why??

mauser06 · 05-16-2005, 08:40 PM

i have a question.....im completely stumped......and ready to throw in the flag for the year......some mornings they will go bonkers off the roost.....hit the ground and never gobble......some mornings im lucky to hear a gobble.....even though im earshot of MANY MANY birds......but it seems no matter what they dont say much of anything once they hit the ground.....friday morning was the only half decint turkey hunt i had....bonkers on the roost and for MAYBE an hour (probably half hour) after they hit the ground....then my boss tom shut them all up and beat up some jakes....but stayed just out of range......now i cant find him........these birds arent pressured by anyone but me....saw one other hunter the first day....after that noone.....its posted land and noone but a few of us know the farmer because he lives 2 miles away....he has cows back there and posted it for their safety and the fact noones there to keep an eye on things........i dont hunt these birds hard....most mornings i get fed up and head to school by 7-8am.......some mornings ill stay out till 9 or 10.....but its always the same....nothing......i dont spook them....dont get busted....dont ever educate them.....just cant figure out whats up.......found one nest with 7 eggs 2 weeks ago.....one of my boss toms hens.......saturday and this morning they werent in their usual trees.......and i cant get anything else to cooperate....had 3-5 birds gobbling infront of me hard today....did one flydown......i know they heard it.....they shut up.....hit the ground.......i called a little more.......they definently heard it......nothing...15 mins later i hearda gobble close......gave him one more call and got ready....he never showed??? they just dont seem interested at ALL??? anyone have any tips.......ideas on whats goin on? will they heat back up?? whats goin on......im about fed up.....i love turkey hunting.....love to just be out there.....love to hear that gobble......but id like to get some cooperation here...............i cant run n gun or nothing....i cant find a hot bird to save my life......theres MANY birds in the area......i heard about 10 diffrent birds gobbling friday....had most of them coming in......that was the ONLY day i got any response really.......and after that boss tom gobbled they shut down.....except a few jakes.....so he left me....ruffed them up.....and came back down....closer....in view.....but out of range...i got a decoy for the next time he pulls that.....but now i cant find him!!!!! anyone?? im dying here!!! alllll i wanna do is work a bird that talks! too cold in the mornings?? done breeding?? whats goin on?

TomC · 05-17-2005, 12:45 PM

Sounds to me like your toms are with hens. Try putting the "sneak" on some clearings that may know about...see what's going on. If you have a lot of time, and find a tom with some hens, be patient, call softly to them ...try to get the hens to come to you.

Always expect the unexpected.

Best of luck to you!

SpurIA · 05-17-2005, 02:11 PM

Everyone loves the early morning hunt, no doubt about it . My advise would be hunt later in the morning or in the afternoon (if allowed in your state). You may not hear all of the birds sounding off but you will (I think) have a better chance in scoring if the birds are henned up. Just one man's opinion.

JW · 05-17-2005, 02:35 PM

Had the same thing happen in Iowa and Wisconsin this past 2 weeks.

I had Jakes come in to decoys but never a big boy. They all stayed out of range and would gobble from the roost - come togther and not be heard or seen at all during the day. You might catch one or two following a hen but the hens where not receptive to breeding and where not vocal at all.

The Toms are not henned up but are not in a breeding mode either and I see that as a fact of the poor weather we had.

Your best bet would be to sit an area that Toms travel. If I had at least one or more 2 days to stick at it - I would have had at least one bird.

Oh I quit sitting field edges and starting working woods travel points between fields. To tell ya the truth it was most frustrating.

I passed on 5 jakes at 5 different times so if I wanted to eat I could. But it is and always will be only big mature birds for me. Each of these Jakes did respond to decoying. Even got a few on Video!

JW

jepcho · 05-17-2005, 03:20 PM

My advice would be to try some gobbling. The toms are startin to get out of the breeding mode and are gonna be grouping back together. Do some gobblin and lower pitch tom clucks and maybe a few tom yelps. Sometimes the best way to call really late season toms is to sound like another tom.

Mr. Longbeard · 05-17-2005, 03:36 PM

I'll have to agree with jepcho

Strut&Rut · 05-17-2005, 07:28 PM

Mauser,

Here in CT they're in the post-breeding lull. The toms are basically worn out from 2 months of breeding. The ones you hear gobbling, at least the majority, are the 2-year olds and the jakes. The dominant birds are not gobbling much, if at all.

However, those dominant birds are still strutting and looking for hens. But they're doing it quietly. Patience is the key...and unfortunately for you, mid-morning hunting is the best for those birds.

Another suggestion...if this property is only hunted by you and a few others, you unfortunately have educated the birds. You hunt almost everyday, and probably call very much the same everyday. As I stated to you last week, you are now hunting a bird instead of one bird.

