zubba

Nice pics ryncam.

Mossy, when I get a new area to hunt, I actually wake up as if I was hunting (before the season but after the birds are actively gobbling in the roost), camo up, and go out & sit where you think they are roosting/flying down. Don't set up any decoys, don't call (so you don't educate them), and don't get up until the area is clear.This way you can hear where they are roosting, you can hear gobbles from other birds around the area, you can see where they flydown to, and you can also observe where they waunder to after flydown...which will likely be their strut zone.

This will tell you a lot. You will then know where to set up to hunt the flydown. If the flydown isunsuccessful, you will know where to go& get ahead of the birds to set up again...the strut zone. When gobblers are henned up, it is very common for them to stop gobbling after they fly down. If you don't know where they strut and they aren't gobbling, then you don't know where to find turkeys...so you end up guessing. However, if you know where they go after flydown, you can circle around them after flydown, get in front of them, and setup. Even though he might not be gobbling, you know he frequents the area. I hope this helps.