thanx alot guys! i appreciate all the info and more is definitely welcome! its a subject that isnt discussed much, but yet is critically important...

seems i am doing things alright...i employ all the tactics suggested...

my typical morning working a bird will be a soft tree yelp or 2...then a flydown cackle and wing flap when i start to hear birds on the ground..my favorite is to do it seconds before he flys down..hard to time, but when i get it right, i can tell. if i mess up and get in too close i wont call a peep till he is on the ground...i do not hunt with decoys. they have their place, but right now, its not in my vest! just me...i enjoy pounding them without the decoys...

after i "hit the ground" i do some soft yelps, clucks, purrs and leave scratching...just enough to let him know im there and milling around...theres times i think i dont call enough...or not agressive enough...but ive never seen hammering a call do much good...sure if you fire up a group of jakes or maybe 2yo's they might eat up that loud, aggressive, non-stop type calling...but ive seen it hang more birds up than come in...

if he hangs up i wait..i'll give him the silent treatment..if he continues to stay put gobbling, and i know he isnt litterally hung up on a fence or creek or something like that, i will either back up, or my favorites is flank him to a side or move in. most guys are afraid to do it. but ive had as much or more success with either moving to a different side, or moving in a bit as i have had backing off...i had a bird hang up and gobble his head off..nothing worked..got agressive and he gobbled harder..i shut up and he gobbled harder..so i moved in and flanked him to a side..moved more to the side than i closed distance, but i still closed some distance...he was going nuts at my footsteps and was actually on his way to me just on foot steps alone...i had to jump to a tree to setup quick..he was coming that hard..i setup and gave him a soft series of yelps and he went bonkers and was on my lap in a few seconds...

my "success" isnt pulling the trigger...its getting birds in. ive been at this 11 seasons now..only killed 4 spring birds..7 of those years i been solo...ive been 4 for 7 since then..4 for 6 if you dont count this season that i only got to hunt 2 days of...im not a "great expert" turkey hunter...but ive put atleast a couple birds into my gun each season...wether or not i shot was upto me...

patience came for me when i started hunting alone...and that started putting even more birds into my setup than when i hunted with dad...he was a run n gun type hunter and liked blind setups when nothing would locate but he never sat more than a half hour..hour tops...with him, we spook a ton of birds coming in silent or slowly making their way in...saturday we busted 2 lol...i still run n gun some..love the quick paced action that usually comes with it...but ive worked the same bird till 830 or 9am from the roost and killed them or had them into my setup too...i like that alot...thats "playing the game"...you mess up that setup and chances of seeing that bird arent very good...

i love huntin birds...its my favorite season...