Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

I have been hunting the appalachain foothills of WV for 10 YEARS without having killed a longbeard and I am trying to change that this season. Last week was the first week and I have hunted every day except for one. The first day I could've got a shot on one but I was convinced that he was "hung up" and then when I got up to try to move closer there he was and he busted me (thats the short version of the story). The second day, I saw and heard nothing in a different location.......... Every other day execpt for the second day I have hunted the same hollow as the first day and have seen or heard many birds, but they always either have hens with them, or they show up at the top of the mountian and I am at the bottom and they will not come down.
I have a few questions for you guys that know how to kill a Turkey. Every morning thus far there has been 2 gobblers gobbling on a bench just below the ridgetop from the roost. They hit the ground and Instantly shut up. I saw these gobblers following some hens and a couple of jakes yesterday morning and tho they would gobble they would not come down the mountian to me as I yelped at them. Do you guys think these gobblers should keep coming back to the same bench?? Is it already too late in the year for the hens to leave them looking for "nookie" and make them easier to call in?? Would you suggest slipping into that bench area and setting up while they are still on the roost???? ANY pointers??? I know I am rambling but I really wanna make this the year...............Thanks.

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

This is the year! You gotta believe! In your travels last wk. you learned a lot and now you've located a few birds that do nearly the same thing everyday. This is great. If you know the areawell enough to get up on that bench with them before daylight , do it. As a "general" rule it's tougher to call birds up or downhill than it is to call them on flat ground like the bench. If they have exited the bench in one general area that's where I would be 1/2 hr. before daylight. Good woodsmanship kills more turkeys day in and day out than the best calling in the world will. "Be where they want to be". I know it sounds too simple but if you'll remember that one little tidbit you'll start killing longbeards on a consistent basis. Don't be afraid to call but once you have their interest tone it down and stick to clucking, purring and some soft yelping. Keep us posted and remember, "You gotta believe"

Dan

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

Go after them! At least that's what I do. I get them to answer then cover ground quickly toward their location. Then it's a cat and mouse game to see them before they see you and try to get within shooting distance.

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

By now they are going to become a little call shy. Hold your calling to a minamum. And like the other ones said go where you have seen them consistently. Sometimes you just have to hunt them like deer and sit where they frequent the most. Also cutt and yelp works really good with a box call. This is the sound a hen makes to tell the tom here i am but don't over use it.
Good luck and hunt safe

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

You know where they roost and you know where they are going. get inbetween those two spots. keep calling to a min and wait for em to walk by.

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

thanks for the replies guys. It has rained something awful every single day since I posted so I did not go back until today. I did make it up to the bench and gobbling has almost tottally stopped other than from the roost. I set up a decoy on the flat and watched a lone hen fly down and ease down the mountian to me (tottally ignoring any calls). She pecked all around me for about 30 min or so. At one point she was within 20 yards and I coulda took her out with a rock. After the heavy rains came back soaking me and my hunting buddy we packed it up by 11am. I REALLY wanna make this the year but the more time that passes the hard it gets!!

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

Its always tough in the rain. good luck to ya. keep it up.

RE: Still trying for my first longbeard!! Any Suggestions??
 

I wouldn't judge too much by what happened today. Turkeys are like us in the way they get "depressed" lol in periods of bad weather. I'd have to wait for clearer weather and try the same approach again. They're still there. On rainy days you need to be hunting fields, open timber or the largest opening you have in your hunting area. Turkeys head for these types of places on rainy days. Keep after em!! It'll pay off.

Dan