Smart/ unpredictable public bird

[NFW]

Just seeing what other approaches I can do to try and kill this bird. I've got this bird down to an area he hasn't seemed to move out of it but I've been hunting him for almost 2 weeks and he hasn't roosted and done the same thing twice. First morning was my best had him gobbling at me but would never come out of some very thick swampy woods. Unfortunately 2 deer busted me and ran right at him and never heard another word, but did realize he was moving across to another open. (Bty this one area is roughly at least 1/2x 3/4 square mile and surround by thick swamp). Anyways next time I hunted went to the other side since I figured he was naturally working that way well we heard him again but was at least  700-800 yards inside the ridge but much further down. We ended up driving around and saw he walked right by where I usually set up. So next morning set up between where he roosted the day before and the first morning. Well low and behold now he was at the very end only gobbled maybe once or twice when he hit the ground and seemed like he got henned up, but regardless I slipped into where I thought I heard him that morning and softly called very sparingly and sat for roughly 2hr until 11am and never saw him or heard him again. I know these public bird are already call shy so it's rough to just run and gun. Also I really can't say where his strut zones are since he barely walks the road and all the woods are planted pine and thick palmettos. Each time I've set up I've tried to find a decently open area in there but still no luck. I tired to roost him one afternoon but he never gobbled on limb. And I hate to go all the way back in there when he may try and roost in the front and really mess him up. So any advice I would really appreciate. Also more than likely if it's not first thing in the morning he's gonna come in quite, and in my experience calling a lot doesn't work for these public birds.

I killed one opening weekend on public I yelped once and he happened to shock gobble a little while after that but just stayed to clucking and purring and sat there about hour and a half and eventually him and a bunch of hens worked my way. That's about the only way I've seen or killed them on public land here in North Florida.

[TauntoHawk]

wait for a wet morning, once he starts gobbling on the limb get as close as you dare just keep inching closer each gobble. if its thick but wet and quiet you should be able to get close. Hopefully once he flys down you are close enough to either hear or see him fly down and then just do soft calling. Sometimes you just need to be in their comfort zone.

[fallhnt]

Find another bird to hunt. Hunt in the afternoon. Use or don't use decoys. Roost him and set up tight the next a.m. Fire him up before flydown and gobble after he flys down. Good luck

[g8rvet]

Since you are in N FL, you are describing the exact problem I had with a bird on public and may even be describing the exact spot.  Is the area he roosts in totally littered with dead falls?  Made walking in too close a no go - not because of leaves, but because of branches and dead limbs everywhere.  Super thick. 

First of all, he ain't smart.  You are.  He is random.  He is also wary.  But he does want to breed a hen.  You can be sure of that.  I really don't think they are call shy - I think they just don't hear aggressive calling by the hens in their natural environment in some of these public places.  You just need to sound like what they hear - purrs, clucks, leaves scratching, etc.  I can count on one hand the number of long runs of yelps I have heard in those woods. 

So, in order to kill our bird, I did what you did and kept flipping from side to side. I was on the back side one morning and heard a boom on the side I had been hunting. Thought that was that, but he was gobbling the next day.  All this rain, and more coming may get him out of the swamp and up where he is killable.  It is still early and the hens will soon be headed off to nest. If he ever answers your call, at any point, stay put!  Until 1 pm.  And be ready for him to come in quiet looking for that hen he heard 2-4 hours ago.  I killed mine on the last day I could hunt - last Wednesday of the season. I packed a lunch and intended to hunt until 1, but killed one at about 10:30, but I doubt it was the same bird.  Close enough for me.   Stick with him. 

That is what I would try anyways.

[Marc]

First of all, he ain't smart.  You are.  He is random.  He is also wary.  But he does want to breed a hen.  You can be sure of that.  I really don't think they are call shy - I think they just don't hear aggressive calling by the hens in their natural environment in some of these public places. 

I agree.

Out of all the birds I hunt, I actually believe turkeys to be towards the bottom of the list as intelligence  Wish I could remember the name of the forum member who posted this but he stated "turkeys are not smart.  The have keen vision and hearing combined with having one foot on the panic button."  Keen senses, and every critter out there wants to eat them...  Their survival instinct is based on approaching cautiously and running at the first sign of danger.

I have heard that Rio's will always roost in the same tree, but have never seen it happen...  I have always felt that it is hen behavior that dictates the tom's behavior...

I also think our own interaction plays a large role...  We call at a bird on the roost, and a possessive hen goes in early and leads him away (thus changing the routine).  Sometimes calling at a hen will bring her in to fight, but it seems to me that a good percentage of the time they will try to take that tom and run.

If I know birds are in the area, and have a general idea of where they are roosting, I will try and wait for them to gobble on their own (especially right before or during the peak of breeding).  I am far more interested in hearing the hens that are making him gobble (I already know what a gobble sounds like).  All too often we get too distracted by the gobbling to pay attention to the hens that are making him gobble.

Even if you do not have success right off, maybe later in the morning, emulating those hens you heard in the morning might provide success.

