xOEDragonx

Alright guys, I'm joining the forums here because I need some advice. Were already two weeks into Maryland's turkey season and both of my tags are still empty. I'm not new to turkey hunting, been going with my dad since I could walk and I've killed several birds in the nine years I've had my license. But things changed up on me this year-- I'm used to hunting on the flat farm lands of Maryland's eastern shore and now I'm out hunting in the mountains of western Maryland for the season. I hadn't hunted mountain birds until this year and so far they're proving challenging.

I got my never-been-hunting-before boyfriend to take me out on his family's 400 acre property the first weekend of the season. His family is full of deer hunters but the only one who does any turkey hunting does it in West Virginia so none of them could give me a very good idea where to start looking for the birds. So, we did some scouting and I dedicated that first saturday we went out as a sort of 'lets see what we see and hear and we'll plan accordingly for next weekend' day.

Now, the entire property is on the side of a fairly steep mountain, and the majority of it is open field. I was having trouble deciding where to sit because just about the entire property is surrounded by barbed wiring fencing, fencing runs throughout it, and there and 3-foot-tall rock walls that separate the open areas into seven different large fields. I've heard time and again that turkeys will hesitate to come if there's obstacles between you and them, so choosing a spot to sit was rough. We chose a spot prettymuch in the middle of everything that let us see most of the property and just watched.

Around 7:00, a gobbler in full strut showed up in the field next to ours following a hen. Behind him was another more submissive but equally as larger gobbler. They messed around in the field for awhile before a third equally large and submissive gobbler joined them. They all poked around and strutted their stuff for a good two hours before a black bear sow and her cubs ran by and spooked them back into the woods. About an hour later, a fourth large gobbler showed up in the highest field on the hillside and worked his way down to the same field the three were in that morning. About the time he was about to head into the woods, I clucked a couple times on a mouth call just to see how he'd react. He finally noticed out two hen decoys, and proceeded to stand in one spot staring at us and gobbling for two hours. Not once did he even take a step. After two hours, he must of lost interest because he headed into the woods.

After that day, needless to say I was excited to know that there were several large birds on the property. So this past saturday, we sat down under a bush that was along the rock wall of the field we saw all of the birds in hoping we'd cross paths with at least one. In the morning, there were three different gobbles all around us. By noon, we hadn't seen or heard anything else. It was past shooting time, but I called a few times to see if any of the birds were at least in the area. There was a gobble behind us, way up in the woods past the top field where we saw that fourth bird on the first day. He gobbled for about an hour, but never came. End day two.

We went out the following morning (sunday hunting permitted in my county for two weekends) and sat in the same spot. If I had been more familiar with the area, I would have sat somewhere else that morning but we were running a bit late and figured we'd just sit it out. We heard nothing all morning. Around 8:00, a hen ambushed us. She had hopped up on the rock wall not 8 feet to our left and was looking between us and the decoys. She finally decided to hop down and joined the decoys, and hung out in the field with them for about two hours. About the time she showed up, there was one solid gobble in the woods behind the top field where ee heard gobbling the afternoon before. We figured it was the same bird. He went quiet and after two hours of watching the hen, she wandered off into the woods. About the time she disappeared, we heard a gobble about 250 yards off to our left in the woods (and only about 100 yards of area to our left was still our property). We listened to this bird for about two hours, and he almost sounded like he'd walk 50 yards toward us and gobble then walk 50 yards away then gobble. I made a few quiet clucks every now and then but to no avail. After two hours, we heard his gobblers get further and further until he was gone.

So. Now I'm a bit lost for what to do this weekend. I'm thinking the bird we keep hearing is that fourth bird we saw on the first day and if so, he doesn't like to come to calls. Twice now though, he's made a similar path (the woods behind the top field to the woods near the lower field we sat in). I'd love to go sit on his path, but it's just off of our property. So I'm thinking that we'd be better off sitting in the woods versus sitting on the edge of the field again because both days this past weekend, he didn't want to leave the woods. But beyond that, I'm not sure what else I can do to convince to come onto our property. My arsenal contains a couple different mouth calls, a slate call, and a gobble call. I tried a bit of gobbling on the second day we were out and he would gobble back every time I hit the call, but wouldn't come. My decoys include two hens and a B-mobile modified to look like a jake, but this bird only saw our hens that first weekend and hasn't gotten close enough since to see B since I only started putting him out this past weekend.

