First congrat to all who have taken a bird this year! It has been a tough year so far for me. The hens are talking back and I just can't believe it but only heard a couple gobbles so far. I'm not sure what to think of this. Anyone have any suggestions.

There are times that they just will not gobble period and I do not know why that is.. What I did last year was concentrate on the hens.. 2 Toms came in and I nailed the one that looked straight at me while I was trying to see which one was the biggest. They never gobbled not even once.. I am thinking it is because of predators being in the area?? I really have no idea why they do this at times though.. perhaps they are henned up and you have to wait them out?

You may also want to check out under the sticky for Thoughts on Working Birds as it is a great read and has some decent ideas..

All the birds to date I have called in (total of 9 Toms 6 Jakes) did not gobble much at all......but when a hen talks to me (3 out of 5 Kills)forget the Tom and tick that hen off by mimicking her note for note, yelp for yelp, cluck for cluck, when she stops you stop, but when she calls cut her off you call, and do it with more urgency.
Cuz when Jennie gets mad and comes your way guess what follows her?

JW

There is no need for a tom to gobble if he already has hens with him.

Thanks, you guys got it figured out. I will give it a try in the morning and see what happens. Last weekend I had my son with me and the hens keep on ad on and I talked back at them and they just wouldn't show up. Tonight was the same story. LOL I will wait them out and I may get a chance yet. I will let you know how I do. Thanks so much for the help.

X2!

It's gonna be one of those years I just got a feelin...

Hens still talking back and still no luck!! LOL I tried to tick them off this morning but they didn't show up. I keep plugging away and see what happens.

I've had some ole timers tell me the same regarding the predators and the toms not gobbling. We are having the same problem. Lots of coyotes on the property.

Went out this morning before the wind started to blow. I'm set up on a bench above the river bottom with heavy tree and brush. When I looked over I seen two toms or jakes and got in the blind and started to call. I heard nothing ad they walked off. I'm thinking they have been over called in this area. I hunt private land but I do know they have been hunted on land around me. It really has been an interesting year so far. LOL I will give it a few more tries before the season closes.