Why are the gobblers flocking?

[Plush]

It is mid-May in Wisconsin and there is a group of gobblers, why would they be on top of each other at this point? Are they just roosting by each other and then breaking up when they fly down? There is at least 5 of them in close proximity and when flying down it sounds like they find each other. I first heard them in the area 2 weeks ago and they are still together. I don't think they are jakes...they don't sound like it and the tracks point to sizable birds. I haven't seen them at this point so to be fair it could be jakes...but it sure doesn't seem like it.

Is it worth it to hunt them grouped up like that or should I just chase more secluded birds?

[Paulmyr]

Definitely. Depending on where you hunt in wisc. They maybe keying on the only hens around. With 5 of them chances are decent you can pull one away from the group.

[Plush]

Definitely. Depending on where you hunt in wisc. They maybe keying on the only hens around. With 5 of them chances are decent you can pull one away from the group.

Thanks. This group tends to be my fallback option if I don't have a better plan in the morning as they never fail to gobble like nut cases in the same general area. The other day one was separated a touch and he responded on the limb, but opted to go the other direction where the rest of the group was once he flew down.

[Sasha and Abby]

I called 7 longbeards together, in the last couple of days of the season here...  never seen that many together except during the opening week or two.

[EZ]

Try scattering them off the roost if possible and use gobbler yelps and even gobbles (if you dare). Bet you kill one.

[BigSlam51]

I killed one in Ohio on Saturday. He was with two other gobblers and they were locked up with 4 hens. They stayed in the field all day long, took me almost 6 hours to kill him.

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[Plush]

Try scattering them off the roost if possible and use gobbler yelps and even gobbles (if you dare). Bet you kill one.

Thanks, I have thought about scattering them off the roost the night before or even really early in the morning to see what would be the downfall of that. I was really really tempted to go back to them and use a gobble call after experiencing the one going to the rest of the gobbling group instead of me...however it is public land and fairly close to the road where I do see other folks occasionally. If it was farther in where I know people don't go I'd probably have done it. Though I guess what is adding a gobbler call to the mix when you are close to a gobbling turkey? Not sure you really are adding an risk of running into another hunter...alas I do not want to test that theory.

[GobbleNut]

Around here that situation would be a group of subordinate, two- and three-year-olds that are bonded together.  If they have been hunted much, they have probably learned to avoid turkey calling.  If they have not, they should be a piece of cake to call in. 

Those groups, in relatively lightly hunted areas, are usually the easiest birds to call-in just about anywhere.  Often they will race each other to the call.  On the other hand, if they avoid your (hen) calling, it can get tricky.  A realistic gobble imitation might do it.  If not, and they are roosting in the same place each night, you might have to resort to roost sitting to bag one of them.

[Plush]

Around here that situation would be a group of subordinate, two- and three-year-olds that are bonded together.  If they have been hunted much, they have probably learned to avoid turkey calling.  If they have not, they should be a piece of cake to call in.

Yah, I could definitely see this being the case. There was a morning they were sounding off and I watched two hunters go across a clear cut to chase after a lone gobbler instead of this group. After failing at getting that gobbler (or passing up on him) they got in their truck and left with the group still going off. So they must have assumed or knew something about that group being comprised of less than stellar birds.

When I tried one morning and didn't get any interest I was kind of turned off by them and chased after turkeys deeper in the woods where I knew other hunters weren't pressuring them. Though to be fair I didn't get super close to them so distance could have been an issue just as much as them not interested in calling.

[zelmo1]

There are still a couple groups of gobblers here in NH and Maine, we are behind here. If you are persistent, you can pull one away from the group when the hens wander off. Probably not the boss, but a shooter. More competition equals better chances for the patient hunter.