At this point in your season, I would suggest going to a completely different property for a day and turkey hunting, compared to hunting a turkey...

mauser06 · 05-17-2005, 08:16 PM

ahhhhh.....i caat believe they are in the post breeding and not hot.....i really cant leave this area.......i have no others.....my hot spot is being logged HARD CORE....my other spot is over run with ATVers making their own trails everywhere....even though theres nice old loggin roads everywhere for them to ride on.....and every other spot i scouted just didnt have the sign.....i had another spot....but i hunted them one day....and after that they moved across the road....and everyone and their brother saw them over there and they got blasted and hunted hard.....this area has many gobblers in it.....and your right....i been stuck on that boss tom most of the season....sooooo close...yet soo far away....think ill try to slip in the backside of them tomarow morning......hunt them till they definently arent coming......then move to the other side....and try to wait them out....i swear soon as i leave they run to the fields......i park far away..walk in silently through the fields....they are nowhere near the fields so i know im not seen...im not going to school tomarow......so im going to try to hang in there.....kinda hesitant to slip in the backside of them....i just dont know whats back there........i think its just a thin strip of woods....fields....and peoples backyards....shoulda checked it earlier in the year....but never thought id have to.....i know theres a nice open hardwoods flat.....right behind the bosstoms roost....and where i been hearding 3-5 birds daily.....behind his roost.....maybe ill set up there ....set the hen decoy out....and wait.....before i leave im climbing the silo and glassing all the fields......me or my buddy sees birds alot of times in the fields later in the day...but when i try to set up and cut them off they dont go there that day!!!!! killin me.....im stumped......i think ill try some gobbling tomarow....i can gobble with a mouth call.....maybe ill answer my own hen calls try to fire one up or something.......i dont know.......nothing to loose i guess.........

Rem1100 · 05-19-2005, 06:44 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: mauser06

ahhhhh.....i caat believe they are in the post breeding and not hot.....i really cant leave this area.......i have no others.....my hot spot is being logged HARD CORE....my other spot is over run with ATVers making their own trails everywhere....even though theres nice old loggin roads everywhere for them to ride on.....and every other spot i scouted just didnt have the sign.....i had another spot....but i hunted them one day....and after that they moved across the road....and everyone and their brother saw them over there and they got blasted and hunted hard.....this area has many gobblers in it.....and your right....i been stuck on that boss tom most of the season....sooooo close...yet soo far away....think ill try to slip in the backside of them tomarow morning......hunt them till they definently arent coming......then move to the other side....and try to wait them out....i swear soon as i leave they run to the fields......i park far away..walk in silently through the fields....they are nowhere near the fields so i know im not seen...im not going to school tomarow......so im going to try to hang in there.....kinda hesitant to slip in the backside of them....i just dont know whats back there........i think its just a thin strip of woods....fields....and peoples backyards....shoulda checked it earlier in the year....but never thought id have to.....i know theres a nice open hardwoods flat.....right behind the bosstoms roost....and where i been hearding 3-5 birds daily.....behind his roost.....maybe ill set up there ....set the hen decoy out....and wait.....before i leave im climbing the silo and glassing all the fields......me or my buddy sees birds alot of times in the fields later in the day...but when i try to set up and cut them off they dont go there that day!!!!! killin me.....im stumped......i think ill try some gobbling tomarow....i can gobble with a mouth call.....maybe ill answer my own hen calls try to fire one up or something.......i dont know.......nothing to loose i guess.........

Bro.. it's a different world today, for turkeys, than it was 20 yrs ago. we've MORE turkeys,LESS available habitat,MORE natural predation(which shuts up birds in a hurry),MORE hunters cahsing 'em with newer/greater/bigger/better calling devices...and decoys. They CAN"T act the same as the did..and probably won't ever again. Birds can/are still being killed by those who understand this, and adapt different approaches. Not to say that the Classic hunt isn't there...just not as often.

my advice: stand in the field right at dark , and use whatever calls you need to to get 'em to gobble. They'll gobble in pitch black darkness. Guess where you THINK they may be roosting and try w/in 100 yds and let'et rip/tater chip. Once they gobble... note the spot.... set up w/in 50 yds next morning. No guarantees, but you'll see up close and personal EXACTLY what's happening. you may be able to ambush him, too, COMPLETELY ETHICAL!! It does work.

GATurkHunter · 05-19-2005, 07:20 AM

Wish I had your problems!

You are hearing birds, seeing birds, having them respond.
Ive only been turkey hunting a few years and have only taken 2 birds. One at 12 and one at 1:15 in the afternoon. Both snuck in silent. Maybe a gobble or two and then silent when they hit the ground is normal to me lol. Where I hunt there is a real high hen to gobbler ratio and they are always henned up in the morning. Now I look at it like the mornings are beautiful and there is nothing in the world like hearing a bird gobble on the roost but my best chances for success are after that first couple of hours.