HuntingNet.com Forums - View Single Post - Ok all you Bowhunting Gobbler Killing Machines
Old 05-16-2007 | 12:23 PM
  #18  
SwampCollie's Avatar
SwampCollie
Nontypical Buck
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,420
Likes: 0
From: Where the ducks don't come no more
Default RE: Ok all you Bowhunting Gobbler Killing Machines

ORIGINAL: shed33

Thanks guys... I saw the danged group again tonight..on the land I cant hunt..where they roost...They have picked up another gobbler...bout like the bird Jess and I killed a couple weeks ago.. 4-5 inch beard.. is this normal for a boss gobbler like himself to let another gobbler in there with him? I thought this was strange..its the first time I have seen him around another gobbler since back in late April...????

Yes. Just like whitetails do after the rut, gobblers bunch back up after the peak of the breeding is done. There is still the dominent bird (and he needs killin to get the gobbling going again). But he is now with his buddies. Competition gets fierce when receptive hens get few and far. The hunting usually gets better as the season goes by (likely as not too because the fair weather blow hards aren't afield blowing crow calls in the dark anymore either).

As far as the decoys go....there ain't nothing like the real thing. Don't think you can lure him away from those hens, because you won't be able to. There are rare exceptions when it does infact happen, but I wouldn't put my money on that bet. He will likely skirt the decoys because he wants the hens to come to him, so if he is walking the woodline in bow range, do without the decoys. Late in the evening, hens are not receptive anyhow, so the yelping is to a minimum. Gobbling is mostly shock or dominence gobbling, and not really breeding related. The tom is going with the hens because he wants to roost near them, so he has first dibbs on them in the morning, when they are receptive before going to nest.

Purrs and clucks and scratching leaves are all good stuff...just use your head, you have done it before and you can do it again shed.

I scored this morning on a tom that had been "henned up". Yesterday afternooon while I was hunting this place with the girlfriend (first time we had been to this block of land) we flew two hens out of the corner of a field. There was gobbler poop everywhere. Lots of sign. The hens apparently didn't roost where they normally do last night. This morning, I put out two hen decoys, and called softly. He never gobbled, just showed up. He did gobble eventually and a heck of a lot as he worked his way back. First time hunting turkeys with a bow. Doesn't seem all that hard to me Whole story is up on the turkey hunting sub-forum.


SwampCollie is offline  
Reply