Turkeys not being vocal??
 

I just wanted to share something that had happened up here in the state of Maine. I am thinking this can explain part of the reason that turkeys have been acting kind of strange. I mean strange by showing up more in the middle of the day verses early in the morning as well as not being very vocal. This does not say much about other states but I think you have pretty much the same problem with your turkeys though.. Anyways we have had a turkey hunter bit by a coyote on our first day of turkey season. I am thinking perhaps this is why things are happening rather strangely up here at least.. You can read about it here..
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/05/0...unter-instead/

I'm from Maine also and havent even heard a gobble this year.
I saw 9 toms in my yard late February or early March, after that all I've seen is hens.
this makes post makes me think, maybe they hear me but just aren't responding.
no matter what time there's no gobbles at all.

I heard one gobble yesterday and then saw a tom take off with a hen. Today I heard nothing and shot my last turkey.. Also where I called for about 2 hours and left I discovered that a tom and 2 hens showed while I was on my way out and to the tagging station.. So I had clearly found out that had I waited longer one would of came out.. But also places I saw birds last year has mostly been a no show. All the birds I have seen were in areas I saw none last year which I find strange to say the least..

Same here,last year everytime I went into this field there was always turkeys, Mostly hens and jake's but still turkey's there every time I went. This year nothing at all.

I think we can all agree that it has been a very weird spring.

First day today in Quebec, just north of you ... not a peep! :(

I tell ya, that is one of the things that confuses me so much about turkeys. One morning, they are vocal as heck. The next morning, same conditions, you see them but they wont say a peep. It makes you automatically think there is nothing around if you dont see them, but then makes you wonder if they are around just not saying anything. Confusing.

It seems this year they would be real quiet after a foggy night and somewhat foggy morning. I dont know.

My tag isn't good here in Michigan until Monday, the 7th, but I've been out three mornings helping two others get their birds. Opening morning on the 23rd we had two birds gobbling off and on before daylight and then for about 45 minutes until they flew down and were pretty quiet. I called a few times while they were on the roost and very sparingly after that. Finally about an hour after daylight the two birds came in quiet and headed up the hill we were on to the lone hen decoy we had by itself, as the other three decoys were below us. Pete shot the second and biggest of the two birds and he weighed 24#11oz and was the heaviest bird I have ever called in. Last Saturday/Sunday I mentored a kid and his Dad came with us because neither had turkey hunted before. We were at Fort Custer near Battle Creek and had two birds gobbling at daylight, but they were silent after coming off the roost and that was it until about 10AM when a real steady rain made us call it quits for the day. Sunday morning dawned without a cloud in the sky and it was 31degrees, just about what I like, and there was not a bird to be heard. We waited a while and then I took them down a two track for at least 3/4 of a mile and not a gobble. As we turned around to head back it was only a minute or two and a bird answered my call. We slipped about 50 yards over to the east and got set up and he came in gobbling off and on in about 15 minutes. I had the kid using my gun and the bird would not come in to the 35 yard range I like, but got close enough that I knew the gun would take him and the kid knocked him down at close to 50 yards and put an extra one in him for good measure. It was another nice two year old bird, but I didn't get any measurements on him.
This weekend I'm supposed to take the MI Speaker of the House and his boy out one day and a lady from the MI House of Representatives out the next. I hope I can have the same success I had for the other two hunters! The woods are like hunting the middle of summer this year and I'm hoping when I head north 180 miles to my cabin next week that it won't be quite as thick as it is down her in lower MI when I try to fill my tag.

i doubt is it because of coyotes. we have a bunch of them here in ohio and our birds gobble alot. turkeys will shock gobble at a coyote howl so i seriously doubt that is the "problem". i have seen them shock gobble at less than 100 yds from a howl. have seen coyotes enter a field with birds in it and the birds just move off and keep a safe distance and then return to normal after the yote has passed. if yotes caused birds to not gobble i doubt anyone in any state would hear very many

Did you read it all?

I never stated it was all the reason.. :)

And yes we have had coyotes before this year as well..