Need Help!

[turkeyhunter4life]

I have been hunting several mature gobblers for over a week now with no luck.  I have gone out and tried to roost them to help better my odds.  The nights that I have roosted birds they seem to go the opposite way that I am expecting.  I set up far enough away and in the dark to help eliminate the chances of bumping them off the roost. But when they fly down off the roost they are not coming into the field like they have for years.  Days that I have had them responding to calls they hang up several hundred yards away.  I have used hen decoys a few times hoping that it would help, but it didn't.  Also to throw out there, they are not roosting in the normal area that they usually do.  I have gone out mornings and they have flown down from different wood lots seems like every day.

The area that I am hunting is the same one that I have hunted all my life with great success.  This year it seems like no matter how hard I try to be setup in the right spot it never works.  It is getting frustrating because the birds are doing really odd things this year.  Working second shift makes it hard to roost birds every night this is the only reason I don't all the time.

Just wondering if anyone had recommendations on what I could do to help harvest one of the mature gobblers.  There have been at least two birds that stay together and strut the entire morning.  There have been times where there has been three strutting together.  Yesterday morning I had the three chase off another mature bird that was coming into me.  So I thought about trying a strutting decoy.  I recently bought the Flextone Thunder Chicken 1/4 Strut Jake to hopefully help.  Has anyone tried it or know someone that has?

Any help is greatly appreciated and thank you ahead of time for reading and offering your suggestions!

[Uncle Tom]

Turkeyhunter4life, go down a couple of posts to 'help with tough field birds' and read my reply...let me know what happens. Would leave the decoys in the truck first thing. Hope you get him.

[turkeyhunter4life]

 Uncle Tom, thanks for your input.  Everything that you said in the other post makes perfect sense.  But to be honest I am scared to try to set up close because I feel as though they are roosting too close to the hedgerow.  I feel like that if I bump the birds it may ruin what I have done so far.  Every day I keep getting closer.  Just went out tonight to try to roost the birds, but no luck.  We just had a good day of steady rain here in PA.  The rain tapered off early this evening.  I was hoping to get the birds to respond to make sure that they were in the same area.  I have been using a blind in the field and trying to pull the birds to me.  It has always worked in the past.  This year the birds seem to be a lot smarter.  I am guessing that I have mature birds.  Not two year olds that usually come right in.  Just wondering if you had any input on how my blind setup can be improved.  I set up around two hundred yards off the woods so the blind is not a shock to the birds when they come to the field.  Then work the birds to me.  Not this year though...  They hang up well out of range. Or even sometimes work away from me.  This is why I wanted to try the decoy idea.  Thanks again for your input.  Hopefully the end result will come soon.  Getting frustrated!!!!

[beardwacker]

Hope this helps.  I hunted a buddies place years ago and the turkeys was acting very similar.  He would roost them, and then they would fly down and not respond to calling or hang up.  We decided to stop roosting the turkeys for few days.  We did a shock call and working into him and stayed little further out, about 150 yards.  AS the sun broke, we tree yelped softly and took my hat and imitated flydown.  We sat and seen 3 fly down into the field.  Now we don't use blinds more run and gun.  After they hit the field we soft yelped and clucked, they gobbled and strutted.  They came toward the tree line about 50 yards and hung up.  Now we also had just enough thicket between the turkeys and me he was off to the right and could see them well.  After the thicket it opened up, but was well with in range.  I started raking leaves with my hand, like a hen eating and scratching, they gobbled and I stopped.  I did it again and all three started coming in.  I stopped and they stopped and looked around.  I took a stick and hit the leaves like a turkey walking away.  the next thing I knew, heard a Boom and a tom was down.  buddy said as I started to "walk away", they came running in and gave him a shot.  Afterward, I surmised that by roosting the turkey's they was also feeling a predator pressure and reacting to us.  Once we did this they seem not to associate with the normal behavior that they was educated too.  worked.

[Uncle Tom]

Beardwacker, that is exactly the way you have to think...be a turkey, think what made him act the way he did yesterday, tomorrow make adjustments, do something like scratching in leaves, noises like running or walking away...anything to make him make a move toward your setup. You have got to get a "feel for it" and with experience and enough boot miles it will come. Once you get pass these 2 yr. olds and begin dealing with the mature, boss of the woods birds, you will have to put your thinking cap on and then you will begin to realize that it is not luck that helped me harvest this beautiful creature but was the result of outsmarting the boss of the woods today an,, d luck had very little to do with it. You create your own luck and be prepared when that moment comes...that means everything you do concerning the successful taking of this bird. The setup, moving at right time as he walks behind that tree, knowing your gun and how it patterns, where to hold on him, what call to make and when and how loud and when to shut up...could just go on and on. You get my point. Am not trying to sound like I know it all when it comes to outsmarting this old bird, but if you kill many of the "kings" you will not be lucky...they are just that smart and that is what's keeps us coming back for more year after year. If it was easy we would soon be moving on to something else to challenge us. But if you run into one that is constantly outsmarting you, morning after morning, you will realize that you are up against the most majestic thing God has put on this planet for us to hunt and be thankful you have another day to match wits with him. If you lose today, maby tomorrow will be my day. Hope this helps and get out there and get him...time running out every day and when you have tagged out this year and have your biggest bird to date..oh how proud you will be and can't wait till next year.

[gobblinfever]

i know you dont want to bump them but an older gobbler most of the time will NOT fly down until he sees some hens...if you know where he is roosting get in there a little before daylight and get as close as possible...i have got within 15 or 20 yards of a roosted gobbler and he not see me...they cannot see very well until its good and daylight...i know this from experience. so dont be afraid to get under his bed.... get there before daylight as quietly as possibel and if you have to stick you a hen decoy up, do so. as long as u are really close to him you have a good chance of getting him (really close).

[turkeyhunter4life]

Thanks for the help guys! I am trying my best to harvest these smart gobblers.

[turkeyhunter4life]

Thank you to all that has put in your input on helping me harvest my mature longbeard.  I got him yesterday morning at 6:30.  I did what you guys suggetsed... I set up close to the roost and waited silently for him to come to the field. It was a nasty morning in PA.  Heavy fog with wind and a slight drizzle.  He gobbled only once, and that was on the edge of the hedgerow just minutes before he appeared in my bushnell trophy red dot on my t/c encore 12 ga.  37 yard shot and the hevishot #7 did the job.  STONE DEAD!!!

Thanks for the help again!  Oh wanted to mention his specs: 24 lbs, 9 1/2" beard, 1 1/8 & 1 3/16 spurs.