We are a couple weeks into the season. How is everyone done so far? Opening day was good for me, I killed a good gobbler although he never gobbled one time.. As a matter of fact I didn't hear my first gobble until last Saturday, a week after season opened.. On a good note though, I have heard birds everyday since then except for last Tuesday or Wednesday whatever day it rained here in the Pan Handle..
From what I am experiencing and from the guys I talk to (I have only hunter Eglin AFB) the birds gobble once or twice on the roost, maybe a few more times on the ground and that is it.. No gobbles after say 0800 and I hunt most mornings up until around 1100 and 1300 on the weekends since ours closes at 1300..
Is everyone pretty much experiencing the same results? It seems they are henned up. This is my first year turkey hunting at Eglin and Florida as far as that goes. Is this the norm for around the Pan Handle? Will they get the hens bred and get fired up before season goes out?
I've been hitting it pretty hard at least every other day and am getting very close to birds each time out. have not had a day where I did not see a bird. unfortunately it's all hens and very few toms or
gobbles. had a field full of toms the day I got mine and saw a few more at long distance. calls and dekes don't seem to be doing much, cows are more interested in them than birds. I left the calls and dekes home this am and had 4 hens at 20'-80 yds around me from 7:30-10:30 and no toms at all. I agree all henned up. hopefully soon the hens will mostly all be bred and the toms will become more active. just gotta be out there a lot and hopefully be there when they get busy.
Peak of the breeding season now, they are difficult to work. The last weekend of the season is usually outstanding. Most of the hens are bred up and nesting heavily, and want little to do with the gobblers. The toms are still chubbed up and want action, and usually respond very well to calling in
I've had a lot of close encounters lately in taylor county. jefferson county wasn't that great last weekend but it's improving as my brother killed 1 this morning. It's been hit and miss with some birds gobbling good and some not. Lately the ones I've been after have gobbled better when they fly down. I normally don't waste much time with a bird that doesn't gobble very much though as there's a lot of gobblers out there to waste time with concentrating on an aggravating gobbler.
no luck so far, first weekend did not hear or see any. second weekend, heard quite a few gobblers, but they never showed themselves, went back to same spot this weekend, no gobbling, saw lotsa people tracks so i guess the pressure moved them away, sunday heard two, got close and they were across a creek, they flew down and never heard em again....bummer...but still having fun.
