NY Turkey
 

Is it me or are the tom turkeys in NY just not looking for hens?? With the exception of opening day, I have not heard or seen a turkey. Now in the afternoon there is a field, about four mile down,( cant hunt there:rant: ) along the side of the road, that there are always turkeys there late in the afternoon early evening. There are a couple tom's with about four to six hens. NONE of them are strutting.... I ALWAYS, hear them out back of my house a few weeks before opening day. This year, NOTHING, and still NOTHING.... Am I missing something??? Did the hens all ready lay there eggs?:confused:

it's not just you I did hear some gobbles last Sat but Sun a jake walked past and could care less about my calls and decoy I think because it got so warm in April they mated real early
The most excitement I had was watching a fox attack my decoy that and the 21 pounder my son got opening day

It's definitely not just you! We had the exact same scenario here in Indiana. It was extremely confusing & frustrating!!! Looks like everything was just EARLY this year - keep at it!!!

Kim :-)

my NY spots are dead for the most part... i think we missed alot of the action... seemed to happen earlier this year out our way.

I've heard some gobblin but haven't been able to bring one in yet.Even my go to spot is dead.

Most of the breeding gobblers are henned up big time.. I could have shot two strutting longbeards this morning from my truck window, if I were the type of person to do such a thing...One had four hens and the other had three...Tough to kill birds in that situation... They generally don't gobble a lot with hens in sight either..They just strut and drum...Sometimes they'll answer a call, but they ain't gonna leave those hens..

There have been some good gobbling mornings, but mostly they have been pretty tight lipped this year.. Every year is a little different as far as gobbling activity goes.. Don't think for a minute that breeding is over, however... The problem is the same as always..Hens....

This has been the toughest season in a very long time, I either can't get the ones I locate to cooperate or I jsut can't find them. Bazzaar season to say the least but it's not over. Hens just don't seem to be breed they are all still roosting.

I'm having a great season. Prescouted several nice toms. Youth hunt my son got a nice tom w/9 1/4" beard up home 10:30am. Opener May 1st down to my camp- 7M area toms were gobbling on roost like crazy, but couldn't work in. Next wknd worked in good tom for my oldest son, couldn't get a shot. He later settled on a jake at 11am. He was home from college, and was his only chance to get out. This past wknd was my turn, and had to work a hen in to get full tom to follow. I dumped him at 0630. He was a ratty looking tom, tail beat up. But never the less a full tom. So my boys & I have had action every wknd.

I thought it was just me having a tough time. I haven't heard a gobble in two weeks but I see gobblers putting on a show with hens in a couple of fields that I pass on my way home (private land).
Have any of you tried going out for the second part of the morning, say after 9:00 to try to get a tom interested after the hens go to nest? I have had success with this strategy in the past, but it is tough getting out in the wood at that time when the weather gets warm like this weekend is supposed to be.

Ya, I tried going out a little later and still nothing..... I have not heard a gobble 2 weeks, and have yet to see a tom struting in a couple fields along the highway where I have seen them all the time. I keep seeing deer though, guess I found a spot when that season comes around... lol

I've been chasing a big longbeard for a week now...He's got 4 hens...will gobble, will strut, but will not leave them. He flies down and waits for them to join him....Driving me insane! Only way I can think of getting him is by luck or spot and stalk or something.

Birdhunter, my neighbor up the road said the same thing as you did. I talk to him yesterday and he said they are all hened up and try going out at 9 or 10 after the hens go to nest. I have gone out later, like 8 or so. I guess thats not late enough. He hunts a different area than me. I'm hoping for some rain, they are always out in the rain. I'm thinking at this point thats my best bet, going out in some lite rain and 10am... lets hope I get such a scenario.

Had one cooperate yesterday... took a nice one around 8:30 am...he was all alone and came in on a string..

we've had a lot of excitement going on these last two weeks, but to no avail. Lots of turkeys still chasing hens around here! (Near Schoharie, NY) Can't wait for next weekend.

