And that's exactly how most gobblers are taken each spring. And if hunters would call less often, a lot more would be shot.
Don't get me wrong, some turkeys want to be called to, but more times than not, calling just stops them or turns them around. Imagine what would happen to the success ratio of deer hunters if bucks would "sound off" from a stationary location on crisp fall mornings.
That's half of it. High pressure = shity gobbler / hen ratios. The other half is timing...we carry piles of feathers off of public ground every spring. You just have to figure out where and when.
Sort of but not really. There are some who believe we are "shooting the gobble" out of them. By that they mean that since vocal birds are more likely to die, that the less vocal birds are left to do more breeding and pass on their less vocal genes. I suppose this is possible as characteristics can be bread into a dog in just a few generations, however, a dog is a lot smarter than a turkey. Henned up gobblers are hard to hunt...lonely gobblers are easy to hunt...it doesn't matter who owns the ground. Hunter interference is a completely separate topic.
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I really think what sinks most turkey hunts is not calling too much or too little. I really think it is simply a matter of being seen. I say that only because after hunting them for years from a blind with a bow, I can count on one hand the number of times I have not had turkeys within range. Some days, when I was easily bored, I called a lot. Others, when I was sleepy or busy reading, I called very little. Turkey tend to find their way into the company of other turkeys. Some days they want to run in, and some days they just show up as if they could care less about ever getting anywhere other than where they are already standing. I used to think turkeys were difficult - perhaps even somewhat savy. Now, I think they are about the dumbest animal in the woods, with a very keen sense of sight. If you can hide, and stay put, call a little or a lot, and turkeys will show up....but it is mighty boring at times to wait them out, and usually not worth it to me these days.
Huckleberry Finn
Senior Member
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Send me the recorded file and I will put it in a youtube video for you to share
Mountaineer
Banned
Yeah there was a stand. Other areas we hunt they pay no mind to it.. I ended up putting up one of those one sided stand blinds and took a nice tom out of it, just cause they were pissing me off..
this is my first year to try turkey hunting. I am no Mountaineer. I know nothing. Just picking up bits here and there. I have seen three times in the last 2 weeks a tom in full strut chasing a piece of tail. Wouldn't this be part of the reason they are tough to hunt in the spring? I don't know just how long their breeding season takes place. Is this part of the reason calling does not work well all the time? I am curious.
We've learned Mountme thinks turkeys are harder to kill on public land and he's the best box call runner in the world. I'm floored to say the least...
Mountaineer
Banned
:smiley_bril:..I was taught 25 years ago how to run a Box call by an ole timer...This ole timer had turkey feet stapled to his basements walls from end to end..must of been 500 or so...He taught me the basics and I fine tuned it.
The best thing any younger fellow can do is to listen to the ole timers and gather as much info from them as possible..I know..i always did.
The best thing any younger fellow can do is to listen to the ole timers and gather as much info from them as possible..I know..i always did.
I killed my first longbeard on the Wayne National Forest back in the early 90's in the Carbon Hill area. I knew jack shit about turkey hunting. I sat down by a large tree just above a gas line clearing and it got light. 3 turkeys were gobbling around me so I made a few light calls with a box call. 10 minutes later a large longbeard came strolling down the gas line with his beard just a flopping. When he cleared the large tree in front of me I blew his head off at about 7 yards. First time ever hunting turkeys, done in less than 1/2 hour. The next day I went with my uncle and called in 3 gobblers to his gun at 11am. And this ground had plenty of hunters on it.
I hunt mostly private ground now and it has plenty of pressure from hunters also. I will say that some of these private land birds are hard to kill.
gern- I was going to pick your brain on a phone call. I have changed my mind. I think I will just go back thru Mountaineer's posts and re-read them. lol
Honestly, when you have to tell me how good you are. . . I tend to not believe someone. Sorry Paul. That is not a very good way to get me to listen. All I was curious about was if the early breeding taking place is a reason for them not responding to the calls. Do they become less responsive if most of the breeding takes place prior to season? How long is their breeding season generally? I really don't care how good you are. I am just trying to get educated here.
Honestly, when you have to tell me how good you are. . . I tend to not believe someone. Sorry Paul. That is not a very good way to get me to listen. All I was curious about was if the early breeding taking place is a reason for them not responding to the calls. Do they become less responsive if most of the breeding takes place prior to season? How long is their breeding season generally? I really don't care how good you are. I am just trying to get educated here.
Another tip…record yourself calling. I’m sure most of you have noticed that your voice recorded sounds different than you think…so do your hen yelps. Every spring I pull out a video recorder, walk about 100 yards away and record myself calling. For those of you who haven’t spent a lot of time around live hens, it’s beneficial to buy a recording of hen vocalizations and then compare them to the sounds you’re making. A real hen wouldn’t stand a chance at the Grand National…but she always wins the important contests.
