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Primetime?

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Boll Weevil

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In just the last 5-7 days I've started gobblers roaming, all alone, with most of the hens nowhere to be seen. This is Hardeman county so I think some must surely be setting now. For those that are still hunting, methinks it's primetime. I checked the dead turkey report and looks like we're still about 2600 birds behind last year if I'm reading it correctly.

Are ya'll seeing same?
 
Buddy went to our lease today and slipped into an area at 11:00. Made a call and 2 birds hammered. They came in on a string and he had one down at 11:15. I'd say if you can be in the woods then get there. Unfortunately for me I'm out of town the next 2 days and then leave again Sunday for most of the week. 🤬
 
For the last week or so every gobbler I have seen hasn't been strutting...? Snuck in our Maury county lease midday today and made a loop once again not a peep. Haven't struck a midday bird yet this season..
 
I had been seeing gobblers with hens all over Southern middle TN about 10 days ago. I haven't seen many turkeys at all for the past week. The property behind my house is owned by some absentee land owners that are very anti-hunting and all the turkeys that hang out on it have disappeared within the past week. It did get poached pretty hard this year by people coming in off some railroad tracks. But, I thought I'd still see some nesting hens feeding in the afternoons.
 
Bgoodman30 said:
For the last week or so every gobbler I have seen hasn't been strutting...? Snuck in our Maury county lease midday today and made a loop once again not a peep. Haven't struck a midday bird yet this season..
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Normally, this IS prime time.

But something was different this year... can't put my finger on it yet...

Winter subflocks broke up a week later than normal on my places, and breeding started a week later. Birds were WAY less vocal. Birds were abandoning traditional roost spots they have used for decades in favor of spots not used before. Almost no gobbling mid day, not even courtesy gobbles. Way fewer hens than normal, but similar numbers of male birds as the past 5y.

Again, I can't put my finger on it, but this was the most drastic change I've seen in turkey behavior in TN since the mid 2000s. Not sure if this is something good with the flock status or something terrible. But times ARE changing.
 
megalomaniac said:
Normally, this IS prime time.

But something was different this year... can't put my finger on it yet...

Winter subflocks broke up a week later than normal on my places, and breeding started a week later. Birds were WAY less vocal. Birds were abandoning traditional roost spots they have used for decades in favor of spots not used before. Almost no gobbling mid day, not even courtesy gobbles. Way fewer hens than normal, but similar numbers of male birds as the past 5y.

Again, I can't put my finger on it, but this was the most drastic change I've seen in turkey behavior in TN since the mid 2000s. Not sure if this is something good with the flock status or something terrible. But times ARE changing.
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Your comments about roost spots is spot on. I was discussing this yesterday that birds are roosting in places they've never roosted before, and the normal areas are totally silent. Such a bizarre year so far
 
Birds were on fire Sunday morning on the roost and I figured they would shut up when they hit the ground and have hens but they didn't. I was able to kill mine just a few seconds before the hens came behind me and he went away with them.

My wife let the dogs out about 6 and came in the house and said too bad you're tagged out there's a bird gobbling out here. I went outside and he was on the ground and gobbling like crazy.

I'm hoping to hunt a couple hours in ky tomorrow after work and they'll be vocal.
 
Is it just me or do we hear the same reports every year? Some people have a banner year and some people say the birds aren't acting right. I've heard the same thing for years it seems like. Turkeys are weird critters. They've been acting pretty normal for me, maybe a little less midday activity but that's just one man's experience. I know people who've been having a really tough year, and people who've been killing the crap out of em. Same story every year, just different people have different results from one season to the next.
 
I think for my neck of the woods (Wilson Co) it has turned the corner this week. More gobbling and the toms I've heard/seen seem to be alone. The bird i killed yesterday took less than 10 minutes to find me. My other bird i killed 2 weeks ago gobbled and responded just as well though--and it was spitting snow that day. He was alone, but I watched his hens leave him from their roost. He got down 10 minutes before them. They went to a couple gobblers about 1000yards away. Prior to this week, that was the only day I heard good gobbling.
 
Setterman said:
Your comments about roost spots is spot on. I was discussing this yesterday that birds are roosting in places they've never roosted before, and the normal areas are totally silent. Such a bizarre year so far
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So what causes this drastic change? I've thought about it all season long, and I can't figure it out. It happened on all 4 of my farms this year spread out over 30 miles. It has to be more than coincidence. Something is up. But I have zero idea what it is.

I certainly didn't enjoy less daytime gobbling activity this year. In years past, I could roam the woods and at least get get courtesy gobbles from toms with hens. But NOTHING this year, even when I was within 100y of toms. Lots of strutting, but birds were WAY less vocal 5 min after their feet hit the ground off the roost.

Honestly, it felt like TN birds were behaving like MS birds (who are less vocal and change preferred roost sites from year to year)
 
Birds around me have gobbled ok on the roost, rarely in the ground at all and never heard one midday at all. Called the only two in I've heard past fly down, around 8-830. Besides one, the only birds I've encountered this season have been in the holler where I live. I toyed with one yesterday that was on the neighbors for an hour, but he wouldn't come near my place, and he's out there gobbling again this morning. Heading to NC for vacation in about thirty minutes so I'll see about him next week.
 
megalomaniac said:
Normally, this IS prime time.

But something was different this year... can't put my finger on it yet...

Winter subflocks broke up a week later than normal on my places, and breeding started a week later. Birds were WAY less vocal. Birds were abandoning traditional roost spots they have used for decades in favor of spots not used before. Almost no gobbling mid day, not even courtesy gobbles. Way fewer hens than normal, but similar numbers of male birds as the past 5y.

Again, I can't put my finger on it, but this was the most drastic change I've seen in turkey behavior in TN since the mid 2000s. Not sure if this is something good with the flock status or something terrible. But times ARE changing.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I've seen. Really strange
 
Interesting comments on the roosting thing; I don't know what to make of that either.

Looking at my notes from years past I've kilt a bunch of birds the last few days of April. I'm in the woods the next 4 days straight starting tomorrow so guess I'll find out if history repeats.
 
It's always prime time to me. That being said about April 25-May-5 always seems to be my favorite.

Hens begin setting around here. Lots of folks have quit. Nearly full if not full green up with plenty of cover to move and get good set-ups.

Turkeys are strange. No one knows exactly what they do sometimes and why they do it. I don't care how knowledgeable anyone is about them.
 
It's always primetime in the Spring woods. Turkeys start breeding well before season and continue till well after. Don't let anyone tell you any different ;). Everyday can be different, and usually is, during our 6 week season. My favorite time is yet to come
 
catman529 said:
Is it just me or do we hear the same reports every year? Some people have a banner year and some people say the birds aren't acting right. I've heard the same thing for years it seems like. Turkeys are weird critters. They've been acting pretty normal for me, maybe a little less midday activity but that's just one man's experience. I know people who've been having a really tough year, and people who've been killing the crap out of em. Same story every year, just different people have different results from one season to the next.
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They are cleaning up acorns from the fall where I am. So they aren't following some of their "normal" patterns from years where the acorn crop wasn't so big. And they are roosting closer to the oaks where the food is. I can imagine it would confuse a hunter who is expecting them to act the same year after year,
 

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