ORIGINAL: hillbillyhunter1
ORIGINAL: Rem1100
well...I dunno,Bro.... a guy I know has already killed his 2.... 1 monday & 1 yesterday... says they are talking alot !! could it be you're not up on your Eastern turkey game? turkeys out west are MUCH easier to kill, from what I've read..I don't know myself, just what I've read,Bro... Easterns are the toughest to hunt, according to Dick Kirby.... I haven't been out yet, as I wait til the last week usually... no hunters to mess with, and the Gobblers can be ferocious in their gobbling!!!
Ah heck, Rem1100, I've been hunting and killing Easterns all my life and I agree they are tougherand I think the WV birds in the places I hunt are some of the toughest of all.
It's not there toughness though that is making me say "WTH" right now. It is THE TOTAL LACK OF CALLING--none--nada--zip--zero--zilch. I could not even get them to shock gobble on the roost. I've never heard it dead silent on opening day before. It was a little windy but Tuesday was perfect and still nothing. The birds are there---just not talking--even among themselves. I can try to ambush them without all the calling but it's not near as much fun as hearing them shake the ground.
Somebody said that the proliferation of coyotes might cause the turkeys to call much less in general or like livbucks said they're just done with their business. That sounds reasonable. Has anyone else heard that about the coyote thing??
DougMD,
We heard 4 different shots as well around. I just haven't seen it this quiet ever.
like I said, the boys 'round here are hearing birds regularly... lotsa hunters,too..another reason for delaying my hunts... I also know that the # ofpredators have alot to do with gobbling activity, but over the past 20 years the birds have steadily grown quieter. when was the last time you heard groups of jakes sounding off to an old Tom(from a distance)... I also know that turkey hunters in the south are experiencing the same thing, so I attribute the lack of gobbling to the #s of people that have been attracted to Gobbler hunting.... more mouth calls/box calls/slate calls in the woods @ spring means more adaptation to man's tactics...calling toms.
they are becoming less vocal overall, but the boys are hammering 'em up here...