# Turkey situation advise



## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

I need a little advise on this situation. Last Friday I took my son out hunting for turkeys. We had figured out where they roost so we got set up down the hill a little ways hoping to intercept them in route to food. Well that didn't work out as planned and they never came our way. A few hours into the hunt we could hear a bird gobble below us and to the south. When we would make a little noise he would gobble but wouldn't come in. We decided to try and get closer (like you would with an elk), so we packed up and moved in. We set up again about 100 yards from the bird. Every sound we made on the call he would gobble right back like he was super excited. Sometimes he would even gobble while we were clucking. Still he never showed up. We spent the next hour sitting there glassing the oak brush and only calling softly like clucks and purrs, very few yelps. After about an hour and 15 mintues we could hear him gobbling but getting further away so we packed up and headed out. The hillside was very thick and noisy so we decided not to try and move in on him again.
So my question is this, is there anything else we could have or should have done differently with that bird? Maybe we said the wrong things to him? 
I am guessing he had hens either with him or near him and he didn't want to leave the sure thing.

Thanks.


----------



## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

I am NO expert, but my first thought is you were likely calling too much.


----------



## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

I'm NO expert as well, but I've read where SOMETIMES if you call like an excited hen it will bring him in.


----------



## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

It's call a "cut" and here is a link to it.
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecolo ... y/cutt.wav


----------



## byuduckhunter (Dec 2, 2008)

Turkeys typically don't like moving through thick brush, over creeks, or over fences. Maybe try setting up on the edge of a clearing in the area if you can find one. Also, if he is hened up, later in the morning might be the ticket when the hens leave him to go sit on the nest. Try to get within 150 yards of the roosting tree at least half hour before shooting time and don't make any noise till they start gobbling on their own. If they are in the same roosting area try some soft yelps first thing and then do some cuts while hitting your hat on your leg (sounds like flapping wings). This simulates a hen flying down. Nothing better then having a bird fly down and land in range! One more thing, if he is hung up face your call away from the bird so it sounds like the hen is moving away. It might work...good luck!


----------



## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

I'll give that a try. First thing in the morning we set up just inside the tree line. But when we moved we were about 75-80 yards away from the clearing. The decoys were in a thinner spot in the trees but all in all we were in some thick stuff. 
Unfortunately I think the birds are flying down the hill past our set up first thing in the morning. It doesn't appear that they are landing and walking down. There is an orchard (private) that the birds are heading for. I'll have to try and get closer to the fence in the mornings.


----------



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Part one: the fly down. Unless you know where they fly down, you probably did all you could do. Just find a good place that they might pass by and hope. I am hardly ever that lucky, but it does happen. If you know where they hit the ground, be there, not down the trail a ways, be right there in that spot. They have a uncanny way of just walking by just out of range.
Part two:" the I heard them gobblin just a ways away". If he don't come a running after your first or second yelp or cluck, he is probably not coming. But...sometimes, if there is more than one tom in the bunch, you can get the smaller one to sometimes come over and take a look see, so give a couple clucks and then hold tight for a few minutes and see what happens. Now when I say hold tight, I don't mean sit there a lookin around, or start glassin the side hill, or setting up decoys, or pickin your...well never mind...HOLD STILL! Movement has been the death of many a fine hunter. My best and first advise to a novice turkey hunter is to stop moving around and learn to hold still! HOLD STILL, the darn birds see you and they are gone, happens over and over and over. HOLD STILL...did I say hold still? Do you want to become a turkey killer, then learn to hold still.


----------



## proutdoors (Sep 24, 2007)

So, what are you trying to say, BPturkeys? I wish you would be more clear....and stop moving around so much.


----------



## north slope (Sep 8, 2007)

Just go into the woods and hold still.....


----------



## Elkoholic8 (Jan 15, 2008)

Update:
we went out again this morning and sat in a little different area, where I think they fly down to. Once we hit our area we set out the decoys and sat perfectly still; we didn't even blink :lol: The only thing that produced was a hen that flew right over us, and a small buck that walked by at 20 yards. We stayed in the same area from 5:45- 10:00 without seeing any more birds by us. Now we did hear some gobble. There were a couple birds accross the valley that we could see and hear, but we had at least 3 in the vicinity of our location. One bird went nuts for a little while. He would gobble 2-3 times per minute! That went on for about 20-30 minutes. He came kind of close, sounded close anyways, but never came into view. After that little display, he still stayed in our general area for about 2 more hours. We tried not to call too often but enough to keep his interest. He would gobble every time we made a sound but still, no sight of him. Off to the side of our set up, and probably over the hill a little bit, we could hear another bird gobble and even drum his chest. We heard him drumming 4-5 times, but we still never saw that bird either. :x 

Anyone have any advise for next time? Is there anything else that we could/should do?


----------



## 10yearquest (Oct 15, 2009)

Turkeys drum?? does it sound like a lawn mower starting up? Me and my son did a big hike looking for turkey yesterday and though we never saw or heard a turkey we did hear a sound like that a couple times.


----------



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

10yearquest said:


> Turkeys drum?? does it sound like a lawn mower starting up? Me and my son did a big hike looking for turkey yesterday and though we never saw or heard a turkey we did hear a sound like that a couple times.


You where most likely listening to a ruffed grouse. They do a noise that sounds just like a drum that starts slowly and increases in beats per sec until their little wings give out.
The "drumming" noise that a turkey makes sounds nothing like a drum at all. It kind of goes ah-uummm....ah-uummmm in a slow cadence. Very strange noise that once you hear you'll not forget. Many times an old tom will strut and drum in the late afternoon while his harem quietly feeds near by.


----------



## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

I have had this tom run circles around me for the last 3 weeks. My buddy finally got him this morning while he was flying to the other side of the canyon off the roost. This bird would not come to calls and didn't even strut that much. Sometimes you just have to be lucky and just be in the right place at the right time. 

Coincidentally, this bird may have been aloof based on past experiences. When my buddy cleaned him out, he found what looked like old scarring from a field point through both breasts of the bird. No wonder this bird was leery of calls!


----------

