ttracker

Gobblers pattern hens. One year in MS I watch a jake, two hens, and a big gobbler scratch their way away from me in the open woods about 100yards away. This was late morning all were feeding, and it was obvious the gob was getting bored with the situation. I tried every thing in the book to pull him away. I watched them for about 45 minutes. Then the gobbler just started walking away from them, passed by me at about 75 yards and up the ridgeline he went, totally ignoring me. Where was he going???? So I proceeded to follow him up the ridge, I lost site of him but ended up flushing him and about 6 hens about 400 yards up the ridge. Wow I thought this bird knows these hens, he knows their spots, he know where the hen “bars” are. Those hens didn’t call and he never gobbled the whole time he just knew they would be there. He had patterned them all year. It was old log landing with some herbaceous growth and very old oak trees, kind of a unique area in the landscape. I just thought to myself, what if it was a little bit later in the season and those hens weren’t there at his favorite bar. I bet that bird would have started hammering right there on the spot. I think this is one of the reasons why some birds don’t gobble on the roost. They don’t gobble until they get to there hen bar and find nothing. Its hard to think that a gobbler wakes up, with hens or not and holds back his gobbling, especially when the sun is rising bright. Yet I have had severeal birds not gobble on the roost but a half an hour after sun up and they have been down from the roost for a half an hour or they start hammering. Sure he could have been with hens and they left, but I don’t think that happens that quickly. So when you don’t here birds right off the roost, find those hens bars because that’s where he is going, hopefully the hens wont be their and he will be all fired up. And be patient with gobblers that are henned up he will get bored of them if they don’t put out…..Any one else have these types of observations????

Mr. Longbeard

I'm afraid to reply to this one. Those big words intimidate me. My vocabulary isn't that big!!!

Edited by - Mr. Longbeard on 02/23/2002 18:02:59

Bobgobble2

Ttracker some years ago I was set-up on gobbler that had 6 jakes with him in the roost.They made quite a racket gobbling there heads off.Anyway when they flew out of the roost the jakes went one way and this big gobbler went the other.In fact we watched him sail right over our heads and land down small field that in a matter of minutes had 3 hens walk out in.I do belive though that even though gobblers do know where to find hens,really as nature works the hens our the ones who know where to find the gobblers.Dominant gobblers have strut zones they visit daily and the hens know thats where they will find em and often times wont be very far from these spots.These hen bars your talking about could actually be just a gobblers strutzone.And your right on the money
knowing where these areas are greatly increases our chances of bagging ole longbeard.&quot;Hen Bars&quot; I like it!<img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>

BrushChimp

Scouting before season for these strut zones and finding can help your hunting dramaticly.