Question for the Run & Gun guys

[eggshell]

An old man told me that if a bird honors your call with a gobble , at some point during that day he will show up. I have sat tight and took a nap only to be waken up by a gobbler gobbling , drumming or crunching leaves coming in.

I think this true, but I do not have the patience to wait him out. I also think for this to work that you need to be silent and lay off the calls, another thing I find hard to do.

[Spitten and drummen]

An old man told me that if a bird honors your call with a gobble , at some point during that day he will show up. I have sat tight and took a nap only to be waken up by a gobbler gobbling , drumming or crunching leaves coming in.

I think this true, but I do not have the patience to wait him out. I also think for this to work that you need to be silent and lay off the calls, another thing I find hard to do.

I agree. Patience is not my strong suit.

[Screaming6x6]

I go find another and will come back and check on him later in the day when possible.

[Happy hooker]

How much land do you have to hunt??? If your on private land you own or somebody s land ultimately you run into fences or boundary s,,the average guy can walk 3 miles an hour.
Unless your a land baron or on public land with no competition your only going to run and gun so long.
If I get a bird to answer that's my shot for the next three hours.

[Turkeytider]

I can sit still in one place for a LONG time in the woods. It's paid off for me. I can be happy watching song birds or rodents or most anything. It's amazing how much life there is around you if you're able to be still and just look around. My ability to do that just amazes my hunting buddy!

[Uncle Tom]

If I hear one gobble on the roost at first light, I hit him with maby couple clucks, right at the end of his gobble...try to cut him off. If he comes right back, that a good thing. If he does not, wait till he gobbles again and cut him off with that cluck. That all I will do when working him...he heard that cluck you can be sure of that. Now, when he hits the ground and gobbles I will again cut him off with that cluck, and a sweet burr at the end. Then I shut up....wait and see what happens. Many times he will start getting closer...game on. Shut up...let him keep coming and be sure to get gun up in his direction. If times goes by, scratch in leaves lightly....no calling. Just hold tight see if he still coming...he knows about where you are at but not exactly....remember you cut him off at the end of that gobble....he heard it while he was gobbling but not to the point exactly where...but he coming to find you. You in the drivers seat at this time. Only cluck one time or purr one time...best to have a mouth call at this time so no movement at all. Many times I have had them show up 20-30 yds out all of a sudden looking where you are at....he knows you are in the area but you have not tipped your hand at exactly where...understand? Killed many birds using this tactic and will also work late in the morning when hens have left them to go to nests....they all alone and here that cluck.purr and come looking....seldom use any other call except the cluck and purr and scratching in leaves...deadly tactic.

[Mossberg90MN]

If I hear one gobble on the roost at first light, I hit him with maby couple clucks, right at the end of his gobble...try to cut him off. If he comes right back, that a good thing. If he does not, wait till he gobbles again and cut him off with that cluck. That all I will do when working him...he heard that cluck you can be sure of that. Now, when he hits the ground and gobbles I will again cut him off with that cluck, and a sweet burr at the end. Then I shut up....wait and see what happens. Many times he will start getting closer...game on. Shut up...let him keep coming and be sure to get gun up in his direction. If times goes by, scratch in leaves lightly....no calling. Just hold tight see if he still coming...he knows about where you are at but not exactly....remember you cut him off at the end of that gobble....he heard it while he was gobbling but not to the point exactly where...but he coming to find you. You in the drivers seat at this time. Only cluck one time or purr one time...best to have a mouth call at this time so no movement at all. Many times I have had them show up 20-30 yds out all of a sudden looking where you are at....he knows you are in the area but you have not tipped your hand at exactly where...understand? Killed many birds using this tactic and will also work late in the morning when hens have left them to go to nests....they all alone and here that cluck.purr and come looking....seldom use any other call except the cluck and purr and scratching in leaves...deadly tactic.

Very good advice... I can absolutely see how this will work and I plan on using it this season. That's an issue I've always had calling to them... I know those suckers can absolutely pin point exactly where that sound came from.

[jims]

It helps knowing the everyday cycle of the turkeys in the particular area you are hunting.  Can you pattern them? 

Merriams can be in one canyon one day and a mile or 2 away the next.  They may roost in a group of trees once and not return for a week...or even the remainder of the season if pressured.  In this case they may be nearly impossible to pattern.  Sitting in one spot in areas where turkey density is super low and they are mobile can be very frustrating!

