Frustrated

elfiii · Apr 5, 2007

I've seen boo koo tracks, scratch sites in the hardwoods, dusting sites, more tracks, feathers, and gobs of hens.

I have not heard one sound in the turkey woods other than a Jake I called up Sunday, week before last. When I say not one sound, I mean not one. No clucks, fly down cackles, cuts, purrs, yelps, kee kee runs and NO GOBBLING! Not just in one county but two - Troup and Thomas - hundreds of miles apart. I saw boo koo turkeys on both locations during deer season.

They got open space, cover, water, and food plots galore with everything from Duranna clover to tropical corn and sorghum. It doesn't matter what time of day - daybreak, mid-day, late afternoon, or evening, the turkeys will not talk to each other, much less me. The hens I have seen are all flocked up, with no gobblers in sight.

I'm not talking about sitting for an hour or two in the morning and calling it a day. I'm talking about setting up on the likely spots, soft calling, hard calling, running and gunning all day long until your legs are weak from walking and your mouth is sore from calling with the diaphragm.

What's up with all that? Am I the only one this is happening to?

Jody Hawk · Apr 5, 2007

elfiii,
Same here, I've got a 700 acre club in Morgan County. Prettiest turkey woods that you could ask for with gobbler tracks all in the roads. Woods are dead at daybreak. I'm hunting public land now. :huh:

60Grit · Apr 5, 2007

Quit your whining boys, at least you are getting to go. :biggrin2:

Donny · Apr 5, 2007

We have heard lots of birds gobbling in troup and heard.Not bragging cause I still have not killed one.Hope this helps.

dutchman · Apr 5, 2007

My take on stuff like this is that the birds call for a reason. They also don't call for a reason(s).

If there are boo koo birds on your spots, and everything else a turkey needs to sustain a good life, they don't have to range far to get everything they need. They're camping together and do not have the need to be so vocal. They're going on visual recognition to get ganged up and maybe some very subtle sounds (low clucking and purring and leaf noise). I learned a year or so ago that gobblers will gobble not only at you scratching in the leaves, but also at the sound of your own walking in the leaves. I had it happen twice in the same morning and the second time, I caught on. I quickly set up and did noting but cluck once or twice and then scratch in the leaves. I called him up to within 25 yards but unfortunately, he saw me first and was gone in a heartbeat. But not the lesson he taught me.

I also believe that the encroachment of the human population as well as the number of predators on a given property will have an impact on the amount of vocalization you hear between and among turkeys. In other words, too many coyotes on your place may shut 'em down over time.

Killdee · Apr 5, 2007

elfiii Im right up the road from you and have heard 2 gobbles and 1 hen on the Harris tract and 1 gobbled 3 times on the Troup tract.Coyotes?Folks across the road having similar luck.I have TC pics of 2 good toms on the Harris tract,and 7 toms from a few weeks ago on the Troup tract.I could likely kill 1 if I set up on a couple of spots and deer hunted em,but I aint gona stoop to that.I have a friend thats hearing em in Meriweather I guess Ill go call for him Sat am.

elfiii · Apr 5, 2007

Well its' good to know others are having mixed results. The woods are quiet all around me and it is depressing.

When you see 8,10,12, etc. hens together at 8:30 am with no gobblers in sight, I just figure something is wrong. That should be prime time right now, even if the dominant gobbler has run the others off, he should be somewhere nearby.

jav · Apr 5, 2007

had one tuesday morning set in the tree till eleven and gobble at every crow in the county and would not answer any call, I backed out and left him in the tree and hope he will cooperate saturday morning

JohnBenoit09 · Apr 5, 2007

Im in the same boat man. They wouldnt shut up opening day and now Its like they went away

Trizey · Apr 5, 2007

Since I killed my bird, they've shut down dramatically. I don't know if it was the weather or what?

I'm hoping the cold front will help my mountain birds.

bull0ne · Apr 5, 2007

dutchman said:
My take on stuff like this is that the birds call for a reason. They also don't call for a reason(s).

If there are boo koo birds on your spots, and everything else a turkey needs to sustain a good life, they don't have to range far to get everything they need. They're camping together and do not have the need to be so vocal. They're going on visual recognition to get ganged up and maybe some very subtle sounds (low clucking and purring and leaf noise). I learned a year or so ago that gobblers will gobble not only at you scratching in the leaves, but also at the sound of your own walking in the leaves. I had it happen twice in the same morning and the second time, I caught on. I quickly set up and did noting but cluck once or twice and then scratch in the leaves. I called him up to within 25 yards but unfortunately, he saw me first and was gone in a heartbeat. But not the lesson he taught me.

I also believe that the encroachment of the human population as well as the number of predators on a given property will have an impact on the amount of vocalization you hear between and among turkeys. In other words, too many coyotes on your place may shut 'em down over time.

Good post!

When you have loads of turkeys and open areas for them to converge on during feeding times the Toms will cut back on gobbling...........it draws predators and he really does'nt hafta gobble to find a potential mate.

elfiii · Apr 5, 2007

Call me hard headed but I am seeing hens, and plenty of them. In addition to nobody talking, there are no gobblers with the hens that I am seeing. That is the part that is driving me crazy.

Its' almost like the hens haven't really gone into heat yet.

bull0ne · Apr 5, 2007

elfiii said:
Call me hard headed but I am seeing hens, and plenty of them. In addition to nobody talking, there are no gobblers with the hens that I am seeing. That is the part that is driving me crazy.

