burning out a spot

[bassman95]

Hey all,
I've hunted hard for a gobbler since the season started March 15 and still haven't tagged one. Ive been mostly focusing on a small piece of private land as I've observed plenty of turkeys and tracks there. It's around 100 acres.  I have walked around and called a fair bit, usually ever 15 minutes or so. I call for about 15 seconds each time. Is there any chance that I've burned out the spot with turkeys hearing my calling frequently and possibly seeing me? If so, I plan on exploring other land.

[Plush]

From your explanation...patience and more preparation for the morning hunt would do you well. You are also probably calling too much. How much are you moving around and how often? 100 acres isn't that big. You should be able to set up on them in the morning, I would think. Unless they simply don't talk.

[bassman95]

Ive only heard them talking once, last Saturday. They were gobbling their heads off at what almost sounded like another hunter calling, using the same 4 note yelp each time. It literally sounded just like my little push/pull call. Ive been setting up where a bunch of trails/dirt roads converge that connect woods with several fields before sun up and sitting till 8 or 9 and placing a strutter and hen decoy. So far, I've managed to call in a hen a few days ago but nothing this morning. Im not sure if I should start moving and calling to them.
Thus far I've never had one gobble back at my calling in this place and I'm pretty confident that Im calling correctly

[g8rvet]

I hunt a couple of small properties like this and have learned the hard way that run and gun is not effective.  I think your plan of calling and sitting at first light is the most effective, but stretch it out.  Especially if one answers you from the roost.  Let him work his way back around to the "hen" he heard in the morning.  It may take a while.  get a gobbler lounger and sit him out.  Call very sparingly.  Answer a hen if you hear one, you can't beat a live caller in front of you. And be prepared for him to come in without gobbling or making a sound. 

it is boring and I often get tired of it and hunt large public tracts so I can put some miles on my boots and get some interactions with birds.  But it is also effective.  Also, visit later in the morning sometimes. Afternoon even if you can hunt then.  Try to roost one so you know where he will be the next  morning. 

[spaightlabs]

I hunt a little 80 on the river.  We really only hunt about 30 acres of it, down on the bottom.  There are plenty of times we hear birds in the AM while scouting and then they show up on trail cams at 11...call a little and then shut up and sit still.  for a few hours...

[bassman95]

should most of my calling be of short duration, say less than 15 seconds and should I try different calls out every time I call?

[g8rvet]

It depends.   Vary the cadence and the calls.  I usually cut and purr a little.  After a while I may yelp.  Couple years back I heard a hen get fired up behind me on another property, so I started cutting back to her and got her all fired up.  Not 2 minutes later a gobbler breaks out on the field I am on.  He took a truck ride.  If it is windy or rainy, I may just call a little louder.  Switch from slate to mouth call. Sometimes both, but not often.  Be consistently inconsistent.  Nothing sounds worse than sitting making the same yelp sequence every 10 minutes like you are Big Ben.  Switch it up, have some fun. 

[3bailey3]

on a small piece of land stay in the same spot, yelp three times and don't call again, wait 30 minutes then yelp three times again, old school!

[silvestris]

Turkeys will give you all the room you demand.  The goal should be to gain information without letting the turkeys know of your existence.

[Marc]

My favorite way to hunt is run & gun...  But I will agree with others, that with 80 acres, this is not a good strategy.

It is all too likely that you will bump birds without knowing it.  If you are walking around calling, it is very likely that you have called birds in that have seen you and run off.

I would find a comfortable area to set up, that you can stretch out and be well-hidden, cause in my experience, killing birds on small property is all about sitting comfortably for longer periods.

Often, I will hit these properties later in the morning, and try to call in that lonely tom after the hens have left him for the nest....

[GobbleNut]

There is no question that you can "burn out" an area,...especially a very small parcel like that.  Aggressively hunting any area over and over again can condition turkeys to avoid your calling and even leave the area entirely.  In all honesty, it sounds like you need to be looking for more places to hunt. 

I would be researching all public-land opportunities in the region, as well as start contacting local landowners to find other private parcels to hunt.

I have a personal philosophy about spring gobbler hunting.  That is, I would rather drive eight hours to find a place that will allow me to hunt gobblers the way I want to than to sit eight hours on a poor piece of property where I am relegated to hoping a gobbler wanders by.

[MK M GOBL]

Are you mixing up your calls i.e. Pot calls, box calls, mouth calls or trumpets and such? and your presentation?


MK M GOBL

[bassman95]

yea, ill do a few calls on the pot, box and mouth. How long does each call last for you? Do you sit and call for like a minute, 30 secs, 15secs? and how many times would you say you call each hour?

[g8rvet]

More like 15 seconds or actually less.  I think all here are talking about a cutt sequence, maybe with a yelp.  Maybe some purring, but not at the same time. Like 5 seconds.  Sometimes I may do a little longer sequence.

[LaLongbeard]

This is getting a little ridiculous. Instead of worrying about timing of calls find another place to hunt a few days a week and give the turkeys in the private land a break