what to do next?

[mossbergboy]

The other day i was hunting and did not hear any birds and i started purring and 2 hens came by and then like 25 min later i heard a gobble out in front of me so i started calling with just a simple yelp real quietly and then about 5 min later i heard the same gobble off to my right and i never seen the bird????? what should i do or do differently next time?

[swpatrkyhunter]

Difficult to say really!
 
There are ALOT of factors that could have caused your problem. Did the tom get hung up by some natural or man made barrier? Did you move and he saw you? When you heard him gobble to your right was that the location the Hens moved off to? Maybe you should have just kept up with the purring that brought the birds to your setup in the first place. How long did you stick around after you heard the second gobble? Being patient is very important when dealing with quiet birds or birds who don't sound off too much.
 
Good luck!

[joey p]

Hey, I had something very similar happen to me on opening day.  I was setup on a ridge, to the north of the turkey's roost.  The creek bottom ran north and south, so it's off my right shoulder, and the turkey is directly south of me.  When I tree yelped, his hen cut me off with yelping.  He gobbled well on the roost, and got silent at flydown.  The next time he gobbled, he was already north of me in the creek bottom.  He had already gotten past me.  I swung around to the far north end of the creek, where I was able to call him in to about 70 yards.  He strutted there from 920-1040.  He did not answer any call, he did not come to me, the only reaction he gave to my call, was to fluff out more.  He simply did not want to leave that hen, no matter what I did.

The turkey that went past you, maybe he was following a hen, or maybe he had somewhere he wanted to go.  He will gobble at you, saying, "hey girl, come join my party" but unless you are where he's going anyway, it can be tough.
 
What I am learning this season.  (And I'm still learning, so don't think I'm an expert.)   Seems to me that off the roost, those hens have a specific area they want to go to, if you could learn where that is, it may help.

[mossbergboy]

after he gobbled the second time i stuck around their for about another hour i was going to try and circle him but i did not. the hens walked right by me and went down an old log road and i think he ended up circling them and slipped away without me seeing him.

[mossbergboy]

thanks for the information ill use what i no now on my next hunt

[mark hay]

 it never ceases to amaze me how a 15-25 lb. , black bird can slip in and slip away undetected so easy in all that contrast of colors . i like 'em that way , don't you ?

[ridgerunner]

Something stuck with me years ago, Harold Knight once said"If you call from inside a stump, and a gobbler hears you, he could walk up and look inside that stump". In short, if he gobbled at your call, no need to say much else. If he wants to come, he knows where you are. If he doesn't all the calling in the world won't make him come to you. Woodsmanship and patience has taken a many gobblers.