When to pour the coals to them?

[wisconsinteacher]

I know a lot of guys say you must take the birds temp and all that but my question is, when do you pour the coals to a gobbler?  This weekend, I got a gobble from loud yelps and cuts.  When I toned it down on the slate, he would not reply so I poured it to him because I knew there were at least 2 toms and maybe a hen with them.  My goal was to get in a fight with the hen.  In the end, I had 2 jakes skirt by at 60 yards, a jake that dad missed at 40 and the 2 toms with a hen about 60-75 yards away.  I am just wondering, if I would have toned it down, would the flock stayed together and came in or would they have just stayed there?   So the question is, when do you hammer on them? 

To me I was doing the right thing because they were gobbling and coming closer and in the end, we should have had a bird but we now have fire starter. 

[alclark2]

I'd say tone it down as the birds get closer.


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[darn2ten]

More times than not, aggressive louder calling will hang a bird up. I like to hear them gobble as much as anybody, but over years I've learned that softer more subtle calling usually works much better. I have seen the occasional gobbler that loved the hard aggressive stuff and would charge in like a kamikaze with a death wish, but all in all the softer yelps with a few clucks you serve you better.

[DirtNap647]

usually if hes that fired up he will be on your lap quick if hes just out there gobbling hung up then go soft maybe even sneak away calling soft

[GobbleNut]

Let's face it, none of us know how any one gobbler will react in any given situation.  Over the years, I have seen many situations where a gobbler would stand out there out of range and not come to soft calling, but when I got frustrated and just started giving them everything in the book, they would break and come on in. 

I have also seen just as many instances where a gobbler in the same situation would turn and high-tail it as soon as I got the least bit aggressive with my calling.  You just never know.

Some also tell you to just shut up and not call if you have a bird hung up and he will eventually come.  Sure, that happens sometimes,...but they will often just lose interest and move off entirely when you stop calling to them.

Really, the only thing you can do as a hunter is to try to feel each bird out as to what they want,...and hope for the best.  There are no cure-alls in turkey hunting.

[TauntoHawk]

I try not to "pour" it on a gobbler, if I can get a hen mad and answer me I will pour it on her and see what she pulls in with her.

[Gooserbat]

Let's face it, none of us know how any one gobbler will react in any given situation.  Over the years, I have seen many situations where a gobbler would stand out there out of range and not come to soft calling, but when I got frustrated and just started giving them everything in the book, they would break and come on in. 

I have also seen just as many instances where a gobbler in the same situation would turn and high-tail it as soon as I got the least bit aggressive with my calling.  You just never know.

Some also tell you to just shut up and not call if you have a bird hung up and he will eventually come.  Sure, that happens sometimes,...but they will often just lose interest and move off entirely when you stop calling to them.

Really, the only thing you can do as a hunter is to try to feel each bird out as to what they want,...and hope for the best.  There are no cure-alls in turkey hunting.

Good advice and I will add that usually less is more in turkey calling.

[stinkpickle]

Let's face it, none of us know how any one gobbler will react in any given situation.  Over the years, I have seen many situations where a gobbler would stand out there out of range and not come to soft calling, but when I got frustrated and just started giving them everything in the book, they would break and come on in. 

I have also seen just as many instances where a gobbler in the same situation would turn and high-tail it as soon as I got the least bit aggressive with my calling.  You just never know.

Some also tell you to just shut up and not call if you have a bird hung up and he will eventually come.  Sure, that happens sometimes,...but they will often just lose interest and move off entirely when you stop calling to them.

Really, the only thing you can do as a hunter is to try to feel each bird out as to what they want,...and hope for the best.  There are no cure-alls in turkey hunting.

Pretty much this.  ^^^

[ilbucksndux]

Im not as experienced as some here but I have learned there is not an always or never when it comes to turkeys.I for one like to take their temp. so to speak,but when on public land like them to gobble enough to keep a mark on them but not enough that other hunters come looking for him. I like to start out soft and slow and crank it up if needs be.

This past Friday I was calling for a friend and we had got side tracked by a mushroom patch and got our priorities messed up and were surprised by a VERY close gobble. We both hid and I made him gobble again. but the next time he cut me off he was 50 yards farther than he was at first and ended up running away from us gobbling. There was a hen on the other side of the field that may have contributed however I think my loud calling sent him running.

[ilbucksndux]

But a complete 180 from that 3 days before I had a hot gobbler on the top of a ridge and he had some hens with him and he wanted loud and hard calling and he came right down the ridge and I lost him in some thick brush.Even then once he was on his way I backed way off on the call and was scratching leaves more than anything.