[NFW]

There not so much dead falls and much as just a bunch of small brush and palmettos, now I tell I can slip, avid deer hunter and my favorite thing to do is slip in the woods, this past year got with 15 yd of 5 small bucks on a doe. But really what's the hardest part is more of just finding something somewhat open to set up in cause you set up in other stuff he could be 15 yards from ya and not know. I'm definitely gonna try and get in more early and set up close to him. And calling I have kinda like mixed feelings about it sometimes there pretty quite, but this past weekend called in 2 hens and they were both yapping up a storm sat in the decoys about 15 min. She started yelping and cutting first so I just played along with her and she Yelp or cut back at everything I did. I did notice though she would have broken yelps then maybe a full yelp and cuts in between, but that was the 1st time that's happened to me here on public land. But really regardless i don't every call like that. Usually slip in an area have one good loud Yelp and stay pretty quite, 45 minutes to an hour, might do it again might throw in a couple of cuts in to change it up. Cause I try not to just keep throwing the same sequences in.

Regardless i hunt till 1 every time unless I have to leave for class.

But maybe I'll try him in the morning if the rain holds off a little

[Strick9]

Best advise is to move to another bird and then come back to him. He has you by the head right now. Gotta flip the roles.

[NFW]

Well boys he's gobbling his head off at me this morning bad news he's on the other side of the swamp bottom as he was the first morning. And he just stopped gobbling reckon he's with the ends now.

[hobbes]

I hope you're packing him to the truck now, but if not....

He ver well may have quit gobbling when the hens showed up.......or on more than one occasion I've had them quit gobbling once they decide to commit and come in then gobble out of nowhere 40 yards away.   However, if that didnt happen, it sounds like he managed to roost away from his hens this morning so he gobbled up a storm until they arrived.

It sounds like you are concerned with calling too much.  Consider this (unless you've already killed him).....you've been clucking and purring at him for 2 weeks and haven't killed him.  Let that sink in.   I'd change something.  A little excited calling isn't going to push him into the next county.

[NFW]

ditnt get him, I turned it up a little and he preceded to gobble until 10:30 just walking back and forth of the other side of the bottom. When went to the other end I went and looked at the bottom to see how wet it was to see if I could cross it, unfortunately it looks like it was a little too wet for my boots, but best believe next time, I'm gonna wear my hip boots so I can cross it and get to him. Think that's the only way I'm gonna get him cause he's gonna a 50/50 chance if he comes on my side or not

[hobbes]

Good luck with him.  I've eat more than one tag being too stubborn to just find another tom to hunt.  On some occasions that isn't even an option. 

I would try to avoid attempting to call him across something that you know he won't cross.  If he starts out on the opposite side, ID try crossing before calling to him.

[GobbleNut]

From my experience, there is no right or wrong way (within reason) to hunt a bird like that.  By now, that bird knows that something is amiss in his world and he is probably paranoid about everything around him except visible, live turkeys that come to him when he gobbles. 

My approach with birds like that is to get in early,...before daylight, full darkness,...hope they give themselves away in the dark, or try to make them do that,...and then slip in as close to them on the roost as I can.  I wait for them to fly down and hope they are in range and, if not, give them some quick, soft talk and hope they have enough interest to come take a closer look, and if the conditions are right and they are within visual contact, I will use a "visual aid" to try to get their attention.  As a last resort, if they don't respond to the above, I will hit them with some aggressive yelping and cutting and hope for the best. 

If none of any of those tactics work, I will move onto finding another bird to hunt.  It usually doesn't take more than one or two drubbings by a gobbler to make me realize I am not up to the task and that if I keep hunting them, they are most likely going to make my life miserable until I come to my senses.

 

[Cutt]

I'm not familiar with that type of terrain and mix of water ways, so this suggestion might be out of the question? But as a last resort on stubborn birds I like to give them a little different calling sequence, terrain permitting. As in terrain that will let you move away from him while calling without a chance of him seeing you? It just gives them a different calling sequence of a excited hen walking away from him and leaving. By doing excited hen yelps like hens will do at times going to them, reverse it, walking away from him while calling 50 or 60 yards, then go completely silent and sneak back to where you started calling and remain quiet. You want to leave him with the impression the excited hen has left.

[NFW]

Well boys, today was one of the best days but still no bird. As I was honing in on that one bird, found 2 other pretty darn close. The first called in within 100yd gobbled hard at me so I hushed up, but he never came in I think due to how thick the brush was between me and him. As I noticed earlier another bird at least 600 yards away fired back at me, as I left the first bird not soon after the second bird made up about 400 yds and was super close (200,150 yd) unfortunately unfamiliar with the area didn't realize there was a super wet bottom between us. Where he ended up hanging up and eventually gobbled his way off. Today was definitely the closest I've gotten to kill a bird on this tract of public land, and is only going to drive me to go in the morning. If I've learned as of today I've got to hunt the terrain more than the bird. Of course if we haven't gotten so much rain here it would def help my situation.

[hobbes]

I was hoping to hear that you'd killed him.  Good luck tomorrow.