tired of trying
05-01-2003, 10:15 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Bland County Virginia
Posts: 469
tired of trying
For the past 5 years I have been hunting gobblers in the appalachain foothills of West Virginia, and every year its the same story, the toms will get fired up and gobble all morning long, but never come in to my setup. Sometimes they don' t even sound like there getting any closer. It doesn' t matter wether I go closer to them or not, they just will not come in (I seriously don' t think its my calling cause I drive my wife crazy all year round practicing) anyway, they answer every call I have Ive tried patient calling, aggressive calling, I' ve changed my setup, I use a whole flock of decoys, I' ve switched positions...exc. But nomatter what I do they don' t want to play
. When they do happen to come close, they always just happen to be on the other side of a thicket, ussually sounding to be around 50 or so yards away (to close to move). I don' t understand. Guys i realize i just babbled on but I' m alittle frustrated at spending the past 5 springs rising at 4 in the morning, and hitting the woods for nothing!![:' (] Is there anyone out there who can help me??!! Im on my last straw.
. When they do happen to come close, they always just happen to be on the other side of a thicket, ussually sounding to be around 50 or so yards away (to close to move). I don' t understand. Guys i realize i just babbled on but I' m alittle frustrated at spending the past 5 springs rising at 4 in the morning, and hitting the woods for nothing!![:' (] Is there anyone out there who can help me??!! Im on my last straw.
05-01-2003, 10:55 AM
#2
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Columbus Ohio USA
Posts: 225
RE: tired of trying
Thats why its called turkey hunting and not turkey killing. Seriously, I am not an expert but here are a couple of thoughts. Do you go at about the same time of year each time? Turkeys change their behavior as the breeding season progresses. Early on, the Toms gobble on the roost to attract the hens. If the hens show up he will fly down to them and you are pretty much out of luck. You may be able to get a subordinate gobbler that is wandering around but he may not gobble much. Your best chance under those circumstances is to get real close to them (within 100 yards if possible) while they are on the roost and try to call them in before they get to the hens. You can use some tree yelps and soft clucks and then a fly down cackle. You might get lucky and he will pitch down thinking you are the first hen to hit the ground.
Later in the season the hens start to go to the nest and the gobblers will gobble more during the day and be more receptive to calling. Also, if you can locate their strut zones that will be a good place to hang out and call a little.
There are a lot mor options but hopefully some of this is usefull.
Later in the season the hens start to go to the nest and the gobblers will gobble more during the day and be more receptive to calling. Also, if you can locate their strut zones that will be a good place to hang out and call a little.
There are a lot mor options but hopefully some of this is usefull.
05-01-2003, 11:25 AM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Ridgeland Wisconsin
Posts: 276
RE: tired of trying
It sounds like you are going about things the right way. So I don' t know what to say as far as advice, aside of one thing. Don' t give Up. Hang in there your luck will change sooner or later. When you do get your bird it will be even that mauch more meaningfull. Another thing is be confident in your self, I can' t explain how it helps but it dose. I know it is easy to get frustrated we have all been there, thats for sure.
Good luck
Good luck
05-01-2003, 11:36 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 500
RE: tired of trying
If you' re doing it all right, then, as Buckeye Mike says, that' s why they call it turkey hunting, not turkey shooting. As Mike suggests, time of the season may be a concern, though I know nothing about the length of the WVa. season, or when you are hunting. If you are limited to a set period, maybe you should choose a different period to be hunting.
More other--
Do you roost ' em? If not, maybe you should try that a few times.
When you hear ' em coming in, do you keep calling/hammerin' ' em or do you shut up/soften it way up/slow it way down? Most of the time, it is better to shut up when you know the bird is coming. If you keep on yelping (just to check on his progress or make sure he is coming, for example) you will most likely hang him up. (This rule can change for a super-hot bird, but I always wonder, in that situation [i.e., super-hot tom], why you need to hammer ' em all the way in, anyway. They' ll come in without excessive calling, I believe.)
Are your setups barrier-free? Be sure.
All turkeys have daily movement. In other words, no turkey simply flys down in the morning and stands in one place until sunset and then flys back up in the tree. Do you set up along their daily movement paths? Do you know what those paths are from preseason scouting? (In the " olden days" many hunters would never call at all, never use decoys, either. They would get their birds not from calling or decoys, but from being in the right place at the right time, as they knew the turkey' s daily movements and would set up along those paths.)
If you are using a diaphragm, even though you practice all the time, maybe you should sitck to a slate and/or box call, only. You may be wrong about how you sound.
A word of encouragement, though. When you succeed, there is no comparison to the elation and enjoyment. See the many success stories on this site--everyone of them is a high!!
More other--
Do you roost ' em? If not, maybe you should try that a few times.
When you hear ' em coming in, do you keep calling/hammerin' ' em or do you shut up/soften it way up/slow it way down? Most of the time, it is better to shut up when you know the bird is coming. If you keep on yelping (just to check on his progress or make sure he is coming, for example) you will most likely hang him up. (This rule can change for a super-hot bird, but I always wonder, in that situation [i.e., super-hot tom], why you need to hammer ' em all the way in, anyway. They' ll come in without excessive calling, I believe.)
Are your setups barrier-free? Be sure.
All turkeys have daily movement. In other words, no turkey simply flys down in the morning and stands in one place until sunset and then flys back up in the tree. Do you set up along their daily movement paths? Do you know what those paths are from preseason scouting? (In the " olden days" many hunters would never call at all, never use decoys, either. They would get their birds not from calling or decoys, but from being in the right place at the right time, as they knew the turkey' s daily movements and would set up along those paths.)
