I've been hunting turkeys for 3 yrs now and i have yet to connect, Iam really good at calling them in, I use a box. slate, mouth calls, decoys. I do everything by the book. they always hang up around 60 yrds away or they come in then run like the wind the other way. what is my problem? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Buddy I know what you mean my first years was just like that. I have been hunting them now for 15 years and trust me when I say it is just as hard. Big gobblers can do number on your confidence level but hang in there. If a gobbler is hanging up on you 9 times out of 10 he is waiting on the hen(you) to come to him or there is a obstruction(fence, creek etc.). If there is a fence or creek you've got to get on the same side as him. If he is out of sight move on him back out and
do a semi-circle and setup again. I have had turkeys come right in after that. If their is not a creek etc. then sometimes he just may not like where you are located or just plain don't want to come to your location. Move on him like described above, use cover and keep good distance away or you will get busted. While you are making your move it is imperative you do not call at all except for using locator calls. When I set up on a bird I try to get in a location where he cannot see the location where I am calling from. I will setup behind a rise or top of a ridge if he is below me. So when he does come in for a peak...BAM! he is already in range. You have got to have your gun up and ready cause if your not and he comes in your busted! Sometimes it can make for some fast shooting!!!

I will give you a example on a hunt I had in Missouri last year. I drove up from Tennessee all night and was hunting some land my father-in-law manages so we have hunting rights to the property. Well I got up their late around 9 am but that's primetime for me. I have harvested 80% of my birds after 10am..Why? causes the hens have left the gobblers to nest and this is when the old boys are alone and hot! Well I was walking down a trail on a ridge of that was selected cut a couple of years ago and calling about every 70 yards it was around 11:30 am... then BAM!.....Gobble! He was 70 yards in the thick stuff(cutover). Man I found the closes tree loaded up a mouth call and waited. Usually when you get a old boy to gobble this time of day they come in pretty fast so I had my gun up ready. 5 minutes past nothing! I called Bam! he gobbled but he was in the same spot again..Darn He is waiting on the hen to come to him. Well the trees laying on the ground in front of me it was going to be hell for me to see him or him to see me. Well I learned long ago when I get in a stalemate with a bird I just put a good old dose of silence on them. This is especially true with a 3+ old bird. I grabbed me a stick and started scatching the leaves like I was a uninterested hen. Now I had my gun up knowing that if he showed, he is going have to come around all the cutover between us and would probably have to show himself out on the trail above me I had just walked down. Well I waited him out just scratching the leaves and dared not to use a call cause I knew it would hang him up again. Well 20 minutes passed and was starting to dose off from the all night drive. I glanced up the trail 40 yards and guess who peaked his head around the corner. He walked out into the trail and knew he was in trouble when he spotted me instead of a hen! I dropped him cold before he took 2 steps!. He was a 3 year old, 11 inch beard, and weighes a whopping 29 pounds! So you see I good dose of silence just drives them nuts and their curiousity and breeding instinct gets the best of them. Now if he would have had hens with him he probably would'nt have budged. I would have tried to call the hens but then I would have probably got busted by one of them.

One thing I have noticed over the years is that I call less and let things unfold. I listen for drumming and other sounds turkeys make. Hey I love to get them gobbling on the roost but I can tell you right now I have killed very few birds off the roost. If you do find one on the roost call only ONCE just to let him know you are there and shut up. Grab you a stick and scratch the leaves until he flies down. Then its hammertime when he is on the ground! Hit him with everything 2 calls at once sound like a group of hot hens! and then be quiet and don't call for a while! If he is by himself 9 out of 10 times he will come in. If he has a bunch of hens well.....you know how that is. Just try to stay with them until the hens leave. Now I did call in a nice gobbler in Mississippi last year and he came running to my decoys with 3 hens in tow! I could'nt believe it.
Go figure? Heck man that's turkey hunting!! Good luck this year and remember use your gut instinct. If that voice in your head says man I need to move, call or whatever do it! don't hesitate...trust your instinct! just because some turkey hunting pro in some magazine says do this and do that. I use to follow all there advice no I follow my own, what works for them might not work for you or me. Get out there with the wild turkey they are my mentors!!!!!! got to go hitting the woods in 4 hours, can't sleep its the first hunt of year for me in Mississippi, hope there gobbling because if I find on I can tell you right now he is in TROUBLE!

.....IF YOU BUILD IT,THEY WILL COME.....[:-][:-]

You say you can call them in OK, so its not your calling.

My guess is that they are seeing something they don't like. Be aware that they have an uncanny sense of placement of where sound is comming from. They may see the decoy, but that's NOT where the calling is comming from. Don't call when they're in sight if you can help it -- especialy if they're comming in already. Pick your setups carefully with lots of cover and SIT VERY, VERY STILL. I've had them bust me from a blink! Be very aware of your movements -- ANY movement -- even to the point of controlling your breathing. Make sure that your watch is covered and that your glasses (if you wear them) don't glint, your belt buckle doesn't shine, and don't wear white socks. THEY SEE EVERYTHING.

Think pure thoughts -- they see those too.

some excellent advice given to you....took me 4 years before i connected, you know when i did, all those years disappeared....

hey just want to say thanks for all the info, i still got 2 months to wait till turkey day opens. but i will try everything you all said to. hopefully this year i will connect.

Try leaveing the Decoys in your pouch, sounds to me as the birds are becoming Decoy shy, and like the others have said , movement places a big part in this game, Have the gun pointed in the direction of the incoming bird, you can hear him Gobble , follow it with the barrel...BT

Gobbler's don't like me either, probably because I usually end up blowing their head off...

LOL, just kiddin.

In all seriousness, 3 years of turkey hunting and not connecting I bet is quite common. But hunting 7-8 years, without connecting is more rare. That's how long it took me.

Try doing what everyone else says...I know that when I get busted...it's usually because I've been spotted. Not because of bad camo, but because of movement. Try waiting until that ol gobbler head is behind a tree or something before you move. Maybe you'll get one this upcoming season. Good luck bud!