I was looking at some video footage today that my son took during the spring of 2010. His high school requires all graduating seniors to do a project related to an outside skill from their normal curriculum. My son chose to make a turkey hunting video. I produced a pair of commercially marked videos in the late 80’s called Gobblemania 1 and 2. He called his work Gobblemania 2010. I peeled a couple of minutes from the raw footage that illustrate a bird that was killed with minimal calling. (Ryan’s edits were much smoother). We got his attention off of the roost and never made another sound. This scenario was perfect as we were stationed between the gobbler and a group of birds behind us. The bird was in range for several minutes but I waited to make sure my son had plenty of pre roll for his project…he walks up an incline to 7 steps…enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C85v7WJ0DAE
I was looking at some video footage today that my son took during the spring of 2010. His high school requires all graduating seniors to do a project related to an outside skill from their normal curriculum. My son chose to make a turkey hunting video. I produced a pair of commercially marked videos in the late 80’s called Gobblemania 1 and 2. He called his work Gobblemania 2010. I peeled a couple of minutes from the raw footage that illustrate a bird that was killed with minimal calling. (Ryan’s edits were much smoother). We got his attention off of the roost and never made another sound. This scenario was perfect as we were stationed between the gobbler and a group of birds behind us. The bird was in range for several minutes but I waited to make sure my son had plenty of pre roll for his project…he walks up an incline to 7 steps…enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C85v7WJ0DAE
Ooooooooooh yea! Looked like a grenade blew up in that gobbler's face! Great video, Mike... thanks for sharing that.
Great tip on the audio recording, too. I do this A LOT.... Whether it be with duck calls, goose calls, or my turkey calls, I'm ALWAYS practicing in my truck with my cell phone on record. Without listening to a recorded playback, it's pretty difficult to know what you really sound like.
Great tip on the audio recording, too. I do this A LOT.... Whether it be with duck calls, goose calls, or my turkey calls, I'm ALWAYS practicing in my truck with my cell phone on record. Without listening to a recorded playback, it's pretty difficult to know what you really sound like.
Mountaineer
Banned
lol,,hicks..im not good..im just old..that's all.
Ya gotta remember..We have the advantage..we are much older than these turkeys..Most of these birds were hunting may only have lived for 3 or so years on this earth. Some of us have a good 40 years on this planet lmao
Ya gotta remember..We have the advantage..we are much older than these turkeys..Most of these birds were hunting may only have lived for 3 or so years on this earth. Some of us have a good 40 years on this planet lmao
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I see. Well, I guarantee it they are smarter than me. I am 36, but I am a virgin turkey hunter. As green as you can get in turkey hunting. This is why I am taking notes.
Yes Eric, we’ve have called up many aggressive hens over the years, however, I’m going to say the average is about 1 in 10, or that 9 out of 10 hens lead the gobbler off in the opposite direction. The vast majority of hens that I’ve called in have been by themselves or with other hens. Occasionally they’ll have a dummy in tow.
Speaking of aggressive hens, here’s one from the archives, (I borrowed this camera from Fred Flinstone)…according to Dr. Earl Kenemer, the chief biologist with the NWTF at that time, I was the first person to document wild hens strutting. This footage was taken in 1986. We filmed a repeat performance in 1989.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiaN2am9f_0&feature=youtu.be
In the mid 90’s we called up a hen that was so jacked up she tried to gobble. Unfortunately, I quit carrying a camera to the turkey woods in the early 90’s and have no physical evidence.
Another one from the archives…this clip was taken from Gobblemania 1 in the late 80’s. This bird was roosted the night before and the hunter over slept. The land owner took over the camera and filmed me shooting the turkey…I’ll never forget the phone call I got from Eddie Salter after sending him a copy of this hunt…daauuumm, that looks like a Warner Brothers Cartoon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI4cNQXg9Rc&feature=youtu.be
Speaking of aggressive hens, here’s one from the archives, (I borrowed this camera from Fred Flinstone)…according to Dr. Earl Kenemer, the chief biologist with the NWTF at that time, I was the first person to document wild hens strutting. This footage was taken in 1986. We filmed a repeat performance in 1989.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiaN2am9f_0&feature=youtu.be
In the mid 90’s we called up a hen that was so jacked up she tried to gobble. Unfortunately, I quit carrying a camera to the turkey woods in the early 90’s and have no physical evidence.
Another one from the archives…this clip was taken from Gobblemania 1 in the late 80’s. This bird was roosted the night before and the hunter over slept. The land owner took over the camera and filmed me shooting the turkey…I’ll never forget the phone call I got from Eddie Salter after sending him a copy of this hunt…daauuumm, that looks like a Warner Brothers Cartoon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI4cNQXg9Rc&feature=youtu.be
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