Tight Lipped Turkeys

BBD280

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For the past two mornings the turkeys have been quiet on our land. I stopped before daylight this morning and owl hooted at 3 different roost spots that always get a response and NOTHING. I went to a fourth spot and got set up and the entire morning was silent. Anyone else having the same issue? One guy I talked to seemed to think that alot of hens got bred during the month long warm stretch in February.
 
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I went yesterday morning and never heard anything. Years past I have always heard some. I wondered if the coyotes have been busy.
 
With all the hunters and coyotes and other predators chasing them, our once vocal turkeys have been given an education, shut up and stay alive.

And on top of that the date for our season is always late. Much of the excitement is already over.
 
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I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one hearing & seeing NOTHING turkey-like!

For the last decade, I've heard & seen 'em a few weeks before opening day. This year: silence (and invisibility), even with the week-later start tothe season.
One guy I talked to seemed to think that alot of hens got bred during the month long warm stretch in February.
Hm, maybe... But I didn't hear or see them early this year, either.

I thought predation maybe - cameras have caught coyotes & at least one bobcat in the area - but they were around in earlier years as well.
 
Yep, listened to them gobble the whole week before season opened. Did not hear a single bird Saturday. As stated, I think the coyotes may have something to do with it. They will gobble on the roost but go silent as soon as they hit the ground. Guess the ones that kept announcing their presence got eaten.

edit: friend of mine in Burke County did a double Saturday morning. Killed the coyote that was sneaking in to his calls and then killed the gobbler about 10 minutes later. Said the Tom gobbled his head off when the gun went off to kill the coyote.
 
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We've got coyotes, but no more than we've ever had and there's plenty of birds there. There's as much turkey sign there as we've ever had. I've had a bunch of mornings in the past that birds would gobble on the roost and then go quiet but can't recall a morning that was totally silent.
 
This was my morning. Not a peep.
f577dc9fd7bd050e5624ef0ba7beff81.jpg
 
I'm gonna go back Thursday morning and see what happens.
 
a gobbler i got two years ago never gobbled once. i called off and on for 90 minutes. nothing.
so, i settled in and shut up. about 20 minutes later, i heard steps in the dried leaves. there he was.
 
a gobbler i got two years ago never gobbled once. i called off and on for 90 minutes. nothing.
so, i settled in and shut up. about 20 minutes later, i heard steps in the dried leaves. there he was.
Turkey hunting stopped being a calling game years ago. It is more like deer hunting, you are in an area that they happen to be or you know their travel route and you get between where they are and where they are going. It’s called turkey “ambushing”.
 
Turkey hunting stopped being a calling game years ago. It is more like deer hunting, you are in an area that they happen to be or you know their travel route and you get between where they are and where they are going. It’s called turkey “ambushing”.
We typically have very vocal birds that respond well to calling. We've got 1200 acres that gets little to no outside pressure and there's only 4 of us that hunt it. Maybe this week will be different.
 
Had one gobbling this morning. Moved towards me a good ways and then either got spooked or found another hen. I gave him 30-40 minutes and then moved away. Got another one gobbling right now, but haven't heard him in probably 10 minutes. First time I've ever heard one and it gets the ole heart pounding.
 
I was pretty blessed Thursday morning when my best friend, fellow forum member and Master Jedi Turkey hunter and I pulled up to our spot and there was one hammering about 200 yards in. It was down at 7:01. :D We continued to hunt until about noon and it was absolutely silent. Plenty of signs of birds but not a peep. I went again yesterday to a different spot and a hen came walking through the field. She was clucking and carrying on a not a single peep from a Tom. If she can't get one to gobble, there ain't no way I can!

My bird 1.jpg
 
Had one gobbling this morning. Moved towards me a good ways and then either got spooked or found another hen. I gave him 30-40 minutes and then moved away. Got another one gobbling right now, but haven't heard him in probably 10 minutes. First time I've ever heard one and it gets the ole heart pounding.

Did you get him?!
 
Nope, I was reminded of the problem with public land. Somebody came walking through blowing a crow call. Moved spots and heard some distant gobbling from another bird, but never could get anything put together.

That's frustrating.
 
Wild turkeys are not dumb. In fact, they're probably one of the most intelligent birds in the world, in my opinion.

Their ability to sense firearms is second only to that of crows, in my experience.


Domestic turkeys, however, have got to be among the stupidest creatures ever on the face of the planet.
 
