How should I go about...

[catman529]

...setting up and calling during the last couple weeks in the season.

I do remember seeing a strutter with a huge beard and a bearded hen behind my house last year 5 days past season.

But assuming that many of the birds are nesting and finished breeding or something like that...how should I adjust my strategy? Hopefully I can get out sometime soon and since final exams will be going through the first half of the week, I will have extra time to hit the woods after then.

 

[muddyboots]

Tone your calling way down. Scratch in the leaves some. If you can spot the gobbler the battle is in your favor and then you can tell how to call to him. In my experience heavy calling this time of year runs them off but it is different in each part of the state.

 

[Setterman]

No reason to change anything. Just stay after them.

 

[RAFI]

No reason to change anything. Just stay after them.

i disagree atleast where i hunt.You have to change from week to week

 

[Setterman]

No reason to change anything. Just stay after them.

i disagree atleast where i hunt.You have to change from week to week

I would love to hear your thoughts on why you have to change from week to week. Naturally, one must adjust during the season based on foliage and weather. But other then that I would love to understand your thoughts.

I generally do not change the way I hunt from Mid March down south, through Mid May here. I call with the same pitch, same cadence, and same call. If a bird I am set up needs soft stuff, he gets soft stuff. If he wants it nasty I get nasty.

The biggest difference I see is in the birds behavior. Early they are stupidly easy to kill, if you catch them before they gather a harem. Middle season, things get tough when dealing with henned up birds. Late season they again get laughably easy when birds lose hens as they go to nest. The only exception is that birds will hold their ground longer it seems, waiting for the hen to come to them, as they have done all season.

The only situations I can see where birds could become "call shy" is where they have been over pressured and bumped repeatedly. However, here on public ground which is all I hunt, they get hunted very hard, and calling one in late season works with the same tactics as opening day in my experiences.

Love to hear what situations you are in that cause you to change tactics.

 

[Buck Assassin]

I agree with what setterman said. Don't really change my calling.

 

[mathews338]

i don't change. i just stay after them and sometimes i get lucky.

 

[catman529]

Thanks everyone, and Setterman, I have to pick your answer based partially on your experience and also because I too am hunting public land. I know for a fact the birds have been called, bumped, and shot at a lot, because I did a lot of the calling, bumping, and shooting at as well. I'm going to find a good piece of cover and stay put for a while.

 

[Setterman]

Thanks everyone, and Setterman, I have to pick your answer based partially on your experience and also because I too am hunting public land. I know for a fact the birds have been called, bumped, and shot at a lot, because I did a lot of the calling, bumping, and shooting at as well. I'm going to find a good piece of cover and stay put for a while.

I understand, if the birds will still gobble readily then don't change anything. At the end of the day they are just birds with a tiny brain that has little ability to reason.

 

[stik]

"Laughably easy" are not two words I would use to describe the turkeys I hunt, especially during the late season. Where I'm hunting, the late season is by far the toughest stretch. I haven't even heard a distant gunshot the last 4 or 5 times I've been out hunting.

i have only heard 2 shots all season that i believe were turkey hunters. either nobody is hunting near me or they ain't doing so good

 

[RAFI]

No reason to change anything. Just stay after them.

i disagree atleast where i hunt.You have to change from week to week

I would love to hear your thoughts on why you have to change from week to week. Naturally, one must adjust during the season based on foliage and weather. But other then that I would love to understand your thoughts.

I generally do not change the way I hunt from Mid March down south, through Mid May here. I call with the same pitch, same cadence, and same call. If a bird I am set up needs soft stuff, he gets soft stuff. If he wants it nasty I get nasty.

The biggest difference I see is in the birds behavior. Early they are stupidly easy to kill, if you catch them before they gather a harem. Middle season, things get tough when dealing with henned up birds. Late season they again get laughably easy when birds lose hens as they go to nest. The only exception is that birds will hold their ground longer it seems, waiting for the hen to come to them, as they have done all season.

The only situations I can see where birds could become "call shy" is where they have been over pressured and bumped repeatedly. However, here on public ground which is all I hunt, they get hunted very hard, and calling one in late season works with the same tactics as opening day in my experiences.

