This season seemed a little weird to me. I hunted late season and didn't hear much gobbling. Seemed like the birds were not intrested in coming to a call.... They would gobble on roost pretty good then hit the ground gobbling as they go. No matter what i did they would stop gobbling when they heard a call and leave and go away. I did not hear any hens or see any in the woods while this was happening....
I know they like to go too strutting areas to look for hen. But you would figure that if they have been going there with no luck that they would rather come to a call then to go away from one to a area that they are not finding hens...
Has any body else notice anything like this????
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"public land will make a turkey hunter out of ya"
Ken, I have been out as often as I could this month, but the birds just don't want to play!! One gobble "Maybe" before flydown, then the woods is as quiet as a Church!!
I was out Mon, Tues, Thurs, and today this week. And each day, I was in the woods before 5am waiting to hear one sound off. NOTHING!!!! Just silence!!! I'm seriously wondering where all the birds have gone? I just hope that the last two weeks are much better than the first two!!!!
I've been keeping an informal eye on the posts, PM'ing a few other hunters and comparing with my experience here in Mass, NH and NY. I had one bird to work the third day of the season in Mass and got him. I've heard one mid-morning gobble since. We heard some on the roost in upstate NY the first week and I tagged the only bird we worked there. Now I'm hearing that they're quiet, too. I have yet to hear a gobble in NH. The PA hunters have had the same experience, nearly state wide.
Seems like a combination of late nesting and still henned-up birds (although I've seen lone hens almost every day), and some natural selection (gobbling birds are getting shot, eaten, or harrassed, especially by coyotes here). But remarkably consistent, all the way out to the midwest.
I shot skeet yesterday evening. Our field is surrounded by woods and we had one gobbling as we finished up, about 20 yards behind the low house. He must have been watching us shoot and decided he was pretty safe. You can't make this up...
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A deer is far from being such an easy animal to see as the novice is apt to suppose.
Theodore Roosevelt - Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, 1885
It's definately been a challenging season for me here in the western Finger Lakes Region of NY. Surprisingly, things really started out with a bang. I heard of more people getting gobblers during the beginning of season this year than I have in the past several years. We tagged 8 gobblers (6 longbeards, 2 jakes) in the family during youth season / opening week but haven't taken any more since then. Things just seemed to cool off quickly once the birds got pressured for a few days. The same thing happens around here every year. I can't complain too much....although I haven't tagged a bird yet, I've called in 3 for family members...two jakes during the youth season and 22 pounder on opening morning. All three of these hunts occurred between 8:00 and 10:00. I've hunted nearly every day of season so far and have heard/seen gobblers every morning that I've been out. I've had a few really close calls on longbeards but nothing ended up working out for me. Although I've mangaed to work a few gobblers during the later part of the morning...for the most part they seemed to gobble on the roost a few times but would completely shut up once they hit the ground. I have seen a number of hens out by themselves during the past week... but I've also seen gobblers that are still henned up pretty bad. Who knows...maybe things will finally start to come together in the remaining week and a half of season. I'm still gonna be out there after them until the bitter end.
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"I'm not from New York...I'm from western New York!!!"
i only went twice once on the youth and once last week youth...scouted and knw wwere they were going and they gobble a bunch i got a jake was kinda disappointed w it but next yr and last week..................nothin spooked a hen and saw another but that was it
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cuz where them old boys raised on shotguns
I havent been able to get anything to gobble for the past week. I see them in the fields and I give out a call and they just stand there all puffed up and will not answer. Last week I had two jakes come in to the calls without a sound no clucks gobbles anything i past on them because they were too small for my likings. maybe tomorrow.
iVE been out about 10 times in western ma, and havent heard one gobble, but every day ive been out i see hens in the hardwoods, one last day then ill have to wait for fall,
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HUNT HARD AND HOPEFULLY YOU WONT STARVE
they kinda got used to that where im at. the first morning i heard 12 owls..LOL.. they know that trick now... for me they will gobble on there own but they are hunted pretty hard once they hit the ground they shut up.. cant even call much too them just a few clucks and a purr every now and then.. i think the problems in my area are, they were henned up bad the first week and a half and now they are pretty spooked.. but i hope i can get on one tomorrow ill be giving it my all
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ORIGINAL: BSTNFREEK
anyone trying an owl call, they make em gobble like crazy around me, owl, and pheasant calls seem to work the best.
Last season I didn't hear a gobble til the last day... This season wasn't much better. Out of 6-7 times out, heard some distant gobbling on opening day. Next 3 or 4 times out, NADA. Nuttin. Next day after that, one gobbling like hell off the roost and then all over the ground til the guy I was huntin with missed the shot... Later that same day, 5 silent jakes came to the call..... Thats when I missed the shot... Last time out, Had one gobble like crazy on the roost, maybe once or twice after fly down..... Then BANG..... I got lucky. Gonna try that same farm again tomorrow, got 2 more tags for ct and one for RI...
North east hunters just curious