I got shock gobbles out of four toms Thursday

Got it on video too

And I’ve seen “smart” wild turkeys numbering in the 20-30s shut down shooting ranges numerous times on military installations. They’re all stupid

P2e1ftP.jpg
 
No doubt. I haven't decided if I'm going to slip back out there for this afternoon or leave it be until Monday or Tuesday.

I would wait. Saturday on a public game land doesn't sound like my kind of thing.
 
Good grief these birds are giving me a hard time. I went way off the beaten path on the game lands this morning. Called a jake in around 9. He never made a peep. Saw the decoy, started that way, and then disappeared. I guess he saw me shift my shotgun to my shoulder, but I never saw him once again after he slipped behind a tree. Set up in a new spot just a little ways away now.
 
They would not stay out of the road when I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday. You would have to stop and wait for them to move.
 
Birds have not been gobbling much at my place this year. Did not hear a single gobble Saturday morning. Sunday morning, I had just sat down and had one double and triple gobbling behind the house. Called once when he was still in the tree to let him know I was there, and once more when I knew he was on the ground. Sounded like he was on the logging road and going to come into the field. I have the gun pointed where I think he will appear when I see movement from the other direction. Jake had snuck in. I went for the bird I could see and shifted the gun and hammered the Jake and was done at 6:45. Same day I saw two long beards in the same field with a half dozen hens. It was close to dark, so I know they roosted nearby. Monday morning I listened for them and did not hear a sound. Guess they are content till more hens get bred.
 
I'm not a Turkey Hunter, so forgive the dumb question- but are these the wild turkeys I see walking around my place like crazy, in huge packs?

They look like this:

Wild%20Turkey%20Dickinson.jpg
 
I'm not a Turkey Hunter, so forgive the dumb question- but are these the wild turkeys I see walking around my place like crazy, in huge packs?

They look like this:

Wild%20Turkey%20Dickinson.jpg
No way to tell unless I'm there with a shotgun in hand....

Yeah, that's a wild turkey. A hen.
 
No way to tell unless I'm there with a shotgun in hand....

Yeah, that's a wild turkey. A hen.

Did you just assume it's gender?

Seriously though, which ones get hunted, the Toms or the hens? These ladies walk in flocks of 6-10 all around my area.
 
Did you just assume it's gender?

Seriously though, which ones get hunted, the Toms or the hens? These ladies walk in flocks of 6-10 all around my area.
Technically you can shoot a hen if it has a beard. You would see a patch of hair sticking out of its chest. When hunting though, you're trying to kill the toms. A jake is a year old male turkey (legal to kill).
 
I'm not a Turkey Hunter, so forgive the dumb question- but are these the wild turkeys I see walking around my place like crazy, in huge packs?

They look like this:

Wild%20Turkey%20Dickinson.jpg
That's what I was referencing in my earlier post. She's what we try to mimic with a call to get a big fat Tom to come in struttin' his stuff. The beard we are talking about is laying across the log on the left in my pic above.
 
well was walking out the door this morning to take the wife to work and there were 2 big toms waiting for me to come out to shoot them but soon as they seen Gwen they scooted. I was using my head and went straight to get gun loaded it up and out into pasture I went right behind them lol I waddled in an almost squat to get as close as I could. I got like 25 yards from them and the smaller one just stops turned and looks dead at me and puffs all up like the hell you say. Well needless to say you don't bring puffed up feathers to fight someone with a shotgunturkey1.jpg
 
well was walking out the door this morning to take the wife to work and there were 2 big toms waiting for me to come out to shoot them but soon as they seen Gwen they scooted. I was using my head and went straight to get gun loaded it up and out into pasture I went right behind them lol I waddled in an almost squat to get as close as I could. I got like 25 yards from them and the smaller one just stops turned and looks dead at me and puffs all up like the hell you say. Well needless to say you don't bring puffed up feathers to fight someone with a shotgunView attachment 54333
You look like my grandfather... You may even be old enough. ;)
 
well was walking out the door this morning to take the wife to work and there were 2 big toms waiting for me to come out to shoot them but soon as they seen Gwen they scooted. I was using my head and went straight to get gun loaded it up and out into pasture I went right behind them lol I waddled in an almost squat to get as close as I could. I got like 25 yards from them and the smaller one just stops turned and looks dead at me and puffs all up like the hell you say. Well needless to say you don't bring puffed up feathers to fight someone with a shotgunView attachment 54333

Niiiiice! Congratulations!


I'm 60 so who knows

Heck, I've got three older brothers and you aren't even as old as the next oldest one. You've got lots of trips around the sun left!
 
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