Hard for me to understand

[Farmboy27]

The other distinct thing about a particular bird is his presence and how it suppresses gobbling. 

When the king speaks, his subjects typically stop talking. 

This is a phenomenon that I've never seen (or heard) happen. I've heard other hunters say that, but never witnessed it. My bird 2 years ago had 1 5/8" spurs and an 11 3/4" beard and the morning I killed him there was 3 other birds(2 were jakes I'm sure) gobbling within 100 yards. The other birds gobbled every time he did on the limb and most of the time on the ground. Not arguing with you, just saying I've never seen it.

[davisd9]

The bird I killed this year would walk in a field with another tom and the other tom would leave. At roost a bird would start gobbling then you would hear him gobble from his point on the field and other birds would quiet down. They have a pecking order and sometimes there is one bad enough to run the whole place. My father in law has stated he has seen more Toms popping up since I killed the bird. Maybe they were there before but they sure were not just out in the open when King was around.


Sent from the Strut Zone

[Marc]

it makes a better story, so I say it is the same bird, but I really do not know for sure.

And there it is right there...

A huge part of being a good turkey hunter is telling a good story (in my case yarn) about the birds we harvest...  Half the fun is telling the story...

[BBD]

What amazes me more is how I can listen and pattern a gobbling turkey in a certain area before season and then usually kill him come season....the next spring guess what...another one is in the same area doing the same exact thing.  This has happened countless times in on part of my lease.  If I can hear one gobble there for my son in the morning my confidence will soar 

[870FaceLift]

I have only been able to detect one bird year over year.  I finally killed him in a thunderstorm so violent that I should've stayed home.  The ONLY reason that I killed him is because I called his hen in.  Anyhow, his beard and spurs were longer than any other bird I had ever seen on the farm, and I got many looks at him through binos.  He roosted in the same area both seasons and when he was gobbling - and I'm not kidding - you would not hear other gobbles.  Funny thing is I thought I was crazy for thinking that I was chasing the same bird year over year.  I finally caught up with the neighbor and he swears he knew exactly what turkey it was.

[2eagles]

it makes a better story, so I say it is the same bird, but I really do not know for sure.

And there it is right there...

A huge part of being a good turkey hunter is telling a good story (in my case yarn) about the birds we harvest...  Half the fun is telling the story...

Maybe the best turkey hunter line of all time!!   

[Gooserbat]

Turkeys seem to frequent the same places and I believe boss birds do the same.  Now sometimes I'm sure that certain individuals do keep the same patterns year to year.

[augasman]

Killed 1 a couple years ago with a broken foot. Not only could I tell it was him by his limp, but I could also tell by the track he left.

[ilbucksndux]

I ask this same question the other day.......its kinda like when Henry Fonda finally caught Walter ! I have got to know a bird and huted him for a whole season. Roost in the same spots, do relatively the same thing ,I could even tell his gobble,but I dont know about hunting one for several years and being able to tell thats "him".