I hear one gobbling a ways off. I try to sneak up on him, but about 90yds away he sees me and runs off. However, he is still responsive to calling and gobbles A LOT, but does not come back to me.
Will he be in the same feeding place tomorrow that he was today?
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I would say go back in a few days and set up in about the same place. Once you locate this gobbler, I would set up and let the bird come to you. They usually feed in or close to the same spot. Its very hard to track a gobbler these birds see very well.
I'm no expert, but I'll chime in... The 2 worst mistakes I still make are calling too much & trying to set up too close. Been there, done that. To your question... The bird will feed in the general area if he's not spooked badly. The fact that he didn't fly is reassuring. I would leave the area alone for a few days & then make my approach from a different direction, preferably take an uphill set-up. The other thing I would do would be to change up my calling. If you were using a diaphram call when he was gobbling, you should switch to a slate. Make softer, fewer calls. Stick with the basic feeding calls & every once in a while throw in some leaf scratching. I definately wouldn't do any (verbal) fly-downs or real aggressive calling like cutting. I hope this helps & I hope you get your bird. Keep us informed.
I dunno how many birds in the last ten years I have spooked trying to get too close....big no no! The bird should go about his usual, but instead of going to exactly same place I would set up near there but maybe an oppsite side or slightly different place than where he was spooked from. Best of luck and blow his head off!!!!
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Cool. I will setup in the other corner of the field where I saw him.
After he ran off, I called a little and he raised cane, but had some hens with him, I guess that is why he didn't come back. I don't think he actually saw me, just knew something was coming his way that wasn't another turkey.
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He was there again this morning. 200yds away and saw the decoy. He came in about 100yds then turned and went to the right. Met up with another hen and I haven't heard from him yet.
I bet I get his sorry tail tomorrow!!!![:@]
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RE: Question for you experts...
If you know where he roosts, you also have 2 other options...
1) Just after the birds roost in the eveing, kick them off. That henned up gobbler will be looking hard for any ladies the next morning.
2) Get in the woods super early and set up within 50 yards of his roost. Under the cover of darkness, I can't count how many birds I've set up on really close. You should be able to get between him & his hens...
bottom line: Until his hens start going to nest, he's going to be hard to call in to the gun. Keep the decoys at home, probably did more harm than good, especially when he put on a show and your deke didn't come his way...
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Question for you experts...
