mossberghunter93

On Saturday morning (youth season in ohio) I went hunting and all morning I didnt hear a single thing. But my question is how long do most of you guys sit calling without a response? I sat about a half hour calling evry five minutes with a yelping-clucking-yelping and a little bit of purring mixed in (as best as i could). Thanks for your responses

Howler

This is where scouting pays off. IF you're in a known turkey area, weather it be a roosting area, feeding area, travel corridor, etc. and you have a good idea about what time the turkeys are normally in the area, then it's a matter of timing. Since we bow hunt, we either set up in an area that is used during feeding periods, and we may sit there from sun up to about noon,or we'llset up at about 3 or 4 in the afternoon near a known roosting area, and wait them out. BUT we use doublebull blinds and carry a lot of stuff to film with, so we're notrun and gun type hunters, so patience becomes our alley. IF I were using a shotgun, I'd be more apt to go to the turkeys more, until I locate them, and then try to call them to me. Although, again, if you know where they feed and roost, and travel, it's just a matter of time of being there before they get there, and waiting them out. It's much easier to call a turkey to a point that it wants to go to. Get there first, and calling them in is much easier.

barefoot

I'd say to call for at least an hour from one spot and when you're convinced that there's nothing in the area, give it 10 more minutes. Then take a very slow and careful look around before getting up. Good luck!

mohunter82

dont get to impatient. one time i decided that i was gonna be lazy at basically started to doze off against the tree. after dozing off for close to an hour i started to call sparingly. next thing i know i had a young tom less than 50 yards away and he hadnt made a sound. didnt even gobble till almost 30 yards from my setup. sometimes you can sit it out. i wouldnt call all the time but do a little bit very lightly. like said before if your in a known turkey area then sit tight. they will come.

gbrownlee

When things get really quiet in the woods, I usually will sit for at least 2 hours, calling a little bit then gettingquiet for 15-20 minutes betwen calling sequences. I have had really good luck with this because most birds are done breeding the hens they flew down with around 9-10 am and they come back to where they heard the calling from. Last weekend we sat for 4 hrs in the same spot before thetom came in.

Like the others have said, don't be too impatient while turkey hunting, they have all day to look for a mate so moving around every 30 minutes doesn't really make sense.

UncleNorby

First thing in the AM I'd give it between 1-2 hours. Then depending upon whether you have room to run/gun or not, you can plan what to do next. If Ihad only a small area to hunt and didn't have another spot to try, I might just sit tight past 2 hrs. Later in the day, you want to cluck and yelp like a hen coming off a nest.

It's great when they gobble, but just because they aren't vocal on a given day does not mean they aren't there. Sub-dominant birds often sneak in without gobbling too.

mossberghunter93

Okay thanks for the advice guys, I appreciate it.

glockman55

There are times when they won't respond to a call, You might hear them in the trees in the AM and after they fly down, nothing. I've had birds just show up without a sound. Just because you don't hear them gobble doesn't mean they're not there. You must be still and watch.. Good luck.

kpatte26

As stated before if your in a known turkey area be patient. Here in NW Pa the birds are henned up so they are going to be a little difficult to call in. Another thing I have learned is that an older bird does not gobble alot... it seems the 1 or 2 year old birdswill gobble their heads off. If you had a chance to scout you should know where the birds are so its just a matter of being patient.... Believe me I know its hard to sit there when you think nothing is going on. I have spooked a few birds because I was not patient enough...
On a side note... When you purr are you doing a little scratching in the leaves or on the ground to add some realism?

Ihuntandfish

I agree with what everyone said so far. If they are not resonding to my calling, I will usually tone my calling down a lot, and just do some soft yelps every 15 or 20 minutes or so. Mostly, like kpatte26 said, I will purr and scratch the leaves. It seems to call them in the best when they aren't listening to other calling. Good luck.