Gobblers coming in from behind

[strum]

 Guys Ive been turkey hunting for quiet a few years now and have killed my share but im always amazed at how many times I have been busted or blew a hunt because of sneaky ole gobbler coming in behind me.
I had one do it to me last year. I had been working him for about 30 mins and he was slowly coming my way.
I was on a ridge in and he was down below coming toward me. when I knew it was time to shut up i did and his last gobble was guessing  70 yards off to my right. This was one of those" im headed your way get ready" gobbles. anyway im waiting and waiting and waiting thinking hes sure to pop in sight any min and all of the sudden I  hear from behind me  wigs flapping .
He had came in from behind and snuck up on me. ten yards or closer and busted me . I wasnt moving (i thought)
This is not the first time I ve had gobblers come in from behind so Im thinking about trying to call behind me this year.
I mean always call away from the gobble instead of right at him . My logic is if they try to sneak up to what they think is behind me im really facing them.  any thoughts on this?

[guesswho]

I've been turkey hunting a long time.  That used to happen quite a bit.  Now it seems I'm able to figure out his likely approach by looking at the area more times than not.   Maybe a better way of putting it is I seem to be better at choosing set-ups that persuades him to approach where I think he will.   Lot of things can be a factor, blow downs, thickets, rises etc.    Very seldom do I have one walk from where's he's gobbling in a straight line right to me.   

[dirt road ninja]

A lot of the time I think it's not the bird you are/were working but a sneaker coming in quiet. It happens to me enough to make me believe it's not the active bird circling, but a random sub looking to scam on a hen.

[bbcoach]

In my experience, if you get a non gobbling bird come in behind you, the only thing that you have to your advantage is keeping all movement to a minimum (comfort helps here) and use your ears for spitting, drumming, wings dragging the ground or a bird walking in the leaves.  If I have a gobbling bird coming in from behind, I will reposition so I am facing the gobbling bird.  Don't get me wrong, it doesn't always work but your odds go way up if you can reposition without getting busted. 

[Happy]

Have only had that happen once and it was last year. It was a second bird that had come in behind me. His gobble was close but I thought I had time to spin around and get positioned on him. I was wrong. Other than that I have had them circle wide but in most cases not wide enough. As Ronnie mentioned the more room you give them to eyeball the area the "hen" is supposed to be the more likely they are to hang up on you. Course that can go the other way where they are in your lap before you know it. Rule of thumb is I like my left knee pointed in the anticipated direction of the birds aproach. It is easier for a right handed shooter to swing further left than right so I cheat a bit to the right to compensate for that. In a perfect world I don't see the bird until he is in range. Be it a roll in the hill, blowdown, whatever. I want to be able to kill him pretty quickly after I verify it is for sure a gobbler and one I want to take.

[Number17]

This is not the first time I ve had gobblers come in from behind so Im thinking about trying to call behind me this year.
I mean always call away from the gobble instead of right at him . My logic is if they try to sneak up to what they think is behind me im really facing them.  any thoughts on this?

Turkeys have no idea what way you are facing, so I don't think that part of the logic is very sound.
Turkeys don't circle for the same reason predators and deer circle.
As others have mentioned, it's most likely the way they are using the terrain, or it could be a satellite bird coming in silently.

Muffled calling will do the same thing as turning your head and calling behind you. They will both make it sound like your location is getting farther away, as if the hen is leaving, and this could make the bird move on in.

[LaLongbeard]

Tom Kelly calls them "walk on gobblers" different birds  comming in from an unexpected direction. Happens a lot without most knowing what happened ...but I'll take them when offered.

[MK M GOBL]

Lots of different scenarios for this, are you hunting timber or a field and of course then are you looking at obstructions to your set. I/we have killed "2 birds" in same situation, a bird that came in silent from another direction and a 2nd bird still coming...
Many times the subs will not announce their position (gobbling) with a dominant bird approaching, and then sometimes it's just a turkey doing what turkeys do.

MK M GOBL

[Marc]

I have had birds come in behind me or "from the wrong direction" plenty of times... 

Two seasons ago, I had two different birds coming up a steep draw, and somehow both birds ended up above me...  Both birds had gone silent for some time...  Both birds were coming at me directly and at a reasonable pace for some time...  I still remain fairly certain that these birds were the ones coming in, but cannot figure out how they crossed that draw and got in behind me??? 

When I set up on a bird, I turn a bit so that my right side is facing (what I think is) the least likely avenue of approach.  The best way I have come up with to anticipate the direction the bird will approach, is to very carefully assess the situation, and use logic to determine the most likely avenue of approach, and then face 180 degrees from that direction....

[gotcha]

I compare a drumming bird behind you to cleavage,you know you shouldn't look,you still do and always get caught.

[tha bugman]

I compare a drumming bird behind you to cleavage,you know you shouldn't look,you still do and always get caught.

You don't stare at the sun...you glance and look away!

[LaLongbeard]

Unless you can see the gobblers approach,which never happens were I hunt, there's really no way to know for sure if the gobbler that shows up is the one you started working. A lot of times an older dominant gobbler may answer but will not go to a hen and a subordinate 2 year old sneaks in quietly.

[GobbleNut]

I compare a drumming bird behind you to cleavage,you know you shouldn't look,you still do and always get caught.

  Now that's just plain funny,...and the perfect analogy!

Seriously, the answer to the problem of backside gobblers is rear view mirrors.  Now that I have given away the secret (I'm surprised "The Who" didn't mention it), I'm sure they will be on the market soon.  Be ready to get yours.  They will just squeeze into that backpack with the pop-up blind, the gobbler lounger, and seventy-two decoys most hunters seem to be carrying around now.   

[dublelung]

A lot of the time I think it's not the bird you are/were working but a sneaker coming in quiet. It happens to me enough to make me believe it's not the active bird circling, but a random sub looking to scam on a hen.

I agree with you on the subordinate sneaking in for the steal.
I have had a few I was working come in, circle, and approach from behind but I've started to reposition as the bird starts flanking instead of being caught staring down the barrel and the gobbler ending up 180. It still happens though, that's just how they operate.

[strum]

 Thanks guys yall gave me some good insight . I have done about everything you guys advised.  To follow up with another story . One year I had a gobbler come in from behind loud and proud and I didnt move. Finally I took a peak just in time to see his head disappear as he dropped off the ridge. The next season I learned form this and sitting in the same spot he gobbled on the roost behind me . I immediately re set up facing him. He did not survive. I guess its just the way it is hunting. You do your best to set up based on the information and experience you have of an area and then they change.  This is why I enjoy it so much . Some times I get lucky but most of the time they come out on top.