I tried a new approach this morning and it worked like a charm. I got in at first light this morning and got set up within 100 yards of a couple of birds. Gobbling at every hoot owl call my neighbor made. ( He was across the hollow). Once they sounded off, I let out a few yelps just to let them know where I was. They answered and I shut up. My neighbor continued to owl call, then switched to a yelp, which they also answered. I was confident they knew where I was though, and I just stayed quiet. My neighbor, on the other hand, continued to call. And they continued to gobble. But I suspected I had their attention first, so would just wait and see what happened. I didn't hear any other hens, so figured my only competition was the neighbor. Those birds gobbled until they hit the ground, then shut up. I waited patiently, and sure enough, they came straight to me. Unfortunately, they came up the hill behind the only clump of trees between me and them. They stopped at 30 yards, strutting behind the trees. They eventually tired of not seeing the hen they thought was in the area and left the way they came. I never had a clear shot on either one. Once back in the hollow, they started gobbling again and ended up crossing the hollow and headed towards the other hunter. They hung up near him, and then headed away and out of hearing range. I saw the same 2 birds this afternoon at a decoy setup I had. Again, just one call and patience got them moving. They only gobbled twice, but ended up coming into sight. This time they skirted the edge of the clearing I was watching and seemed more interested in feeding than getting up with a hen. I just hung out until dark and heard them fly up to roost. I'll be back there in the morning.
