Come almost in and leave...

[Marc]

Been hunting a pair of birds in a steep canyon...  It is a long walk down (almost 2 miles), and the one time I walked in for the early morning, it sounds like they were roosted some distance off the property...

Around 10 am or so, they are generally in the same area, and they have gobbled for me every time (although I only heard one of them today).

Every time I have hunted them, they come to me, hang up, and do not finish, and then wander off (still gobbling).  If I cut the distance on them, they will repeat the same process.  (Actually the first time I ran across them, they came within about 15 yards on the other side of a hedge row).

When it is time to go, I try to lead them off with me, and they will generally follow, but will not close the distance.  I have tried calling and then going quiet for some time (at which point they generally wander off).  Tried gobbling at them (which makes them gobble but does not improve my situation)

I will say, as they get closer, I usually quiet down...  Today, I stayed on the call cutting and purring, and he got close and then shut up...  I kept calling for a few minutes, then shut up.  When I called again, he had wandered off.

Outside of a good varmint rifle, I am at a loss as to what to do differently with these birds.  Even the rifle would not help, cause due to the terrain, if I can see them, I could probably shoot them (steep and thick cover).

[Happy]

Sound like a tough one. Have fought birds like that and sometimes I would win and sometimes I would loose. All I can say is stay after them. Eventually you will pick the right day/combination and take one home. Those are frustrating birds there.

[wvmntnhick]

Tag team effort on those birds. One guy calls and walks away. Sets up behind the shooter some distance. Shooter waits until the birds come into range and whacks one. Problem solved. As said above though, eventually, one of them will make a mistake.

[Dr Juice]

Tag team effort on those birds. One guy calls and walks away. Sets up behind the shooter some distance. Shooter waits until the birds come into range and whacks one. Problem solved. As said above though, eventually, one of them will make a mistake.

One of my favorite tactics for sure. If there are three of us, the caller will be in the middle behind the two shooters creating a V formation. This is a thunder chicken scoring tactic and it is safe.

[Marc]

No hunting partner here...

I must be doing something wrong, cause hunting a completely different area, I had the same thing happen this morning.  Closer, closer, then gone.  Two different birds.  No way they are seeing me.

Of course, I see a bird on the way home (on property I do not have access to), and stop on the side of the road, give a couple calls, and the bird crosses a fence and a creek, and a road, to get to me...  Never gobbled though.  That there is some temptation.

This turkey hunting thing is a lot more difficult than it sounds sometimes.

[Longshanks]

There is so much pressure on our turkeys in MS that turkeys come in slow and leave quickly. Turkeys are being hunted non-stop due to the increase in turkey hunters. I have had two in gun range this year with no shot before they got out of there. Decoy or not doesn't seem to matter. 42 years of turkey hunting and the last couple of years have been the toughest. Our season is a month and half or so long plus the youth season and the turkeys get called to almost daily. Not sure if there is a solution for the single hunter in the woods. Tag team works form time to time. NWTF has done a great job flooding the woods with turkey hunters. Headed to the Midwest.

[Tomcat655]

Set the ambush ... Call to them and when the gobble and answer go to them and if they are hot .. Be quiet and walk away yourself in a known bend in the road or hard corner field and then wait and call again ... And when I say walk off .. Walk at least 100 yards away. And wait about an hour tops .. It will work. They can't stand it

[renegade19]

I've had luck with birds like that by repositioning after they wonder off to a distance I'm sure I won't spoke them (locator calls help).  After they move, I move, usually laterally to them.  It never works as good when I move away.  Real hens move constantly and I think this helps add realism to your calling.  Close the distance, but move to the side if the terrain allows.  Good luck!

[Dr Juice]

Have you thought about using a decoy? Perhaps when they see the hen decoy, one may sprint in to meet his demise. Good luck.

[Marc]

Have you thought about using a decoy? Perhaps when they see the hen decoy, one may sprint in to meet his demise. Good luck.

I actually used a pair of decoys today (different bird, different property)...  I could tell the bird was just the other side of a bush, but never saw him and I suspect he never saw me or my decoys...  Funny, there was a pair of honkers I could see, and I could see them getting riled up and hissing at the turkey...  They started honking like crazy as he walked past, and he started gobbling at them...  I had no idea how close he was till this interaction occurred.

The birds in question as to the original post are in a steep canyon with thick cover...  Seeing me is not the issue, but hearing me is...  I actually was able to reposition to him, almost within range.  I could see the top of his fan just over a knoll and thought he was coming, only to have him stroll off.

These are all old birds...  I suspect very poor hatches the last couple years, and seeing birds pre-season, there are not only fewer birds, but the birds still around are older (I am sure there are some around, but I have not seen a jake in the last two years)...  Next year will probably be tough to kill a mature bird, but I suspect there will be some jakes around.

[HFultzjr]

I have had a similar problem with gobblers.
I used to play it soft and seductive, until last year.
On the bird I killed, I called like all heck, up until they saw my decoys.
I mean it was the most aggressive and unrealistic calling I've ever done.
Must of sounded like 2 girls yelling and fighting in a bar.
Went on for about 10 minutes straight, saw the gobbler, stopped calling, shot bird.
I don't know, but it worked for me and I plan on trying it again, if I'm working one that won't finish coming in.
I always thought soft and seductive, but now I know at times they want mean and sassy.

[GobbleNut]

Marc, I have seen and been in your exact situation many times over the years.  The fact is that the more turkeys experience phantom calling from unseen hens, the more they get suspicious and learn to avoid approaching that calling too closely.  Sure, they will act interested, but once they get to a certain point, they want that hen they hear to come to them.

Are there ways to coax those birds on in?  Perhaps,...and some of those ways have been mentioned already.  Sometimes they will work,...but often they will not.

There is an entire spectrum of things a guy can do to get a bird to commit, ranging from the ultra-conservative approach to the ultra-aggressive approach.  The problem with all of them is that it is the turkey that determines which of them will work,...not us hunters,...and although there might be an "on" switch that will make them come, there also seem to be a number of "off" switches that a hunter can hit that surround that on button.  If you hit one of those before you hit the on switch, you are toast. 

There is no magic call, tactic, or solution to your problem.  In your case, having just a couple of birds to hunt, all you can do is to keep trying "stuff", and hope that on one occasion, you hit the "on" button before you hit one of the many "off" buttons. 

[g8rvet]

Like your response Gobblenut.  Makes me feel better.  Worked one in a burn this year (about 6 days after they burned it).  Moving was not an option - to cleared out. So I just sat and listened to him gobble his head off at 100 yards. He would move off and gobble and then come back.  I started out the first hour very quiet and as I realized he was not coming, I got a little more aggressive.

Frustrating Marc.  My bunch has moved on from one that did very similar for 2 solid weeks.  Looking for more cooperative birds.  Work gets in the durn way!  So often we have hot info, but can't use it for a week and by then it is worthless.  Good luck.  Post up his pic when you get one of them.

[Marc]

Thank you for the replies...  Great response GobbleNut.

As close as I have had some of these birds this season, I KNOW there is one little thing I could have done different to get them to poke their head out...  Wish I knew what it was.

[GobbleNut]

Thank you for the replies...  Great response GobbleNut.

As close as I have had some of these birds this season, I KNOW there is one little thing I could have done different to get them to poke their head out...  Wish I knew what it was.

If you find out, please let me/us know...