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Crappy gobbling year?

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Boll Weevil

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I keep a hunt log and it only occurred to me after looking at this year's dead birds in review. Of the 4 birds I killed one gobbled twice, two gobbled once, and one didn't gobble any. I don't know if it's just coincidence, related to population dynamics, number of hens or what but I've never had a spring like it.

Anyone else notice less gobbling from birds they killed this year?
 
I've noticed WAY less gobbling overall, esp roost gobbling, but every bird I've killed has gobbled on the way in. I haven't killed or called in any birds that have come in silent (except for the one who has never gobbled on my local lease in South MS last Sunday... but we bumped each other).

That being said, I don't sit long. I'm looking for the thrill of the interaction between myself and the bird. I dont get much enjoyment out if shooting a bird that comes sneaking in with a deflated head and body. Because of that, I'm sure I've missed out on several potential kills that could have happened had I just sat in a spot for a couple hours and kept alert.

As far as WHY there are fewer gobbles... its 1 of 2 things. Either way more hens out there, so birds don't have to gobble, or so few gobblers out there so they don't have to compete and sound off to neighboring leks. I hope its the former and not the latter.

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I was hoping you'd weigh in mega. I was thinking about the reason why and the hens would likely be the case on my farm...oodles and oodles of hens. With the exception of wide open fields I can sit down just about anywhere, call, and have a hen show up within a matter of minutes.
 
Oh... i forgot to state the obvious.... increased hunting pressure directly correlates to decreased gobbling activity...

Corona has certainly increased the number of hunters in this spring woods. That is also a possible contributing factor to decreased gobbling, esp roost gobbling.

But I noticed WAY less roost gobbling both on MS opening weekend as well as TN opening weekend. Maybe just bad luck where I set up and wasn't close to a tom on the roost, but it was surprising and disappointing not to hear a tom sound off in the dark.

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The hardest gobbling here was the prior 2 weeks leading up to the opener and the first week wasn't bad then it died. I haven't heard a hard gobbling mid morning bird yet. Mostly a couple roost gobbles and then nothing.
 
The same or less, but it hasn't been none at all. I do think the huge increase in pressure had made some of the turkeys sort of "call shy" and also have seen several somewhat displaced or in areas I don't see them frequent because of being driven out by the crow call at all cost googans.

Also have seen somewhat less roost gobbling in an area that I have seen this happen before. They gobble decent in the mid day and afternoon. But I think the pressure has taught them that every time I gobble in roost, some idiot starts calling like a lost sick dog under my tree.


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I haven't hunted much, in fact only one morning did I hunt outside my own hollar where I live. Turkeys gobbled in usual spots at the usual time of year and moved to their usual mid season spots. The early gobbling was good but they didn't gobble much past flydown like usual any day. The mid season gobbling has been nonexistent. I do not think they have been killed since I don't think anyone has been hunting them since first week of season. There were a ton of guys hunting one small parcel that is leased the first 3 days of season...thankfully those were the worst gobbling days this year :tu:
 
Gobbling has been best on some of the worst mornings here, but then again, it's like that most years. Turkeys being Turkeys. Many things can affect gobbling from day to day during the Spring.
 
It was a bad gobbling year for me. Even though we killed more turkey than we typically do. I contribute that to the time off I had though. They gobbled on the roost fairly well all year for us. I think I heard one gobble again after about 8:00.
 
For sure less gobbling for me. The last one I killed never gobbled until about 45 minutes after shooting light. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. He gobbled once more 30 minutes later and one last time 15 minutes after that.
 
Ive had the worst year in past 20 seasons. Henned up bad. Never gobble when they hit the ground.


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From what I've observed from my own hunting and from other people's reports, gobbling was good early season, but tapered off pretty quick. I tagged out within the first 10 days of season, but I went back to Alabama the last couple weeks and they weren't talking much at all, although I saw and bumped several longbeards. And I've heard similar results from people in TN, they kinda quit gobbling.


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Yeah, its pretty well sucked the last few weeks. I killed two opening weekend and called in a few jakes, and then I can't hardly buy a gobble.
 
Terrible season for me, time has been somewhat limited and the days I've gotten to go the weather is atrocious. I've worked two birds all season and they're both dead. Each hunt took less than 10 minutes on my kills. Lots of woods naps this season lol
 
I have been fortunate to hear several and unfortunately make some rookie mistakes. A ton of them have been the best gobbling Jakes that I have heard. They get you all tore up and then appear with a 4 inch beard! Good news for next year. Hunting a totally different county this morning and 4 tore it up at daylight. I seen one of them way below me with his hens, I am waiting them out and hoping they go to nest. I am nowhere near region 2 nor have I hunted it at any point this season before someone ask. This is one of the counties that has no turkeys according to what I read. I am going to hang around anyway to make sure what I heard was Gobblers! Lol Good luck this morning!
 
I haven't heard much morning gobbling myself this year. Actually the hottest time of day for me this season is the 10-12 time frame. I am thinking it's because every gobbler with the exception of 2 I have seen this year all had hens with them at flydown.


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My thinking is less gobbling is a reflection of fewer longbeards, period, and relative to the number of hens.

We're killing too high a percentage of what was living pre-season.
That means fewer 2-yr-old Toms carrying over to be 3-yr-old birds the next year.

And, with our apparent increase in jake kills this year, we may have fewer 2-yr-old old Toms at the beginning of next spring's season.

Regardless how many longbeards we have at the season's beginning,
it seems the majority have been killed by the end of the season's 9th hunting day.

Note how many hunters have said they heard lots of gobbling at the beginning (or before) the season opened.
They can't gobble if they're dead.

2020 has not been my worse season of the past 20 years, as I did have a single Tom willing to play the game.
2019 was my worse season of the past 20 years.

The trend of TWRA's mismanagement of our turkey regs is what's more crappy than the lack of gobbling.
Most longbeards are dead before most hens attempt nesting.
 
TheLBLman":2d49xwx0 said:
My thinking is less gobbling is a reflection of fewer longbeards, period, and relative to the number of hens.
Click to expand...
LBL my farm's not like what many others across the state are seeing in terms of populations...I got turkeys out the ying yang. What I'm saying is they just didn't seem to gobble well this year. It may well be due to the number of hens but not only did they hardly gobble on the ground, they didn't even hardly gobble on the limb. I called in a total of 10 toms within shotgun range and I bet they didn't gobble a total of a dozen times combined.
 
deerfever said:
I have been fortunate to hear several and unfortunately make some rookie mistakes. A ton of them have been the best gobbling Jakes that I have heard...
I've noticed the same thing this year. I occasionally get fooled by a jake thinking it's a mature bird, but that doesn't happen but once every 4 or 5 years. This year I've been fooled twice by hard, full, long mature gobbles that I spent a while working in to a call that ended up being jakes. Heard plenty of jakes that gobbled like jakes, but to get fooled twice in one season is pretty unusual for me. Maybe just coincidence, but it is interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 

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