If you are using a diaphragm, even though you practice all the time, maybe you should sitck to a slate and/or box call, only. You may be wrong about how you sound.
A word of encouragement, though. When you succeed, there is no comparison to the elation and enjoyment. See the many success stories on this site--everyone of them is a high!!
05-01-2003, 11:40 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Daphne, AL
Posts: 425
RE: tired of trying
I am far from an expert myself---but have had some successes. It really helps to get to know their routine---where they roost---where they fly down---what their pattern is for the rest of the day---where they go to strut mid-morning.
Last year I shot 3 big birds from the same tree because I was able to pattern them. They were not always roosted within 100 yards---but they eventually showed up in that part of a field everyday before 10:00 AM. I would sit and wait clucking and purring every now and then.
This year I found that afternoon hunts paid off. I had a 4:00 PM appointment with a tom each afternoon. When he would show---he would gobble---I would call---he would walk off. I finally setup one afternoon where I could close the gap unseen. It worked.
Putting yourself on their route back to their roosting site in the evenings could pay off as well.
I have had them fly down just out of range and walk in the opposite direction as if they know that it is me calling. BUT, and you never know when, every now and then, and who knows why, they decide to come on in.
You have been very patient so far and I know how frustrating that can be. One thing I know for sure---they will not strut through your bedroom. I am convinced if you stay at it---you will eventually get one. You will be in the right place at the right time---and it will be YOUR TIME!! And it will be a thrill you will not soon forget.
Last year I shot 3 big birds from the same tree because I was able to pattern them. They were not always roosted within 100 yards---but they eventually showed up in that part of a field everyday before 10:00 AM. I would sit and wait clucking and purring every now and then.
This year I found that afternoon hunts paid off. I had a 4:00 PM appointment with a tom each afternoon. When he would show---he would gobble---I would call---he would walk off. I finally setup one afternoon where I could close the gap unseen. It worked.
Putting yourself on their route back to their roosting site in the evenings could pay off as well.
I have had them fly down just out of range and walk in the opposite direction as if they know that it is me calling. BUT, and you never know when, every now and then, and who knows why, they decide to come on in.
You have been very patient so far and I know how frustrating that can be. One thing I know for sure---they will not strut through your bedroom. I am convinced if you stay at it---you will eventually get one. You will be in the right place at the right time---and it will be YOUR TIME!! And it will be a thrill you will not soon forget.
05-01-2003, 01:39 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 1,906
RE: tired of trying
My friend, you are hunting. Expect the unexpected and return the favor.
If the turkey' s are 50 yards on the other side of the thicket, and can' t see you---then MOVE. Think outside the box when you hunt.
I don' t know how many times my friends and brothers have called me overaggressive. Do I blow some hunts---sure, but rarely. If you can' t see that turkey, then odds are he can' t see you either. For all you know, he' s 20 yards away just on the other side of the thicket---stand up and blow his beard off!!!
Remember, you are hunting turkeys, not calling turkeys. You have to do what it takes to put one in the freezer, not what everybody TELLS you to do to put one in the freezer.
Find the roost tree and set-up 20 yards from the tom. If you can get this close, you' ll bag a bird by the end of the season. Out of 360 degrees, you can cover 180 degrees from his tree, and if he drops down 20 yards from his roost, your furthest shot is 40 yards.
As I always tell my brother when he says I get too close---" do the math, brother, do the math..."
I don' t preach getting to within 20 yards of the roost, but when the birds are henned up and the situation dictates it, get close and you' ll automatically increase your odds.
Good luck
When they do happen to come close, they always just happen to be on the other side of a thicket, ussually sounding to be around 50 or so yards away (to close to move). I don' t understand.
I don' t know how many times my friends and brothers have called me overaggressive. Do I blow some hunts---sure, but rarely. If you can' t see that turkey, then odds are he can' t see you either. For all you know, he' s 20 yards away just on the other side of the thicket---stand up and blow his beard off!!!
Remember, you are hunting turkeys, not calling turkeys. You have to do what it takes to put one in the freezer, not what everybody TELLS you to do to put one in the freezer.
Find the roost tree and set-up 20 yards from the tom. If you can get this close, you' ll bag a bird by the end of the season. Out of 360 degrees, you can cover 180 degrees from his tree, and if he drops down 20 yards from his roost, your furthest shot is 40 yards.
As I always tell my brother when he says I get too close---" do the math, brother, do the math..."
I don' t preach getting to within 20 yards of the roost, but when the birds are henned up and the situation dictates it, get close and you' ll automatically increase your odds.
Good luck
05-01-2003, 03:21 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The Wild Turkey Capitol of the World......Missouri
Posts: 1,027
RE: tired of trying
Antlergetter, how about pre-season scouting? Do you put your time in out in the turkey woods before season? I usually start going out in the mornings to listen for gobbles about 6-7 weeks before our season opens, 2 times per week, weather permitting. This usually yields me about 10 good mornings of listening and watching with binoculars. By the time the season opens, I have a good grasp on where they roost and where they head after flydown to go strut. Doing this helps me immensely, this season was proof. I spent a total of 3 1/2 hrs. in the woods to get 2 gobblers, granted it doesn' t always work nearly this good, but this season showed how a month and a half of scouting can pay off. A lot of hunters aren' t willing to be this dedicated but if you put in your scouting time to figure out the birds, you will be rewarded! Good luck! 
05-01-2003, 05:55 PM
#10
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Baton Rouge La.
Posts: 202
RE: tired of trying
In some areas you are wasting your time if you are trying to call a bird down hill. i hunted In Arkansas this season in the Ozarks, and you could hang it up, they would gobble at you all day long, but they werent coming downhill. If you are in the hills make sure youre setup is always uphill and with the sun at their back.