Rem308 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Last spring, I had a gobbler boom out at the break of daylight, and I got to about 75 yards away, and I setup. Once I was in position and good and hidden, I did a few soft yelps, which he answered a few times. I didn't want to overdo it, so I only softly yelped a few times, waited 10 minutes, and yelped again, which he boomed out again. So I shut up, and only called once or twice more in the next hour. We played a waiting game and he stayed in that tree for at least an hour. When he flew out, he went the other way. My question is, what is your advice on this situation? I have heard to not call when they're in the tree, instead setup and wait till you hear him fly out. Any info is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curdog Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 You just didnt sound sexy enough:D you still might have called to much. If the gobbler is like me he hates a talkative(nagging) female.............Seriously, he probaly was a mature gobbler. They usualy expect hens to go to them. Or he might have been pressured from someone else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doubleA Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 It could have been that he had a few hens with him already and they went the other direction, it's happened to me before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I dont know if you had ever hunted that area before but it sounds like you were'nt where he wanted to go. I dont call to any Bird in the tree. I've always considered alot of calling while a Bird is still in the tree as "I'm in Distress down here on the ground...come help me". Toms are not real big on doing a rescue. It's just my opinion of what they're thinking but I've always thought calling often and early...to them is like: "Hey..I could be flying down into early morning light right into a possible problem". They know your on the ground and "Why are you down there already calling all the possible trouble your way in the dark"? I would much rather have been in the general path he takes after the fly-down and coax him over into range if need be. All the birds I've observed fly-down they seem to take a consistent predictable path from a specific Roost Site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 As long as I don't hear real hens talking while a gobbler is still on the roost no matter how many times he gobbles in the tree, I prefer to wait until the gobbler's feet are on the ground before I start calling. If real hens crank up in the trees around you while he's still on the roost...well the odds just got stacked against you so you sure have the option to give him a soft tree yelp. If he answers you, he knows where you are so there's really no need to call again. I've had hens fly down and land within a few feet of my boots before coming to my tree yelp before. There's no need to make another call when you're that close to a roosted gobbler after you get a response from him until his feet hit the ground too. Doing so just makes those limbed birds look down at the point where they've heard you call from looking for the bird on the ground. Now...75 yards is pretty close to set up unless there's a lot of leaf coverage to conceal you. Most of us know how well we can see out of a deer stand 20' up. Imagine how well a turkey can see from the top of a tree with eyesight that's said to be 10X better than ours. My guess is the gobbler heard you and had your location pegged from his 1st response and most certainly by his 2nd response. He may have even seen some slight movement he didn't like. He also probably expected to see the hen that made the call too being that close in. With that roosted bird seeing something out of place, some slight movement, or simply not seeing that hen he heard so close from his limb made him wary and he eventually decided to go the other way. Also, staying on the limb for a hour after he had last responded to you tells me he knew something wasn't right or he would have touched down a lot earlier that morning. I like to sneak in while it's still dark to get close to where I think a bird is roosted so I've certainly had occasions when I ended up being set up at a spot where I realized I was really too close to a roosted gobbler when he threw out his 1st gobble of the morning. Whenever I find myself in that position I don't move and I don't make a sound until he hits the ground no matter what happens before then. That's one time I won't even try to compete with real hens roosted around me. Once he touches down though I'll usually hit him with a fly down cut if he's out of sight. If it makes you feel better I've gone through the same experience you went through and learned that lesson the hard way years ago too. It's a sick feeling to watch a bird pitch off the limb going the wrong way long after he should have already left the tree. That sight is still burned in my memory too. Even worse is to sit there that long wondering what's wrong. In the long run learning lessons like that the hard way makes you a better turkey hunter. Good luck this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointing_dogs_rule Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) "LOOKS LIKE RHINO BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH A FEW SECONDS EARLIER" What all of the people above have stated is very true. I can not disagree with any of that info. If I might add one more thing. On occasion you can get to 75 yards of a bird, however, they are incredibly clever. Sight and hearing are unbelievable. Maybe next time stay back a little farther and try and work him to you. Just my two cents and it comes from trying to get too close to the roost. good luck to all the dog Edited March 17, 2009 by pointing_dogs_rule Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Happens. 75 yards is pretty tight on a bird without leaf cover. If you want to get in on him like that........do it at 0-dark-30. A decoy may give you the visual advantage that you need. Something else you might want to look into is where did he go to when he went the other way? That might be where you want to be. There's another dirty little trick I've used several times in situations like yours and it works REALLY well.