Help me out with my situation
 

Ok turkeys hunting legends (J-dub, Swamp Collie, others...), im asking you for your help.

I have a unique situation. As many of you know,my familyowns our own chunk of land. And we have gobblers galore. The problem is, they are henned up, and they dont like to gobble once they hit the ground. also, we dont exactly know WHERE they go once they get down.

In the mornings, they will gobble their brains out before light, Their is at least 3 gobblers an 3 jakes, and possibly more in this group. They are old birds and some are at least 4 years old. Many people have hunted them without success over the last few years.

Heres a map of where they roost EVERY night without fail:





Sorry about the map being cut off at the bottom, but its all hardwoods below that with a few valleys. They DO NOT strut in any of the open fields that are shown. We have tried every imaginable tactic on these birds, they are like ghost that just disappear. If anybody has any insight or advice, it would be appreciated. Ill try to answer as many questions as possible.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

I'm not the expert your wanting answers from so I'm not gonna go there... But thats the sameproblem I'm having at the Indiana farm. They shut up right after fly down and I haven't pinpointed where they're going.

I have confidence you're gonne get a bird, you already got2 of your buddies birds, and filmedboth of theminstead of shooting yourself. Thats being a good friend, so I bet karma is gonna give you a 25 pound, 11 inch bird in the next week or two. :D

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

How long are you hunting in the morning?

If they are really henned up and you only have 4 hours to hunt sleep in and go hunting from 10-2. I've done better at midday when turkeys are in this portion of the breeding cycle then in the early morning. You aren't going to call them away from live hens. Let the hens leave the gobblers and then you have a shot.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

Give them the silent treatment. Don't call at all. On birds that are uncallable, and yes, they do exist, try to pattern the hens they are with and ambush them. Have you tried hunting close to the roost in the afternoon? Set up close to their roost in the morning and see whhere they are going. Calling at these birds may be futile and hurt you more than help you. It will take a few days to figure out a pattern, but if you do figure it out, the hens may bring the gobbler right into your lap.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

Adam, lets hope so bud :)

mouthcaller,

In Ohio we can only hunt till 12. I have tried mid-morning hunting on a number of occasions, but the only thing i have produced are "shock gobbles" with loud cutting. No chance of them coming in from that. The times they have shock gobbled it is usually from directly under their roosting tree around 10-1030. I know they like to roost up on this ridge at the back of my property. The main problem is WHERE DO THEY GO once they fly down. I dont hear hens, jakes or the gobblers after 645 or so in the morning and i dont know where they sneak off to.I watch them fly down from the roost at around 100 yards or so almost every morning, im just afraid to bump them off if i get any closer and this spot takes a good 30 minutes to walk to from the road. Its a major PITA to get too.

What im going to do this weekend is set up my blind around 5 in the afternoon as quite as i can (also as close as i can) and im going to try and mark the trail in so i can enter silently in the early AM. Im gunna use a full strut decoy too which i havnt tried on these birds in the most open space i can find. I have had some of the jakes wonder into my setup but im not intersted in them.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

I would put these birds in the uncallable situation. Like mentioned, i get pretty damn close to these birds. Also like mentioned, im gonna try and place a full strutter in their path this weekend with 3-4 hen decoys to try and lure the boss gobbler in. if that doesn't work, ill try the ambush tactic.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

I don't know if you've tried this, but I would try kind of what superstrutter said. I would set up early in the morning, and not call until they begin flying down. Then I would scratch a little in the leaves and purr on a mouth call. For me, it seems like the best tactic for calling in henned up gobblers. Good luck.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

Well let's correct one thing - am no darn legend and far from it - just been hunting past 20 yrs.

Now you say they don't use the fields.... Okay what are they feeding on? Acorns? find that.....
Any loggin roads with muddy trails - sit and wait em out in high traffic - high sign areas......
Have you tried to go right at 'em at first light sneaking close to the roost yet? Even if you don't call and can ninja sneak close to see fly downss that may help give a direction they wander off in.....

It certainly IMO has been a very late spring - every state I have gone to the birds are henned....

How good are you at mimicing the hen if you get one to talk to you? I have the best luck with a box and is why I shot one in MI.....my new partner and I did what I call 'racket' calling. We both fast clucked and cutt witha bit of yelping and pulled two hens who each brought a Tom - I got one of them.

Oh if they answer you but go with the hens - stay put.......it might be a long wait but one of them may come back.....

but the best is to sneak in and watch and listen for the way they commonly go. thne once you have that direction try it again in that direction.

I did find a strut zone but we left too early from that set-up this weekend. Would like to go back to get a crack at the bird I now call Mr Wilson. I know where he will be arond 10 to 12.....

JW
Not an expert but do have a deep passion to down right obsession!
Hope I gave you some ideas.

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

Dang - almost forgot - I had trouble with even hens hagning up this past hunt - leaf scratching works!

The sequence is Scratch (short pause) then scratch-scratch.
If you ever have a chance to watch a hen(s) feed you will see them stick one foot out and pull it back and then use the other foot or opposite foot twice and then maybe that first foot again!

try it it works!

JW

RE: Help me out with my situation
 

Thanks J-dub, i will keep all that in mind in the next few weeks. Their is so many ways i can approach this situation, im just going to have to weed them out and see which one is the most successful.