Hung up TOMS!!!

[coltanlee]

Well to start things off, im new here and need some help. Im hunting Fort Belvoir in Virginia just outside DC. Went out archery hunting the other day with my good buddy mike. We set up in different locations for the first 4 hours in the morning. Then he called me up and said that he was working 4-5 birds. So i took a mouth call, my bow and myself and headed up the hill to where he was waiting for me. We started walking down the trail where they are gonna put a paved road through. We got to the top of a small hill and about 200 yards down the trail there was a tom just struttin in the middle. We called a few times and he would gobble and strut some more but never closed the gap between us. We sat there for about 20 minutes cuttin and yelping and we heard four more birds. The other four came up out of the woods and joined the first one. We decided to close the gap a bit and moved up about 75 yards. tried again and they just strolled on down the trail away from us gobblin and struttin as they walked away. HOW CAN WE GET THESE BIRDS TO COME TO US????

[Fan Club]

Turkeys can locate the source of calling with pinpoint accuracy. If you have a direct line of sight for 200 yards to a gobbler you call to, he is going to expect to see a hen. When he doesn't he will get suspicious and likely go the other way giving "courtesy gobbles" to join the party. A hen decoy in the roadbed may have helped, maybe not.
 
Your best bet on a group like that is to get try to gain ground. If you can get even with them and call from off to one side, or circle ahead of the direction they are taking. It's a cliche', but it's tough to pull a turkey to a place he doesn't already want to go. On a group that constantly moves away, hang with them if you have enough property to do so. If you can't get ahead of the flock, stay a couple hundred yards back, out of sight and call softly from time to time like a following hen. Ocassionally you can get a subordinate gobbler to come back and take a look.
 

[Cut N Run]

I'd try to get near where they strut and see which way the come into the area.  After they've left, go find a good hiding place where you may catch them the next time before they get where they're going to strut. If they are roosting close by, be careful you don't bump them on the way in.
 
Don't over-call just because they'll answer. If you can keep them interested without giving yourself away, you stand a better chance of taking one home.
 
Jim

[JPH]

Hung up toms can be really tough. We dealt with a couple of them yesterday and my friend went out alone today and dealt with more of the same. Each time they hung up at 60 yards.

Our plan for Saturday is for us to locate a bird, then separate by 30 yards. Me calling from behind and him up front in a shooting position. It has worked for me in the past. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Good luck to both of us!

[coltanlee]

Okay i see what your saying the caller is back a few yards that way the shooter can cut them off. thanks for the advice. ill try it in the morning. Hopefully i can get them in bow range. thats all we can do on the base. adds a bit of a challenge.

[JPH]

Exactly. If you can tie into a gobbler that does not have many options on how to get to you, place the shooter about 30 yards in front of the caller. The idea is that he will look past the shooter and if he hangs up, he'll be in range.

[arrowsonly]

I agree with most of what's been said, make him think your leave in' out of the area, "float" call away from him & scratch in the leaves...
I bow hunt from a blind & will use the blind & the terrain to hide.Walk 50/60 yards calling & dragging my feet. Then go back to the blind silent & shut up for the next hour. Most birds I bowhunt come in quiet, nothin' beats spittn' & drummin' that when there close!         Just right for a 10 yard chip shoot...

[coltanlee]

Thats what i do. I bowhunt these birds. But here is an update. Just went out agian yesterday, went to the spot where we saw the birds. sat there for 3-4 hours...... didnt even hear one. Didnt hear one all morning. Thats dissappointing to me. Ill be fine if i hear one. but when i go the whole day without hearing a single bird, that brings my mood down. It was a beautiful day, no rain, no wind, nothing. Ill try here again in about 3 hours. Hope i can produce somethin. ill let yall know. Thanks for all the advice.

[siyakadog]

Im new here, but I have gotten Toms like this by simulating a hen fight, Ive had them come in runnin, not even hesitating!!

[PAridgebirds]

until yesterday, the first 3 weeks of PA turkey was frustrating for me because I had the same problem. Gobble Gobble and walk away. I realized after a while that any amount of calling I did after flydown deterred the longbeards from coming my way. Pattern the birds and what they do, stay quieter, and act as more of a hunter than another turkey. It worked for me!