On lightly hunted private land in Nebraska the same turkeys may roost in the same exact trees, move to strutting grounds during the day, and return to the same trees or tree each night to roost.  It's obviously pretty easy to figure out how to pattern birds in the 2nd scenario.  It may be to your advantage to intercept them after they fly down...especially if you know the route they often take to their strutting and feeding grounds.  I've found that they can be somewhat spooky when returning to their roosting trees...and sometimes decoys set up near their trees may not work....or they may work one day and not the next.

The best advice I can give is to be observant of turkey behavior.  If something doesn't work be willing to change things up.  This often means thinking outside the box.

[Paulmyr]

I been hunting public land since the late 1980's. I find most of my birds roosted near private land except on huge tracts of national and state forest.You'll find as the season progresses most of the birds will start to move to private after fly down. The ones that don't usually go silent.

I've read on this forum that turkeys don't know boundaries but in this situation I beg to differ. Most will plant themselves in this private land and not come back to public til roost time. They may answer your calls but I feel that is an attempt to draw the unseen hen out. Sitting tight on these birds and trying to wait for them to come in is futile as I have tried on numerous occasions. Early in the season you may be able to do it but not after the 1st week or so.

If I am unsuccessful at flydown and don't have anything going 1st 2 hours I'm on the move. Either to a new area or over to the next ridge line or valley trying to strike up a Tom as I move slowly and quietly along.

[eggshell]

Paulmyr --ringneck Pheasants learn to do the same thing, these birds have some serious survival skills

[Paulmyr]

Paulmyr --ringneck Pheasants learn to do the same thing, these birds have some serious survival skills

Yup. Been there done that too.

[g8rvet]

I agree on the private/public. We hunted a place where we always setup between the roost and private land.  It ended badly for a few birds.

[Mossberg90MN]

I been hunting public land since the late 1980's. I find most of my birds roosted near private land except on huge tracts of national and state forest.You'll find as the season progresses most of the birds will start to move to private after fly down. The ones that don't usually go silent.

I've read on this forum that turkeys don't know boundaries but in this situation I beg to differ. Most will plant themselves in this private land and not come back to public til roost time. They may answer your calls but I feel that is an attempt to draw the unseen hen out. Sitting tight on these birds and trying to wait for them to come in is futile as I have tried on numerous occasions. Early in the season you may be able to do it but not after the 1st week or so.


If I am unsuccessful at flydown and don't have anything going 1st 2 hours I'm on the move. Either to a new area or over to the next ridge line or valley trying to strike up a Tom as I move slowly and quietly along.

Definitely see that... obviously they're gonna go where there's less pressure.

I spent a whole week before just trying to pull a turkey off of private onto public. Your right... it went nowhere... which is why I made a rule that I'm gonna do everything I can to not hunt a turkey on the border of private. If that's the case.

[GobbleNut]

I been hunting public land since the late 1980's. I find most of my birds roosted near private land except on huge tracts of national and state forest.You'll find as the season progresses most of the birds will start to move to private after fly down. The ones that don't usually go silent.

I've read on this forum that turkeys don't know boundaries but in this situation I beg to differ. Most will plant themselves in this private land and not come back to public til roost time. They may answer your calls but I feel that is an attempt to draw the unseen hen out. Sitting tight on these birds and trying to wait for them to come in is futile as I have tried on numerous occasions. Early in the season you may be able to do it but not after the 1st week or so.

Totally agree.  Often, trying to call birds off of a property you can't hunt onto the one you can is a frustrating experience.  Every so often, however, I have had gobblers come from as far away as I could hear them off of adjacent properties.  This is especially true with adjacent properties that are not being hunted for whatever reason.  Un-hunted turkeys tend to be pretty easy to call, even from long distances, if you let them know you are there. (and there is nothing more rewarding that calling a gobbler off of a property that is owned by folks that don't allow hunting and don't like hunters    )

I have also had instances where firing up a distant gobbler like that made one start responding nearby that had been silent and apparently uninterested until the competition spoke up.

Bottom line is that when you are trying to find a responsive gobbler and he is not on the property you are hunting as far as you can tell, do not discount attempting to lure one off of other areas within earshot.  Every once in a while they might surprise you and decide to come take a look.

[Uncle Tom]

Ben Rodgers Lee coined the phrase "If I could, would breath life back into him, and hunt him again tomorrow."