MrWiggely Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 I heard a nice gobble at about 6am this morning when a crow flew by. The bird was probably 150 yards accross the hill from me. I got up and moved to what I thought was about 75 yards of where the bird was and set up my 3 decoys. After setting for a few minutes I gave a few yelps on my favorite custom crystal made by Russ Lynch and the bird double gobbled at me before I even finished. At this point Im thinking oh yeah this bird is dead! To make a long story short, I worked this bird until 11:45am - almost 5 hrs. I moved back, up, down, sideways. Changed my calls, shut up, and just purred and clucked. Noting this old bird sat at 50 yards and stared at my decoys and would not come in. Finally I just let him walk off with out calling to him. This bird was big. If you have any suggestions feel free. Otherwise Im going to bang heads with him again tomorrow! Wigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTbowman Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning Ummm........ shoot him.... LOL Sounds like you pulled all the stops and that bad boy was just being subborn. Beter luck tommorow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWiggely Posted May 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning [ QUOTE ] 22-250 [/ QUOTE ] I was thinking someting more along the line of my Rem. 338 Ultra Mag ! I was afraid it would dratw attention though. Wigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bow Hunter Derek Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning Try him again, only this time set up with out any decoys. Try to set up near some thicker stuff if possible and start calling. He may think the hen that he can't see is in behind something and come right to your calls. I'm betting your decoy set was the problem. That is the problem with decoys. When they work, man do they work, but when they cause a bird to hang up, nothing is more frustrating. I've killed birds with and without decoys and have been in your shoes. Hang in there and try again tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWiggely Posted May 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning The only trouble with not using the decoys is that this is in some very big woods with very very little cover. Wigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 4, 2005 Report Share Posted May 4, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning OK so cover and what might be a decoy shy gobbler is the problem. You might try setting up using the terrain where the bird can't see you (or where he expects to see a hen) until he is in range. I do that a lot at home both before and after spring green up. Another tactic is a little extreme but it has worked for me before. That tactic is to call and then move toward the bird about 30 or 40 yards and just shut up. If you have decoys set up, leave those suckers set up behind you. Don't touch your calls after you re-set up either, he gets the next move. If he keeps coming to his normal hangup point that may put him in range of your new position. You may find yourself having to belly crawl to make that move but hey, it's battle tactics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWiggely Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning Thanks Rhino, I will give that a shot. Crazy enough that it just may work. I will let you know! Wigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gobblergetter15 Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning I would have shot him at 50 yards but thats just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWiggely Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning Yeah I hear ya. I have a solid pattern at 40. But Im not crazy enough to try it at 50. I like them at 15 yards or so. Thats just me. This bird is big enough that I would take a clear shot at 40. Not 50. Im just not comfortable enough for 50 yard shot at a tropy bird. Wigs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borch Posted May 6, 2005 Report Share Posted May 6, 2005 Re: Worked a tough bird this morning Another option if he's the boss gobbler is to do a breeding setup with a jake over the hen decoy. It doesn't always work. But when it does it sure is fun! I rarely use decoys anymore because I've had so many of those boss toms hang up on me. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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