler across 200 YARDS of a swamp full of buckbrush with no dry ground at all. He jumped up and flew from the other shore all the way across before landing 15 yards from me. Just as often though, I have had a bird hang up on an unseen stream that was 3 feet wide and a couple inches deep, or hang up on the other side of a thicket, or blowdown, etc. Put yourself on his side of the obstacle, and that is one less thing you have to worry about.