So I'll be hunting both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and I'll try to find a decent spot in the woods on our property, but again, not sure if there's anything else I can try. I've had birds hang up before, but never so far off and still so ready to keep gobbling back. He wants to meet my decoys, but only if they come to him. So, any advice?

doetrain

With so many options I would try hard to locate one on the roost. Get as close to the one that is consistantly on your property and call softly and sparingly while they are on the roost. Then when it's daylight give a good clear set of yelps about 2 sets of 6 and end each one with some cutting hen calls,then go silent for 10 minutes or so unless one gobbles hard. Repeat every ten minutes or so and if you get no response, relocate. Move toward were others have been seen in the past,you may see them before they see you and catch them off guard. This is what I do when in a simular situation as you have laid out,no tactic is a sure thing but you got a start somewhere. Good Hunting this weekend.

Phil from Maine

Any water near by? I like to try and set up some place near a small stream or run off if possible. I have found that turkeys like to follow this stuff a lot of the time. Also what is the type of woods are you refering to? Softwood or hardwood? A lot of toms like to hang around the hardwoods here while the hens prefer the softwood for hiding and nesting in. I agree with doetrain that there is no sure fire way in getting them to come out. Just recently I had tried to do roughly the same thing. Only thing was nothing was answering and after 2 hours I gave up on them. When I came back by there roughly 2 1/2 hours later they was right where I was calling from. I had used some cutting and yelping calls. I couldn't do nothing about it when I saw them there as I was on my way back with my last legaly allowed turkey. When I got that one a hen came into my decoys and the tom came across a ridge trying to catch up with the hen. I had set up in a ravine that was shaped some what like a funnel. I had used a rock pile to hide in. I did learn on these ones that less calling and more waiting worked out. How ever nothing was answering me at all. good Luck to you..

snapper1982

if that top field is on your property i would start there.

i encountered a similar bird a few days ago. he gobbled alot on his own and hammerd everything i threw at him but would not come. he had no hens. finnally got my hunter within 50 yd of him and gave a few soft calls he hammerd it. but wouldnt budge. after about 10 minutes of that and closing time 30 minutes away i got super agressive. gobbled at everything but wouldnt break. then at about 11:50 he shut up. we snuck over there and watched him going away. i went up the ridge and got a blind and returned and set it up in his area. he had roosted there several times but i had not hunted him til that morning.

so i left him alone 2 days then this morning i slipped in. he was roosted up the ridge about 100 yds. had hens roosted to my left. i figured the hens would pitch to the field and so would the tom. but no. hens and 5 jakes pitched to the field. tom stayed on the ridge. gobbling. 2 hens broke and went toward him. he shut up for 30-45 minutes. then started gobbling again. he was headed down the back side of a finger ridge and going to the creek bottom. i slipped to the creek. he was in the field on the other side. i got there and could see him. no hens so i called. he looked and gobbled. but then turned and started feeding away. i called again he looked but kept going away. so i swung wide and got in front of him. took 1.5 hrs to finally get it right. but i ended up with in 40 yds of him. all i gave him was scratching in the leaves and 5 times over about 20 minutes i gave 2 barely audible yelps. just so he knew it was a hen that was scratching. he never stopped gobbling but wouldnt move so i went silent. a couple minutes later he gobbled and was around 30 yds. still couldnt see him. a minute later about 20 yds. i could hear him walking and glimpsed him through the brush. but no shot. he went back to the feild but right in front of me. he gobbled. i swung my gun. when he stopped gobbling and stuck his head up. it was a sealed deal. i would have sworn he was an old bird but he wasnt. he was a 2 yr old.

maybe you can get an idea from my hunt to help with yours.

