beholt

I need some advice. This is the end of my third weekend of hunting here in Arkansas. The birdsare stillgobbling pretty good on roost each morning and then to a lesser degree for about an hour after sunup.They usually spark off right at daylight to just about anything (owls, crows, dogs barking, cars going by) and after fly down they seemto be gobbling randomlyor sometimes to crow calls for.Sounds good, right?
This is my problem: They don't seem to be responding at all to my calls (and no, I'm not that bad of a caller . They don't seem to be responding to other peoples calls out at our place either). In fact they almost seem scared of the calls. For instance, a bird will start gobbling at daylight, gobblin to crows and whatnot, but when I move in closer and set up they quit. Admitedly, I might be setting up too far from them for fear of spooking them on roost, but on the second day of season I was within 100 yards of their tree and they never once gobbled back to my calls. I just had to watch them pitch out of the tree and go the other way.
At first, we thought they were justed henned up and the hens were calling them away, but that wouldn't explain why they don't answer our calls, would it?
I've tried every call I own, including a gobble shaker tube and nothing seems to work. I've tried calling blindabout every 10 minutes for an hour or more but...nothing. We hunt about 500 acres and they don't seem to roost in the same place twice so they have been hard to pattern. I don't know, maybe my calling really does suck. Maybe in turkey, I'm saying, "run away, I'm a hen with VD"
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Goose 11

Don't call. Try a new approach. Go hunt in the evening, instead of the morning. Set-up where you feel best chances are and resist calling. If you must call, only "close call" meaning soft purrs and clucks. The soft stuff is a real charmer sometimes. Spread it out about 15-20 mins. If you have a pop-up tent, take a turkey hunting magazine with you and a comfortable chair, get set up and wait. This is a tactic of lots of older guys, they kill turkeys. I've done it six times this year,onceI was successful. I only did it because my Dad was with me, and that's how he likes to hunt turkeys. But it worked! And we got one, since that hunt I've been trying to repeat, but have not takenanother one yet, let you know how it works out this week!
Trae

old longbeards

yep, goose may have something there...some soft clucks and even try shufflin some leaves from the ground around you with your hand...giving the notion that the sounds you make are of a feeding hen scratching for bugs and such

bradisthebest

I have seen this in some places and what it is that they are becomeing or are already calls shy.

longbeardbuster

I agree with Goose 11, I had the same problema couple of years
ago here in Arkansas. I never hunted much in the evenings untill
then and was ready to try anything. I went out at about 2:30
one evening and at 3:00 had called up 2 toms together and shot
the one in full strut. I also used a box call that day which I never
would use before but tried it and they liked it, so if you haven't
tried a box call you might give it a try.

wacker

Bradisthebest,when you say that they are call shy do you mean they are afraid of hen calls,or do you think that they know humans are imitating hens?

MDManiac

Call shy meaning they're afraid of ANYTHING remotely Aggressive (yelps, cackles, aggressive purrs and clucks). just do really really soft purrs and clucks every once in a while, you may think you're not doing anything, but remember how much better they can hear as opposed to us...good luck!