Love to hear what situations you are in that cause you to change tactics.

I have hunted the same two farms for years now so i know a little about them there.im not saying the whole state is like where i hunt but i can pretty much tell you how they act from week to week there.

opening weekend they are in the woods and gobble good.i hunt the same ridge opening morning and have probably taken 9 birds in the last 11 years opening weekend from it.they usually are alone for some reason that weekend.

the second weekend they hit the fields and hens are everywhere with them.they gobble good and you have to either find the one lone bird or call the hens in or hunt late morning.

By the third weekend gobbling is slacking way off there are still a few gobbling good but some of the gobblers are alone and paying little attention to hen calls.
By the forth weekend very little gobbling and if you want to kill a gobbler you have to use deer hunting tactics to kill them.

i call very agressive to turkey.i don't sit and cluck at them.Most of the turkey roost off our property on other ridges so it takes a lot to call one down a ridge and back up another tall ridge.And before you say its to much pressure on the birds there is alot of land around us that doesn't get hunted and those birds act the same as the ones we are hunting.Its been that way for always where I hunt they are done early out there.i haven't even been in two weeks because its not worth the drive.i would like to get one more this year and it seems the birds in higher elevations are still gobbling good so maybe thats the way to hunt them late.The seem behind because of the elevation.

 

[Setterman]

No reason to change anything. Just stay after them.

i disagree atleast where i hunt.You have to change from week to week

I would love to hear your thoughts on why you have to change from week to week. Naturally, one must adjust during the season based on foliage and weather. But other then that I would love to understand your thoughts.

I generally do not change the way I hunt from Mid March down south, through Mid May here. I call with the same pitch, same cadence, and same call. If a bird I am set up needs soft stuff, he gets soft stuff. If he wants it nasty I get nasty.

The biggest difference I see is in the birds behavior. Early they are stupidly easy to kill, if you catch them before they gather a harem. Middle season, things get tough when dealing with henned up birds. Late season they again get laughably easy when birds lose hens as they go to nest. The only exception is that birds will hold their ground longer it seems, waiting for the hen to come to them, as they have done all season.

The only situations I can see where birds could become "call shy" is where they have been over pressured and bumped repeatedly. However, here on public ground which is all I hunt, they get hunted very hard, and calling one in late season works with the same tactics as opening day in my experiences.

Love to hear what situations you are in that cause you to change tactics.

I have hunted the same two farms for years now so i know a little about them there.im not saying the whole state is like where i hunt but i can pretty much tell you how they act from week to week there.

opening weekend they are in the woods and gobble good.i hunt the same ridge opening morning and have probably taken 9 birds in the last 11 years opening weekend from it.they usually are alone for some reason that weekend.

the second weekend they hit the fields and hens are everywhere with them.they gobble good and you have to either find the one lone bird or call the hens in or hunt late morning.

By the third weekend gobbling is slacking way off there are still a few gobbling good but some of the gobblers are alone and paying little attention to hen calls.
By the forth weekend very little gobbling and if you want to kill a gobbler you have to use deer hunting tactics to kill them.

i call very agressive to turkey.i don't sit and cluck at them.Most of the turkey roost off our property on other ridges so it takes a lot to call one down a ridge and back up another tall ridge.And before you say its to much pressure on the birds there is alot of land around us that doesn't get hunted and those birds act the same as the ones we are hunting.Its been that way for always where I hunt they are done early out there.i haven't even been in two weeks because its not worth the drive.i would like to get one more this year and it seems the birds in higher elevations are still gobbling good so maybe thats the way to hunt them late.The seem behind because of the elevation.

It may be as simple as the hens cannot find suitable nesting habitat where you hunt, they head elsewhere to nest and the gobblers accompany them.

One other thing I have noticed over the years is that aggressive calling has a negative impact on birds with hens. Most times the hens tuck tail and leave when you get aggressive. Unless it is early in the season and they are assembling breeding flocks.

One thing that might quiet birds down as the season moves forward is large predator populations. Properties with lots of yotes etc, can have an impact on bird vocalization. We studied a piece of property that had huge predators numbers, and the birds would not vocalize after green-up. The only thing we could surmise was the danger was too great for them to make themselves vulnerable when the foliage became thicker.