huntrfishr

Completely in agreement with Ridge runner.
Looks like you've got spoiled Toms.
They expect the hens to come to them, as already mentioned especially if they see the hen decoys.
I would try a SINGLE Jake decoy with a real fan tail. Hopefully they will see it as a competition to the hen that is calling, and come to bully him away.
With that many sightings of birds I would call aggressively.
Mind you I have never hunted mountain gobblers before so there is no guarantee that this will work. Let us know the results.....
Good luck,
louie

Phil from Maine

As stated previously every one has there own opion on how and why it will or not work. Myself being relatively new to turkey hunting when you concider the years others have been at it. I still do not see the reasoning to go higher. Turkeys just like you and I need one thing besides food and hens to support life. That one thing and one of the biggest things is in fact water. So again if you have a stream or run off nearby you will find the turkeys hanging around it. Where I hunt is woods and very thick woods without much in the line of corn fields and the like. Although they may not be concidered mountains by most standards they are definately hills runing right along them. I am posting 2 pics of one of the areas I hunt that will clearly show you some hills and some rocks. These rocks are only any where from 2 to 6 feet tall. The turkeys actually do not mind them at all as they offer great cover from predators.

This is part of the field ( power line and natural gas pipe line ) as it runs by a small mountain..You may even see a turkey or 2 going up or down this area.. But trust me not very many..

This pic is from the other side of the same area.. Which side do you think I have the best chances of getting a turkey from? Hint where those bushes cross in the small valley is a small stream with water..

This is what my turkey hunting area is like. It is completely different than what a lot of folks is used to. Thick woods with rocks and valleys and a giant field that runs straight threw this area for roughly 63 miles the way I go. It is more likey from the St. Croix River to the Penobscot River to equal 83 straight miles. I could show you a lot more but there is no need to. I have pics of hens with poults hiding on the rocks and ect.. I can only say from my findings where I would be hunting them. Up here in this type of country any turkey reaching 18 pounds is concidered to be a big turkey. Any turkey over that mark is concidered hugh..But just like most on here we all want to see you succeed!! Good Luck hunting them..

Phil from Maine

I guess here it is a different ball game.. They simply do what the normally do and fly up into a tree and wait until the danger has passed them by.. I have only had success during the last 2 and 1/2 years. One was shot in the fall by bow the other four were shot during the last 2 springs as I am fairly new at calling them. But all the turkeys I have shot and see strutting is within 3 to 400 yards from water. Normally however they are no more than 200 yards from it.They will also commonly fly across some of these streams to escape danger or looking for more hens..That is not to say that they will not travel up these hills as they sometimes do. I think to look for nuts and mushrooms and the like from time to time or to go looking for any more hens when the ones they have been with are done breeding. They will still end up down near water as they all need to have it. That is unlees there is a pool or pocket of water up on the ridge which can some times be the case..

neb

(get uphill from the gobbler if at all possible, he will be more apt to come in uphill) This is one of the best setups you can do. Good post Ridge Runner

Phil from Maine

I realize you are the expert on this one..LOL.. But in reality turkeys go for water more often than you think..

huntrfishr

I would like to contribute a little and here is what I know, by reading books about the physiology of the Wild Turkey.
The hens even as it is sitting on eggs has to get up and get a drink at least once a day.
Being hydrated also helps to the success of incubating eggs as it also needs a little bit of humidity during incubation. So hens have to select a nesting site that has a source of water that is within reach at a reasonable time to the hen.If I remember right within 200 meters maximum is about right. So if we follow the hen and the tom follows the hen to the nesting site, then it stands to reason that there is water nearby.
Now the question of whether the birds like it better going uphill or downhill I really can't relate to, as we don't have too many hills down our way.
One thing I have noted though in many years of hunting this birds, if they decide to go to a particular spot, you can try stopping them from going there but one way or another the next thing you know they are there. They will make detours, fly in a circle, even double back on you. The only thing I haven't seen them do is swim across a body of water.
Here is something to think about Wild Turkeys, some are so cagey that it is a challenge to bag one but then again,they can be so stupid sometimes, I watched some mature birds spend all day trying to go through a fence instead of flying on top of the post and over.
A hen finally came over from the other side and landed in the post investigating and that sort of reminded them that they can fly.