weak Gobble from Mature Tom
04-14-2015, 04:03 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 3
weak Gobble from Mature Tom
ive hunted a particular bird about 3 times this year and I can tell its him as soon as he gobbles. the first hunt i assumed it was a jake or so i wasnt ready when he showed up and he was a very large bird with very large beard and spurs looked 1.25-1.5 with my binoculars. I fired a desperate shot but missed.This Bird gobbles upwards to 75-100 times when i call too him but stays in thick brush and i havent seen him strut. the odd thing is his gobble is so faint that he can be 50 yards away and he is hard to hear and even harder to pinpoint his location. It doesnt sound like a jake or any other tom ive ever heard. this may sound crazy but its like hes too old. Any Ideas
04-14-2015, 06:37 PM
#3
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,430
Not every gobbler sounds the same. I have heard some strange noises coming some folks sing baritone and some are base and some are soprenos, turkeys as well. I have heard turkeys gobble you would swear was someone who was P-poor at using a turkey call, but it was a turkey.
Last edited by Oldtimr; 04-14-2015 at 06:41 PM.
04-15-2015, 06:08 AM
#5
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 3
He always is in some very thick brush. i circled the entire thicket on my last hunt and he gobbled to me at every position. when i gave up after 3 hours i walked out and spooked him on the logging road that is planted in clover. I got on him again 1 hour later on the next ridge and he was in the only thicket on the ridge gobbling at just about all my calls. i toned it down and was silent mostly but same result. should i move on to another bird. only thing i didnt try was a gobble call
04-15-2015, 06:35 AM
#6
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
IMHO you're doing way too much calling. Birds that respond like that do not come in well a lot of the time and want you, the hen, to come to them. That's the way nature intended and he's probably smart enough at his age and has been shot at and missed like you did or even wounded. It sounds to me like you need to set up right on the edge of the heavy stuff he likes and call very sparingly, have plenty of patience and I'd bet sooner or later he'll sneak in to you and if you're ready you'll get him. You'll probably also want to change your calls and calling pattern, as he's now smart enough to know what's what when you call if you have busted him like you mentioned. IMHO lack of patience is the biggest thing that most turkey hunters lack and I include myself in that category!
Last edited by Topgun 3006; 04-15-2015 at 06:37 AM. Reason: Spelling
04-15-2015, 09:09 AM
#7
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 7,437
A seasoned bird who had been around the block a few times and missing him helped that even more!
Why gobble loud when he probably gets all the hen action he wants!
I would call very softly and very sporadically. The softer the better. And stay put.
JW
Why gobble loud when he probably gets all the hen action he wants!
I would call very softly and very sporadically. The softer the better. And stay put.
JW
04-15-2015, 01:26 PM
#10
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Eastern wv
Posts: 3,646
just slow down the calling, tone it down, listen to where he is, ok, he's in a thicket, get just inside it, cluck a couple times, if he answers those if you do it right he;s a dead bird, the simple cluck is your best call.
when he answers that cluck or 2 hold back a couple minutes before you call again, then a couple more clucks, very very soft!!! he'll move closer, when he gets close, and you can hear the "snap" in the gobble, reach down and rake the leaves with your hand a couple times.
He has now heard a hen call from your position, and heard her feeding, sit tight eyes open he'll show.
on another note, that logging road is the only open place in the thicket, its his strut zone, he is vulnerable there. that turkey is killable no doubt.
Now my thoughts on singleing out a dominant bird
In my beard case I have 13 sets of spurs 1.375" or longer, I use to be obsessed with killing the "unkillable" gobblers, till I figured out I was missing the fun of turkey hunting, its not much fun spending the whole season on one bird that has been around long enough to know to get call shy after the first couple days. sure I killed some nice birds, most of which were killed due to another gobbleing bird in close proximity, the last six I killed I just waited for the second bird to sound off and set up on him and waited. turkeys ain't hard, they ain't smart, they're just turkeys.
RR
when he answers that cluck or 2 hold back a couple minutes before you call again, then a couple more clucks, very very soft!!! he'll move closer, when he gets close, and you can hear the "snap" in the gobble, reach down and rake the leaves with your hand a couple times.
He has now heard a hen call from your position, and heard her feeding, sit tight eyes open he'll show.
on another note, that logging road is the only open place in the thicket, its his strut zone, he is vulnerable there. that turkey is killable no doubt.
Now my thoughts on singleing out a dominant bird
In my beard case I have 13 sets of spurs 1.375" or longer, I use to be obsessed with killing the "unkillable" gobblers, till I figured out I was missing the fun of turkey hunting, its not much fun spending the whole season on one bird that has been around long enough to know to get call shy after the first couple days. sure I killed some nice birds, most of which were killed due to another gobbleing bird in close proximity, the last six I killed I just waited for the second bird to sound off and set up on him and waited. turkeys ain't hard, they ain't smart, they're just turkeys.
RR