Sitting and clucking is a waste of time IMO, turkeys very very rarely just cluck to cluck. Clucking is usually a vocalization they use to communicate to birds which are close, or to keep up with where others birds in a flock are as they move.

If you don't hear them late they may not be there at all. Do you see them?

It would be a scientific anomaly if the birds on the places you hunt are finished this early. It would be drastically different then everywhere else, and sure things like that occur, but there are usually other factors which makes things seem out of the ordinary.

 

[RAFI]

yes they are there late in the season but they don't care about calling they ignore it.The gobblers are in fields and appear deaf.lol agree that agressive calling usually turns hens away.i had one hen that wasn't like that this year.That hen would get fired up.she would cutt and go on.i called her and her gobbler in twice the same day.it was a blast to hear her and call her in but I was in a bad set up both times.

 

[bvoss]

"...Just stay after them."

That is the main thing. Just keep after them. A lot of folks quit this time of the year because they have been schooled so much or because they have had birds hang up on them continuously during the lull period ( mid season), or because they have limited out. There are WAY less hunters in the woods from now to when the season ends, and the toms are by themselves due to hens nesting. Its a great time to be in the woods. Stay after em.

 

[REN]

its not a science and NOTHING works 50% of the time. Pay attention to the birds you are hunting and try and give them what they are looking for. If thats aggressive then do so, if that is soft then go soft.

nothing works until you try it and you cant kill one unless you pull the trigger. The minute you think you have it figured out is when you stop learning.

 

[deerchaser007]

Good post setterman,.. habitat will make or break you this time of year.If you don't have decent nesting cover on that hunting property, the birds are gone to that type habitat,.. toms are were the hens are at now. Birds around here are not vocal cause they fly down right to their hens,.. gobble very little on roost cause they roost very close to their hens,.. so they have no need to gobble alot,.. they got what they want very quickly.

Going back to the main topic,.. i run and gun more now than i do early in the season. Early in the season there isn't enough foliage, so the risk is far to great for run and gun,.. now the woods are green and covered in foliage,.. and i can use that to my advantage and move on them without bumping them.

 

[Setterman]

Good post setterman,.. habitat will make or break you this time of year.If you don't have decent nesting cover on that hunting property, the birds are gone to that type habitat,.. toms are were the hens are at now. Birds around here are not vocal cause they fly down right to their hens,.. gobble very little on roost cause they roost very close to their hens,.. so they have no need to gobble alot,.. they got what they want very quickly.

Going back to the main topic,.. i run and gun more now than i do early in the season. Early in the season there isn't enough foliage, so the risk is far to great for run and gun,.. now the woods are green and covered in foliage,.. and i can use that to my advantage and move on them without bumping them.

Good post, and lots of folks run all over the place early which spooks tons of birds because of the open woods. That of course relates to tough late season hunting.

The hen nesting habitat is a huge factor, and one most folks don't consider. Also, what looks like good nesting cover to us, doesn't always translate over to the turkeys.

If I had a place where I saw longbeards late in the season and they wouldn't respond to calls. I would look at my tactics or my neighbors as to why they are quiet now.

It would be a scientific anomaly if gobblers lost interest right now. In other words it would go against decades and decades of solid research done on turkey behavior.

 

[catman529]

Good post, and lots of folks run all over the place early which spooks tons of birds because of the open woods. That of course relates to tough late season hunting.

Uh yeah... I was one of them :grin: but saw others doing it worse than me.

The hen nesting habitat is a huge factor, and one most folks don't consider. Also, what looks like good nesting cover to us, doesn't always translate over to the turkeys.

I hope my spot has good cover. It does have a lot of variety, as far as terrain, woods, fields, and vegetation go.

If I had a place where I saw longbeards late in the season and they wouldn't respond to calls. I would look at my tactics or my neighbors as to why they are quiet now.

It would be a scientific anomaly if gobblers lost interest right now. In other words it would go against decades and decades of solid research done on turkey behavior.

Thanks for another good post Setterman. I hope I can catch one of them lone gobblers and make it work next time.