Gobbling trend over the years

[Cottonmouth]

At a place I hunt in the Midwest, 20 yrs ago birds would gobble all night long. Also they would fly down in the dark. So dark they would hit the ground and strut and you couldn't see the bead on your gun. Same way with fly up. They waited until dark to even think about going up. In that same time, the predator population (coyotes) exploded. Now they act like birds from Ms.   

[deerhunt1988]

 

I'm going to get on the Density train....but also the pressure game....

And
Shot four birds off the roost last year; 1 Florida, 1 Oregon, and 2 in Washington. All four were piping off before I could see my hands.

Guess you didnt reg the Florida regs. Roost shooting is illegal there.

[GobbleNut]

I'm going to get on the Density train....but also the pressure game....

And
Shot four birds off the roost last year; 1 Florida, 1 Oregon, and 2 in Washington. All four were piping off before I could see my hands.

Guess you didnt reg the Florida regs. Roost shooting is illegal there.

I'm certain he meant that he set up on early morning roosted birds and shot them after they came out of the tree....not in the tree!....

[GobbleNut]

I think barometric pressure plays a part too, just my opinion

I don't know if its barometric pressure or what, but there are certainly one or more factors that I have not been able to identify that affect gobbling from one day to the next.  On numerous occasions I have hunted two consecutive days under what appeared to be identical conditions.  One day, there is gobbling from everywhere,...and the next, hardly any. 

A couple of years ago I hunted one morning in a spot where there were a dozen (or more) gobblers scattered along a canyon whoopin' it up at first light in the morning.  Never disturbed most of those birds (except one!) and nobody else was hunting in there.

Took a buddy back in there the next morning and it was like a funeral.  Finally had one gobbler sound off two times.  It was one of those "you should have been here yesterday" moments, for sure.  To me, the conditions were exactly the same as the day before,...but to those turkeys, there was something that shut them down.  ...Beats the heck out of me!

[JoeA]

Pressured birds get smart, whether it's 'totes or hunters. Hunters educate the hens by calling to the toms while they're still roosted. Coyotes make 'em wait on the sunrise for better light.

[LaLongbeard]

. Hunters educate the hens by calling to the toms while they're still roosted.

I think you made a good point. We always talk about Gobbler education, or how multiple bad experiences will cause such and such behavior. What about the hens that die of natural causes(in most places)? How  many shot Gobblers, or hen calls that turn out to be a person, or the sound of vehicles ending with a flock member shot etc. does the average hen experience in a lifetime. I think the hens being suspicious of a situation and leading the Gobbler away happens more than we know. Like the old doe that has been around long enough to look into trees for hunters and are sometimes more wary than an old buck. I have myself watched hens turn and lead a Gobbler away from my calling. Was she trying to keep the Gobbler to herself, or was she avoiding a situation she was familiar with?