uncallable tom

[1Morgan]

I seem to recall someone using a log to seal the deal!!

[kygobbler]

Grizzly, I believe if it was me, I would pre-scout and find where he likes to strut the most and put a hen decoy in the submissive postion and put a gobbler decoy right on top of her. Also, if his strut zone happens to be in the middle of the field I would use the hay bale blind again. Now if the strut zone happens to be on someone else's property then I would put the setup close to his roosting spot.

If I remember correctly, Im assuming this is the same bird you was trying to figure out last year?

[grizzly]

yes Kygobbler it is . i know this birds routine by heart . he roosts in the same tree every night he gobbles just once around sunrise flys of the roost right to the middle feild where he struts till about 8:00 then he wonders off to the woods . last year i did the round bale thing got there before lite set out a hen decoy he flew down about 200 yards away and wouldn't come any closer . some hens came out and went right to him i got a good show . what i find funny about this tom is the fact once he's on the ground he dosen't gobble only struts...wayne

[ylpnfol]

sounds like a bird i fooled w/ last year, i know you want to call him in, but, like my bird, the roosting in the same tree is his achilles [sp ] heel, after 3 mornings of him giving me a headache, i waited at his roost tree [ on first day of afternoon hunting ], and proceeded to miss him at 30 yds so i guess it all depends on how much abuse you can take, or how many birds you have to hunt, personally i don't have many, so sometimes, i gots to do what i gots to do.....

[Mossberg835]

We had a gobbler that i would deem "uncallable" and heres why. Picture a nice flat with plenty of white oaks, red oaks big maples,etc. You would think that a gobbler would enjoy roosting here. Not this particular gobbler. He liked to roost way down the hill to the right in a hollow or "holler" as some of you guys from arkansas would say. You know what he roosted in an old oak with hardly any protection from the wind, and he roosted there a lot, so you know that he dealt with the wind numerous times. Anyways, my father and i tried numerous times to get him. He would stay in the tree till 8:30 usually, 8:30!!!! We tried many different set ups, yet all failed. He would gobble once or none at all, usually none. Then he would fly down and wander off somewhere. Im convinced he could not be called in where we were and only mabey from the neighboring property. It doesnt help that this part of the farm used to be hunted by dick and jane and everybody else in the area that hunted That probably had an effect on the goblers and this turkey probably got pressured tomuch. So yes, i think there are some turkeys that need to see a live hen calling to them and can only be drawn in by a live hen. Just my 2 cents.

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Question for you griz, when you set that bale blind up, did you set it along the edge of the field or right where that bird likes to fly too in the middle? I hunt a lot of open fields with small wood lots around them on our publics, and what I've found is that after a few weeks of hunters chasing these birds, they tend to work the middle of these fields a lot more than they do the edges, and they get very routined to what they do. They won't vary very far from certain areas that they use day in and day out. They tend to have about a 20 yard circle in that field that they use and that's all they use, they won't budge out of it, you can call all you want and he'll answer you everytime, but he won't leave his zone. The same when they go through the woods, they have a 10 yards path that they use and the won't leave the path area, they will talk to you going all the way through the woods, but they won't leave that path. If it was me and I knew where that birds landing area was, I'd have a feeding hen set right there in his zone and I'd have a strutter set on the edge of it coming to it from opposite direction that your bird is roosted. You want your decoys set about 20/25 yards apart, so when that bird flys in he can land between the hen and your strutter to cut him off. As far as calling goes, if that bird is alone he will gooble at sunrise and then again just before he leaves the roost, so when he goobles at sunrise get your call in hand and be ready for him to gobble again. Cut him off with a run of 6-8 sharp loud cutts and trail them off into some feeding calls, (soft clucks and whines) if he doesn't answer you right away, wait 5 min. and give him a breeding call (3 yelps, each one louder than the one before) then shut up. If that doesn't get him to fly in, wait about 10 min and send him a gobble, followed by a few clucks and purrs. If he is any kind of a man bird at all, he'll come visit you, I promis you that.

[grizzly]

Thanks for the input Scott and the rest of you all i'm willing to give any thing a try ...wayne

[Turkeybuster]

If this bird roost's in the same tree each night why dont you get in close between him and the field in the dark and shoot him when he sails out of the tree? You will save yourself a lot of aggrivation.

Jon

[Cut N Run]

Wayne, I hunted a couple of gobblers that would act a lot like the one you are describing. The first one would give a few courtesy gobbles from the roost and maybe another one or two as he was heading away the other direction from me. I ended up going for broke on the last day of the season and setting up a jake decoy with a hen decoy in an un-hunted opening 100+ yards away from where I had set up once before. There was an old piece of tin roof that had blown off a barn during a hurricane a few years before that made decent cover, but if I called too close to it I got a strange metallic echo when I called. I moved to the next biggest tree where the tin would at least partially cover my outline. I ended up bringing a gobble call and every time he gobbled from the roost, I fired up and walked right on top of his calls. It thoroughly pissed him off and I could tell he was headed my direction, gobbling as he walked (which hadn't been happening from him in the weeks before). I could tell he was getting closer, but he shut up as he approached. Next thing I know, there are two gobblers walking together that crossed the creek below me. If I was positioned their way I could have made the shot. They busted me when I moved and vanished over the ridge. They sounded like one bird and had the advantage of two sets of eyes.

A couple of seasons later, I had a lone gobbler who refused do anything but answer calls. He just wouldn't come any closer. I knew he had hens with him and would not come to any of my calling. I used a strutter along with a hen decoy and waited until we got rain the night before, so I could slip quietly in close to his roost and get him before he moved around a lot. This guy didn't fly out to the middle of a field, but he had a harem of hens with him, which made sneaking close tricky. The rain dampened the grasses and weeds so I was able to set up in the nearest clearing to their roost. There was enough water dripping off of trees come daylight that I was sure they were going to head to the opening. A few clucks and a little cutting fired him up and made sure they were headed my way. Sure enough, he was trailing the hens through the woods and he absolutely lost his mind when he saw that strutter decoy. I don't think I have ever seen a turkey move as fast as when he bowled over that strutter decoy. His impact on the decoy broke the stake and knocked the real fan 16 feet from where the decoy had been set up. He was over 23 pounds, and 1&1/16th spurs, an 11 inch beard, and had a bald breast from covering so many hens. He also had several copper plated #6s in his body that had healed over from a close encounter the season before, which probably made him more wary.

I hope either one of those tricks works for you. Good luck. I can't wait to see a picture of you posted here holding him up by the feet.

Jim

[grizzly]

Jon i can't take him that way i have to call this tom in one way or another . thanks Jim for your imput i hope you are right and this will be the spring i win the game ...wayne