Ok fellas this is my first year Turkey hunting and I missed a nice gobbler at 25 yds opening day, #6 regular bird shot= bad choice in ammo bird ran off. My son in-law called the bird in for me and it was awesome and needless to say I am now hooked.
I no where the birds are, I am seeing them on a nice clear cut 5-6 gobblers fly down at lest every other time I hunt a particluar area. I have stayed on this area but switched my location an either they are spotting me or my calling is that bad. By that I mean they usually go the other way but they generaly have hens with them. I am not quite sure, time is running out guys I need advice. I no where they are roosting and not sure if I should go pretty much under the trees they are roosting on or if they will hear me, how hard do turkeys sleep,lol.
It isn't just my calling my son in law can call like no tomorrow and he had the same problem with the exception of the one bird I missed.
When the toms fly down with hens...I assume they are strutting and breeding the hens.
Here is the question...
When they get done, where do the birds go? If you can answer that question, then you know where to be
Do they meander off in a certain direction from the clear cut later in the morning?
Find out where they are going and set up there, and wait them out. Patience
An older, wiser turkey hunter than me told me a quote once and it stuck with me...
"If you can't kill a gobbler where he is at, kill him where he is gonna be....."
good advice IL2H. if hens are having a hard time finding a tom so will you/me. what I'm seeing now is the toms are staying hidden gobbling very little and hens are seeking them out. for now it's a stalemate until most hens are bred and toms will be more aggressively looking for the few remaining un-bred hens
luv2hunt
Yes they are strutting there stuff and breading the hns
I have seen where they leave the clearcut and moved to that position the next morning, they either didn't like my calling and went the opposite direction when i did, maybe they seen me i got in some pretty thick cover though, I want give up on that. Should i hold off on the calling or maybe a lot less of it? I try and take my ace caller with me(son in law). I consider myself a decent hunter with a few nice buck and pigs etc. under my belt.
Nacho
do the hens only breed once? and I am seeing the same thing they are gobbling until they hit the ground and the hens move in and then all is quiet. I did get some gobbling back but when the hens got there they shut up.
It has rained a little today think that will make a difference in there actions?
Thanks for the input and I will keep you updated. Going in the morning.
I'm certainly no expert on turkey sex life, but would assume they breed until knocked up and sitting on a nest. I would recommend calling and moving around less. once they are on the ground and answer you, stop calling and expect they are coming in and they know where you are and often will sneak up on you from behind. imo it's good to have an extra set of eyes with you to be able to see 360 degrees without moving around. rain don't matter, indians used to make raincoats from turkey feathers. just don't play around when it comes to lightning. the gobbler lounger chair from cabelas has helped me sit longer without moving and in more comfort tremendously.
