Advice Needed

[bdk13]

Hello everyone. Im new to the site. I hope everyones season is going well. Im needing some advice about a particular group of turkeys. I got 5 different birds working the property I hunt.there r 2 groups of 2 and one lone bird. 2 of the birds are Jakes and the other 3 are longbeards. I hunt the mountains of VA. My problem is these birds roost in different spots everyday. Its all within 1/4 mile however one day they will work the property from west to east after flydown and other days east to west. They are gobbling good on the roost some days and other days gobbling very little. Gobbling on the ground has been basically non existent every time I've been in there outside of a few courtesy gobbles from time to time. To say these birds are with hens is obvious. Question is how do I handle these birds? Ii got alot of land I can so I hunt these birds sparingly as to not educate them to much. Should I just give it time and wait for hens to start nesting or should I try and roost them the eve before. Thanks in advance for any and all advice

[1iagobblergetter]

If you can pattern them and be where they want to go that would help or try calling to the hens and they might drag the toms in.

[bdk13]

I honestly can't get a fix on them. Seems as though the times I've been in there they do something different every day. Last year the birds that were in there were with hens everytime I went in there, however they were using the property from west to east nearly everyday. They were traversing the terain using 2 diff logging roads so I eventually learned to get out in front of them and that is how 2 birds meet there demise.

[Cutt]

It's sounds like you are out there at first light when the birds come off the roost? Although if with hens, the question is? How long into the day are you hunting? If you are quiting early, try them between 10-2 o'clock later in the morning to early afternoon, where your chances of the hens leaving them are better, which in turn makes the birds more receptive to calling.

[bdk13]

I have to be at work by 8am in the morning so you are correct Im only getting to hunt them just in the early mornings. I have managed to kill 2 birds so far this season (other locations than this particular area I'm speaking of) and one of those birds had several hens with him but I was able to lure the hens to me and the longbeard was in tow. I enjoy turkey hunting and the spring very much. I will continue going every day that I can even if the birds will not cooperate. Something about a spring morning in the turkey woods.

[coyotetrpr]

I have been having really good luck this year with henned up gobblers. If you can get a strutting jake decoy out where the pair of gobblers can see it chances are that it will be a fairly quick hunt. I have not had much luck with the strutting jake if there is only 1 gobbler present. It seems they don't like to come in and fight unless they have backup. On the flip-side, as of today, every time I set it out and there are multiple gobblers hanging together they have always come in. This morning 2 gobblers left 5 hens to come whip big bob. P.S. they whipped him good knocking him off the stake and turning him face down in the grass, it was soooooooo cool.