Congrats West Ma Hunter.... Persistence pays off..


Ya gotta find the right bird at the right moment...

It's a dynamic thing, always changing... A gobbler may be without hens one day of the week or one hour of the day..You have to BE there when he is vulnerable...Some birds, especially old boss gobblers are so covered up with hens throughout the WHOLE season, that they are seldom, if ever ,vulnerable.. To kill one of them you have to get lucky, call in his hens or pattern him and simply wait in ambush... Certainly not as much fun as working in an actively gobbling bird, but sometimes it's the only way...

Right on. I'm also in Steuben County. The gobblers are still henned up pretty good around here. I've been hearing people say that the birds are all done, but that's not the case.

The pattern/ambush tactic has payed off twice for me in the past week. There simply is not much else you can do when you have a limited amount of ground to hunt and you're trying to put your tag on pressured, call-shy, henned up gobblers. It's not the hardcore "gobbling-in-your-face" hunt that everyone wants, but to me is nearly as fulfilling when a plan comes together. After all, how many times have you had a turkey roosted and just know that you'll kill him in the morning and then have things fall apart?

Anyways, here are the two longbeards that my father and I killed this past week. Mine was roosted with another longbeard and some hens. The would gobble on the roost but totally go silent once they hit the ground and met up with their hens. Finally, on the 6th consecutive morning of playing cat and mouse with these two I was able to tag out on a beautiful gobbler.

20 lb, 10 1/4" beard, 1 1/4" spurs





Saturday evening I located a longbeard strutting out in a field with two hens. Knowing where they typically roost, we decided to set up in the upper corner of the field in the morning where a logging road comes out into the field. At 5:25 a hen flew out on to the field and started picking around. I figured that big boy was close by but he never gobbled on the roost. At 5:40 I hear the unmistakable "pppffftttvvrrrrmmm"..."pppffftttvvrrrrmmm"...comi ng from the logging road. Twenty seconds later dad's 11-87 roared and he had bird #2 for the season down.

21 lb, 10" paintbrush, 1 5/16 & 1 1/4 spurs.





I guess the moral of the story is that its never too late in the season to "get it done." Sometimes you just have to put the calls away and use unconventional tactics to make your own luck.

Good luck to everyone out there during this last week of season!

Nice bro, awesome gobblers for sure congrats!

Thanks man. I'm ready to switch over into deer mode now. Thinking about putting the trail cams back out this week sometime...

Great hooks... nice birds... mine weren't that nice..
gonna get ready for deer soon here myself...

WNY Hunter... Great birds...!!... Congrats..!!!..

2010 Spring Tom - Germantown, NY
 

I hunt in Germantown, NY. Opening weekend I saw a bunch of Toms strutting and gobbling, but too far away. I didn't get close to filling my tags until the third weekend. I shot a 21lb Tom with a 9 1/2" beard and 1 1/2' spurs. There were three of them, and I took the largest. After that, they disappeared. I had my last chance to fill my second tag this past weekend. There were a couple of Toms around. Heard them in the woods but did not see them. Every time they gobbled, I called and then they would clam up. I'm done for the season but I'm happy that I will have another tail fan on my wall soon.

Here's a set of daggers on a bird that my uncle killed just up the road last saturday (5/15). They measure out @1 9/16 in., a real stud of a gobbler!

awesome hooks!

Very nice Tom's guys!!!!!!
I'm hoping to get out tomorrow. I'm going to try and go out about 9am. Its been a couple years since the last time I got one. I missed last year, Grrrrrrrrr.... don't know how, but I did. It was the first time I have ever missed...

Well I have gone out a couple time later in the morning. I have been going out at about 9am. Still, nothing. There is not a turkey to be found.... Oh well. Guess its time to call it a season...

Don't give up... still have a few more days!
My brother in law scored on a public land bird that must have been hunted hard all season... just found the right bird at the right time I guess.