uncallable tom

[grizzly]

i was wondering if you guys think that there is such a thing as an uncallalbe tom . i was out yesterday and i saw my old buddy . the double breaded tom that i have been chasing for the last three springs last spring he gave me fits . he give one gobble in the tree then fly out in the middle of a 50 acre feild , i tryed every thing i could think of a blind, decoys differant calls . he would strut around in the middle of the feild and let the hens come to him when i would call it seem like he was interested but wouldn't come in for a closer look when i stoped he would walk the other way . i could setup and bushwack him but that dosen't seem right to me . i want to call this bird any suggestions....wayne

[Turkeybuster]

I killed a bird exactly like that last spring I hunted him three years had him close on the ground and on the roost.
Just could never make the shot , sometimes he would walk just walk away. This year I happened to catch him by himself and in the right frame of mind. Two tree calls and after he hit the ground a couple low clucks and he was right there. He only gobbled twice in the tree and one time on the ground. He had a 9.5 inch and a 6.5 beard.
Two mornings I watched him come off the limb and walk away even after a fly down cackle and a wing beat and leaf scratching. I atribute it to persistance since he did something different with every encounter. He caused me to loose a lot of sleep but I sort of miss hearing him wake up the woods. Hopefully another one will take his place this spring.

Jon

[Bobbyparks]

i was wondering if you guys think that there is such a thing as an uncallalbe bird...wayne

Considering how many turkeys walk the earth and that some really get pressured by hunters....I suppose some birds evolve into a virtually uncallable state.....at least at times...or it appears that they are

That said:......I think any bird Can be called in if you can catch him at just the right time...be in just the right set up spot....and give him just enough of a call which might just be cluck and scratching leaves ....it might be he can be called in the first week of the season but can't be touched afterwards....or there's a day in there somewhere where he wakes up stupid...we have those days...so will he...

It may be that he can't be called far or he can only be called over...a bit...and that you have to learn enough about him to get set up in a way that he can swing over just enough to be in range

I think on a really tough bird it truly does come down to the set up...where he has to pop up and peak over the rise or in thicker brush ...and it takes patience to wait him out and that the cluck let him know a hen is there...and the scratching leaves let's him know it's okay to come see her.

I definitely don't believe there are unkilliable birds...might be some I can't kill but someone can..there's always a way...you just have to find it.

For the record I realize how tough public land birds or heavily pressured birds are to kill.....and once
they've been messed with ...they can move into the uncallable mode or at least seemingly so.....but that bird was callable earlier on......

[eggshell]

I definitely don't believe there are unkilliable birds...might be some I can't kill but someone can..there's always a way...you just have to find it.

I totally agree with everything Bobby said, but the above statement sounds exactly like a man who hunts with an ACME Gobbler getter. So all things in context, any gobbler is killable.

All fun aside this true in real hunting. Pressure makes them unkillable for a while. I have tangled with tough birds on land where only I hunted too, but sooner or later there is that day. If you have a controlled access situation, then leave him for as long as possible and come back close to end of the season and he may dance.

[Treerooster]

Not much I can add except I would be very stealthy whenever I set up on a bird like this. You want to get set up as quietly and as unobtrusive as possible. You want him to have no idea you or anything dangerous are in the area. At least as much as possible.

[eggshell]

This reminds me of a bird i hunted a few years ago. He lived in a wide open woods and ran a particular bench. If you went to one spot and called he'd high tale it to the other end of the bench and gobble at every call just to torment you. So one morning, the next to last day of season, I woke up at around 3:30 Am and couldn't go back to sleep. so I got the bright idea to go set up on that bird in the dark and guess where he'd be roosted. It was only a 10 minute drive so I was in the woods by 4:00 and slowly picked my way to the bench in the dark. I only used a pen light pointed at the ground when necessary. I hit a deer trail and started along the bench lip and after about 100 yards I heard a noise to my left and down the hill. I stopped just in time to realize it was the rustle of feathers, then I heard a low cluck. It was a fairly moonlit night. I had planned on moving another 75 yards. but sat down at the closest tree, a small tree at that. A few moment later I heard that cluck again and wondered, can that ole gobbler be awake already. After about 20 minutes it began to very lightly gray up and I gave the softest purr and single cluck i could. There was no response, but I could hear a bird flexing wings and rustling leaves on a limb. I still said nothing and sat still and nothing was happening except two other birds gobbling up the valley, man I wanted to move, but didn't. Then all of a sudden GGGOOOOOBBBBBLLLLE right in front of me. The next thing I saw was this bird hopping from limb to limb and tree to tree looking right at my area. Finally he dropped down right in front of me and my bead was on him when he came to a stance....the old bird was finally mine. I was shocked he only weighed 16 lbs and had an 8" beard. Not all the smart ones are big.

[shaman]

I won't stick my neck out and say any bird is uncallable, but I've met some that were not worth the effort.

I had one years ago that used to roost behind the tobacco barn in an oak tree. He never strayed more than a few yards from that tree all season and had a perfect view of everything. He never had hens with him, and would go looking for hens. I tried a bunch of times to get him to come in, but he would never stray far enough from the tree to get a shot. I was glad when one spring he failed to show.

I also have decided to swear off hunting Moby Dick. I had my own Great White Whale. He was names Mister Natural. I spent the whole season of 2003 trying to nail him, and managed to miss on him once. The process durn near killed me, and I was sick for quite a while after the attempt. I usually end up posting the story of me and Natural some time every season, so I might as well get it over with. Here it is:

http://genesis9.angzva.com/?p=1049

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Well I'm an odd ball, if I had a choice of hunting private land or public and high pressured birds, I would choose the public birds that have had a ton of guys after them. Like I said, I'm an odd ball . I've hunted private and public land since the early '80's and about 85% of the birds I've taken were late season public land birds. Is there such a bird that can not be worked, I don't believe so, but it takes a different style of calling that has to be used to kill a tough old bird. Here in WI. we have 6 seasons and I prefer the later seasons 4th, 5th, 6th seasons to hunt public land. Through the years I developed a unique style of calling and it has worked very well on those high pressured late season birds. Like I said, I may be the odd ball turkey hunter , but so far it's working so I'm happy with it.

[shaman]

Reading this over again, I had an idea: What about either a pit blind or a hay bale blind to get that double-bearded monster???

[grizzly]

Thanks guys for all the responce. a little history on this tom i call him Teller . the first time i hunted this bird i did every thing wrong it was the last day of the season and i was on my way out of the woods when i heard him gobble . i picked a poor set up spot i had limited time to hunt that year so i was using shells i hadn't patterned [let that be a lession to all you newbies ] he came in and i missed high and to the right . i also have a neighbor who likes to go out in april and see how many he can call in as part of his scouting . Shaman i tried the round bale blind last year .i'm thinking of giving a tom decoy with hens to see if haveing a another tom in his feild will get him in a fighting mood what do you guys think about that i have never used a tom decoy before what do you guys use as a setup for them....wayne