Its' almost like the hens haven't really gone into heat yet.

That could very well be the case...........

Hens that have no interest in breeding will not be very vocal in order to dodge harrassment by the gobblers.

Killdee · Apr 5, 2007

I really think its the yotes,back when I first started they gobbled every morning all during the morning and through out the day.I would hear at least 5-6 and sometimes 8-9 and wouldnt even head out for 1 unless he was fairly close,Id just wait till a closer one would start.Now a days if I hear one 3-400 yrds I take off .It has been going down hill for the last 15 yrs or so,back then I never saw a yote,now I call up 1-2 every year turkey hunting.I know its still real good someplaces but my place sucks.

kevincox · Apr 5, 2007

The gobbling for me was great first 2 weekends but terrible ever since. I have heard none over the past several days.

straightshooter · Apr 5, 2007

They're just going through one of the phases of their natural breeding cycle guys. Many gobblers have hens now and as long as they do, they won't gobble much. You're going to have to do more calling to the hens to get them to you in some areas of the state for a few days. Once the hens get bred, the gobblers will start looking again and the gobbling should start back up.

Problem with this is that you don't know when the gobbling is going to crank back up. The only way to know is to be in the woods. I went through the same thing in GA and SC last season. Lots of gobbling early and then nothing for eight to 10 days. After the 10th of April I killed my GA limit in three straight hunts.

SC was similar. Couldn't hear a bird the first two weeks of April, but I killed my five bird limit in SC the last two weeks of the SC season. Once the gobbling started back up, it was crazy for a few days.

Hang in there. We've got all sorts of nutty things going on right now. The warm days in early March stimulated the breeding season a bit early. So we're in that rut that comes every year. Problem is that not only are we in that quiet phase for gobblers, it's bloody cold too.

Don't give up. Things will get better, and you can't kill one laying in your bed.

Al33 · Apr 5, 2007

straightshooter said:
They're just going through one of the phases of their natural breeding cycle guys. Many gobblers have hens now and as long as they do, they won't gobble much. You're going to have to do more calling to the hens to get them to you in some areas of the state for a few days. Once the hens get bred, the gobblers will start looking again and the gobbling should start back up.

Problem with this is that you don't know when the gobbling is going to crank back up. The only way to know is to be in the woods. I went through the same thing in GA and SC last season. Lots of gobbling early and then nothing for eight to 10 days. After the 10th of April I killed my GA limit in three straight hunts.

SC was similar. Couldn't hear a bird the first two weeks of April, but I killed my five bird limit in SC the last two weeks of the SC season. Once the gobbling started back up, it was crazy for a few days.

Hang in there. We've got all sorts of nutty things going on right now. The warm days in early March stimulated the breeding season a bit early. So we're in that rut that comes every year. Problem is that not only are we in that quiet phase for gobblers, it's bloody cold too.

Don't give up. Things will get better, and you can't kill one laying in your bed.

Great advice!!!

Elfii, I feel your pain, but mid April is just around the corner and for me up here in the Northern part of the State, that's when it gets really good.

Hooty Hoot · Apr 6, 2007

I feel your pain. I`ve spent seven days in the woods. Two all day hunts and thats something I never do. Four of those hunts, I`ve walked four plus miles. I`ve heard one gobbler that wasn`t killable and one at fly-up. I`ve seen a few hens, mostly in one`s and two`s. I saw fifteen gobblers opening weekend last year in this same area. The weather has been poor on all my hunts and a thinning and clear cut operation has been underway since the first of February. It will continue for another month. Brought all my things home. Alabama is to far for this kind of struggle. I think that I am going to learn how to hunt the mountains. H

Nicodemus · Apr 8, 2007

dutchman said:
My take on stuff like this is that the birds call for a reason. They also don't call for a reason(s).

If there are boo koo birds on your spots, and everything else a turkey needs to sustain a good life, they don't have to range far to get everything they need. They're camping together and do not have the need to be so vocal. They're going on visual recognition to get ganged up and maybe some very subtle sounds (low clucking and purring and leaf noise). I learned a year or so ago that gobblers will gobble not only at you scratching in the leaves, but also at the sound of your own walking in the leaves. I had it happen twice in the same morning and the second time, I caught on. I quickly set up and did noting but cluck once or twice and then scratch in the leaves. I called him up to within 25 yards but unfortunately, he saw me first and was gone in a heartbeat. But not the lesson he taught me.

I also believe that the encroachment of the human population as well as the number of predators on a given property will have an impact on the amount of vocalization you hear between and among turkeys. In other words, too many coyotes on your place may shut 'em down over time.

I`m with you and Bull on this. That`s some good advice right there.

stev · Apr 8, 2007

Hooty Hoot said:
I feel your pain. I`ve spent seven days in the woods. Two all day hunts and thats something I never do. Four of those hunts, I`ve walked four plus miles. I`ve heard one gobbler that wasn`t killable and one at fly-up. I`ve seen a few hens, mostly in one`s and two`s. I saw fifteen gobblers opening weekend last year in this same area. The weather has been poor on all my hunts and a thinning and clear cut operation has been underway since the first of February. It will continue for another month. Brought all my things home. Alabama is to far for this kind of struggle. I think that I am going to learn how to hunt the mountains. H

Where im huntin at their real vocal now since the cold snap.I did hear 2 shots this am on some private property though.Im in a mountains huntin.Better be prepared to hike.

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