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I think everyone has the same idea here. I'd add that a gobbler knows where his harem is and also turkeys are always vocalizing. So if your 75 yds away, maybe you cant hear the hens 75 yds the other side of him. Also calling too much to a bird on the limb normally makes him full of himself and he'll puff up and strut on that limb sometimes forever. I try to keep pretty quiet, just let them know i'm there till flydown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrow32 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 This is great info I'll have to remember this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TennesseeTurkey Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I had this happen to me before....set up on the other side of him and dont talk till he hits the ground near you or in your direction and he'll be in the bag! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutter10x Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 depending on the situation..i may give a couple soft tree yelps... if there are other hens in the trees talking ill talk with them....sparringly... i also may give a fly down cackle to make the tom think im now on the ground and over here... worked for me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rem308 Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Thanks for all the info, this is very useful. Looking back, this was the end of May when this happened and there was heavy leaf cover, but I was closer than I wanted to be. First gobble and I began to sneak in that direction, second gobble and I was shocked at how close I was. Thanks for the info, and this year I'll play it quiet until I know that he's on the ground, (unless I hear other hens calling to him, then I may try some soft yelps, etc). Thanks folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boparks Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 As long as I don't hear real hens talking while a gobbler is still on the roost no matter how many times he gobbles in the tree, I prefer to wait until the gobbler's feet are on the ground before I start calling. If real hens crank up in the trees around you while he's still on the roost...well the odds just got stacked against you so you sure have the option to give him a soft tree yelp. If he answers you, he knows where you are so there's really no need to call again. I've had hens fly down and land within a few feet of my boots before coming to my tree yelp before. There's no need to make another call when you're that close to a roosted gobbler after you get a response from him until his feet hit the ground too. Doing so just makes those limbed birds look down at the point where they've heard you call from looking for the bird on the ground. Now...75 yards is pretty close to set up unless there's a lot of leaf coverage to conceal you. Most of us know how well we can see out of a deer stand 20' up. Imagine how well a turkey can see from the top of a tree with eyesight that's said to be 10X better than ours. My guess is the gobbler heard you and had your location pegged from his 1st response and most certainly by his 2nd response. He may have even seen some slight movement he didn't like. He also probably expected to see the hen that made the call too being that close in. With that roosted bird seeing something out of place, some slight movement, or simply not seeing that hen he heard so close from his limb made him wary and he eventually decided to go the other way. Also, staying on the limb for a hour after he had last responded to you tells me he knew something wasn't right or he would have touched down a lot earlier that morning. I like to sneak in while it's still dark to get close to where I think a bird is roosted so I've certainly had occasions when I ended up being set up at a spot where I realized I was really too close to a roosted gobbler when he threw out his 1st gobble of the morning. Whenever I find myself in that position I don't move and I don't make a sound until he hits the ground no matter what happens before then. That's one time I won't even try to compete with real hens roosted around me. Once he touches down though I'll usually hit him with a fly down cut if he's out of sight. If it makes you feel better I've gone through the same experience you went through and learned that lesson the hard way years ago too. It's a sick feeling to watch a bird pitch off the limb going the wrong way long after he should have already left the tree. That sight is still burned in my memory too. Even worse is to sit there that long wondering what's wrong. In the long run learning lessons like that the hard way makes you a better turkey hunter. Good luck this year. Not alot to be added to the above. This advice obvioulsy comes from experience. It's very hard not to call but more times than not you're shooting yourself in the foot if there's hens around. The Mississippi boys obviously know what they're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kid Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 you need to do a tree yelp one time to let him know your there,,, then shut up,, because hes going to expect you to come to him,, thats how it usually works,,, right before he flys out i usually try a fly down cackle,, i take an old dried out wing and flapp it like a hen flying out of a tree,, then i just sit and wait for him to come to me,, i've found out that to kill a gobbler sometimes you have to play a little hard to get.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 I always try to hunt the roost, get as close as I can and wait til he is on the ground before I start to try and get his attention. I will only give him one hoot owl call and when he response I am done. Try and get there as early as you can and as close w/ letting him know you are there. If he has ladies with him, call to the hens and get them to come to your setup. A raspy old hen will always try and compete for her man. She will bring the old tom in there w/ em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted March 20, 2009 Report Share Posted March 20, 2009 We have some giant flocks of hens here and that means turkey hunters have major competition with the real thing. Don't get that bird to gobble too much on the roost! Even a few shock gobbles is risky. The real hens hear him and more he gobbles the more likely you will be cut off by them. What can frequently happen is the real hen hears him gobbling and hears you calling. She thinks you're a competing hen so she sneaks around to the opposite side. The gobbler sees her, flies down and they walk off into the sunrise. Once he hits the ground he can't spot a real hen as far away as he can on the roost. Scratching in the leaves after he flies down can be a great tactic to convince the gobbler theres a real hen where you are. I used to think shock gobbling to locate was completely safe. There are other ears in the woods. I've learned to use that technique sparingly as absolutely possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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