sealing the deal......

[sure shot]

i have killed 1....but for the life of me cannot get a bird to commit,with or without a decoy,every one seems to hang up at 60 or more yds.im at a loss for words every one i seem to get fired up and gobbling good coming in manages to change his hormones at 80 yds........i just dont get it

 

[Setterman]

i have killed 1....but for the life of me cannot get a bird to commit,with or without a decoy,every one seems to hang up at 60 or more yds.im at a loss for words every one i seem to get fired up and gobbling good coming in manages to change his hormones at 80 yds........i just dont get it

I have nothing to base this on other than personal experience, but it sounds lime you are severly over calling. That is the most common thing that causes birds to hang up.

I made 3 calls to the bird I killed today over a 20 minute period, he covered 150 yards or so before dying at 15 yards

 

[Trevor2]

I have the same problem this season as well. Opening weekend may have been a case of over calling but now this morning we had a bird gobble before it even cracked day light and got within 75 yards of him in the roost and he flew down in the holler at daylight. Only called to him 5-6 times in a matter of two hours and he gobbled over 200 times in that time period. Idk what was up but he didnt have a single hen and would not commit.

 

[Setterman]

I have the same problem this season as well. Opening weekend may have been a case of over calling but now this morning we had a bird gobble before it even cracked day light and got within 75 yards of him in the roost and he flew down in the holler at daylight. Only called to him 5-6 times in a matter of two hours and he gobbled over 200 times in that time period. Idk what was up but he didnt have a single hen and would not commit.

My first question would be how do you know he didn't have hens?

Have you hunted this bird before? If so did you set up where you did this morning?

Did you do the little things that turkeys do which are almost imperceptible to our ears? Such as leaf scratching, soft calling that is almost impossible for you to hear even if you are the caller.

Did you try having your partner walk off while calling like he is a hen that is leaving?

Did you gobble back?

Has this bird been hunted a bunch/shot at/spooked a bunch?

Every bird is different and a bird gobbling that hard, might take more than 5-6 or series.

 

[sure shot]

im not gonna say i never over call im sure we are all guilty of that at one pt or another,but i try alot to let the bird dictate and tell me what he wants,and then let him work for it,i go silent if i really have a stubborn one to commmit usually works... all of these birds i have called have covered some major gound too get to me.1 the other day came 400 yds,this am. was 2oo or more,last week was 1/2 mile.the one i killed i believe only came in b/c he had some competition with him,both were gobbling so much so hard i almost started laughing...but i have e few weeks left so maybe i will get tight lipped and see what happens,thanks the one i had this morning was alone took him 45min to cover the last 100 yds which was the last time he gobbled he came in looking would come any closer than 80 yds,then he started strutting after 45 min i decided to try and put a sneek on with the decoy....ya..didnt work..lol

 

[RAFI]

I have the same problem this season as well. Opening weekend may have been a case of over calling but now this morning we had a bird gobble before it even cracked day light and got within 75 yards of him in the roost and he flew down in the holler at daylight. Only called to him 5-6 times in a matter of two hours and he gobbled over 200 times in that time period. Idk what was up but he didnt have a single hen and would not commit.

My first question would be how do you know he didn't have hens?

Have you hunted this bird before? If so did you set up where you did this morning?

Did you do the little things that turkeys do which are almost imperceptible to our ears? Such as leaf scratching, soft calling that is almost impossible for you to hear even if you are the caller.

Did you try having your partner walk off while calling like he is a hen that is leaving?

Did you gobble back?

Has this bird been hunted a bunch/shot at/spooked a bunch?

Every bird is different and a bird gobbling that hard, might take more than 5-6 or series.

dam setterman lol give the guy a break i know what you are saying tho

 

[sure shot]

 

[J-WO]

I hate when that happens! If the bird is still out of visible range,try moving back 50 yards or so. I hunted a bird for about 5 mornings one year in the same spot,at the same time every day. There was no way to get on the other side of him so I finally moved back one morning and just started purring and scratching leaves as if I were the hen leaving. That did the trick.

 

[Bullfrog]

Birds like that are evil...but I think most of the time, it has been: over called..over hunted...or has been overly whooped by another bird(s)

 

[Trevor2]

I have the same problem this season as well. Opening weekend may have been a case of over calling but now this morning we had a bird gobble before it even cracked day light and got within 75 yards of him in the roost and he flew down in the holler at daylight. Only called to him 5-6 times in a matter of two hours and he gobbled over 200 times in that time period. Idk what was up but he didnt have a single hen and would not commit.

My first question would be how do you know he didn't have hens?

Have you hunted this bird before? If so did you set up where you did this morning?

Did you do the little things that turkeys do which are almost imperceptible to our ears? Such as leaf scratching, soft calling that is almost impossible for you to hear even if you are the caller.

