sky_guy_61

I am new to turkey hunting. I have mostly been scouting this year, and this morning I went at sunup to where I had seen tracks. Lots of types of birds making sounds, and before long I hear several gobblers. One of them is gobbling every few minutes. I let out a yelp and one responds with a gobble. I move toward it, thinking it was further away, but then I spot it about 75 yards away. I freeze, and he is not moving at first either. But he lets out another gobble and after a few minutes he moves around casually. I dont move, and he heads into the woods.
I figure I am probably busted so I dont make any calls, and he is not gobbling any more.

Was there any point in pursuing him? If he stopped gobbling does that mean I am busted? I just left the area figuring I will try again next weekend. I dont know exactly where his roost is, but it must be close to where I saw him. Being late in the season maybe I should try a decoy?

Thanks for any ideas..

ryan08rb

No you didnt get busted he might have had hens near by and probably was more interested in them or he might have seen you with you noing it when u hear one its not always best to move toward them you wanna try and stay above them... good luck







Ryan

Strut&Rut

Unfortunately, I would say if he was headed in the direction of your initial call, that this bird could have easily been called in for a shot.

A good rule of thumb, especially at sunrise, is to not make a move a minimum of 30 minutes after you hear the last gobble.

If I've been working a bird, I try not to move for at least 60 minutes. If the bird I'm working is gobbling to my calls, but moving off, it's a good bet that 1) he's with hens, or 2) he is hung up on an obstacle. These birds can be moved on, and if you get ahead of them, sometimes these are the easiest one to ambush...

Personally if I were you I'd go back to the same spot at sunrise, get comfy, and try and call that bird into my setup. From your description, with no alarm putts and no running/flying, that bird was not spooked and will act "normal".

Good luck...

sky_guy_61

Thanks for the input guys. I was not upset about it.. just glad I finally found one. I will try again next chance I get.

CamoKing247

Don't feel so bad Sky_Guy

It was my 1st time out as well and i was sitting in a blind when i had a chance at a tom with a 9inch beard when a dang hen walked up right in my way of my shot that i had just sighted in on the tom when bam!! the dang hen was right in my way so being an honest hunter and sticking to the laws i passed on the shot and didn't want to take out the hen.

Good luck with your quest for the Mighty Tom