Did you try having your partner walk off while calling like he is a hen that is leaving?

Did you gobble back?

Has this bird been hunted a bunch/shot at/spooked a bunch?

Every bird is different and a bird gobbling that hard, might take more than 5-6 or series.

dam lol you want the amount of ticks I got off me too lol jk
I set up on this bird friday morning and same thing happened except he had 2 hens, went in sunday moring and when he flew down he was 75 yards strutting and gobbling like crazy, too close for my buddy to move back and call, and I could see him whole time and he didnt have hens. We didnt gobble back but called as softly as we could and scratched in the leaves. I was with a veteram hunter (not saying a pro either just someone with far more seasons under their belt than me) and we didnt know anything else to do. Pinned down and bird would break the yardage. He finally drew a hen in from behind us and he shut up then. Now what would yall do in this situation, open to all ideas. We still had a great hunt even with no bird. Neither of us had ever heard a bird gobble before even a crack of daylight showed, till that morning.

 

[muddyboots]

He was gobbling like crazy because he knows the hens are suppossed to come to him. Personally I would have poured it too him calling. That has worked way more times for me than the soft approach. If hes gobbling that much he is killable. Everytime he gobbles cut him off as if too say walk over if you want it. JMO

 

[Trevor2]

He was gobbling like crazy because he knows the hens are suppossed to come to him. Personally I would have poured it too him calling. That has worked way more times for me than the soft approach. If hes gobbling that much he is killable. Everytime he gobbles cut him off as if too say walk over if you want it. JMO

Thanks we were over focusing on not over calling I guess bc we had done that the second day of seson I believe on one that was hammering.

 

[String Music]

Sounds like he flew down to a strut zone. Once a bird hits his strut zone, they are more difficult to lure away- especially when hens have been coming to him.

I would set up in his strut zone and wait for him to pitch down. I wouldn't call at all to him either. Let him do his thing and he will likely fly down into your lap.

If a gobbler hangs up on me, my go-to call is the fighting purr. I've been a bit apprehensive to use it this year due to the number of "hit squads" of jakes we have. However, I have been extremely successful using the fighting purr while beating my hand against my thigh to sound like flapping wings.

Also, jake yelps and clucks will also drive gobblers crazy.

 

[StalkingWolf]

i have killed 1....but for the life of me cannot get a bird to commit,with or without a decoy,every one seems to hang up at 60 or more yds.im at a loss for words every one i seem to get fired up and gobbling good coming in manages to change his hormones at 80 yds........i just dont get it

You gotta also remember that they are constantly being pursued by other predators like coyotes and bobcats. Many times an older bird will instinctively keep his distance from cover. And it probably isn't the first time that gobbler has heard turkey calls, then encountered a hunter shortly after. There are times I believe that there is no call you can make that make that bird come any closer.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

Try a fighting purr sequence..... complete with simulated wing flaps and leaf/brush noises.....

My best bird to date came in on a string from 200 yards away.... He was on one ridge that went out to a pasture (just out of sight) strutting back and forth in the sunny pasture... not wanting to come to any closer. His gobbling and strutting went on 30+ minutes until my friend was about tired of sitting/waiting. I asked him what now then, he said let me try a fighting purr.... he made the call and beat his hat against his leg while I swipped a branch back and forth in the leaves/brush.

That ole tom couldn't stand it and broke, we finially seen him making his way into the woods, down his ridge, walked across the small stream in the hollar, and came right up the hill to our location. He met his maker at about 25 yards.... 21lbs, 10.5" beard, 1.5" spurs.

 

[sure shot]

grizzly thanks,thats some good advice i like the fighting purr and have used it on different occasions,and have called in and killed some good ones with it, but maybe not with the intensity with the hat and the leaves and brush like what your speaking of...im gonna give it a try thanks again !!!

 

[Boll Weevil]

Good pointers here and I'll offer one more...move.

Over the years I've actually begun to set up in places where I'm less likely to get pinned down and allows me move on a bird if I need to. Even if only a tiny bit, a hump in the terrain, ditch, or vegetation can make the difference in the setup.

I killed one last Friday that I moved on 5 times before finally pulling trigger. It was almost 11 o'clock but I'm certain that being able to move when I needed to made the difference between totin' that joker out and talking about the one that got away.

 

[sure shot]

Sure shot, you aren't alone brother. I have been on quite a few birds this season and just can't close the deal. I could've killed plenty jakes, but the longbeards either hang up out of range, follow hens off, or don't give me the shot I want. If I don't get the shot I want, he gets another day and I will try him again. Maybe I should start shooting them off the roost, in the air, or slinging hevishot if there is even a chance of killing him. That appears to be where this sport is headed.

lol..