new player

[trkyklr]

im assuming that the birds are in the big woods...?..if so i would probably try to sneak to the edge of the cedars on the straight slope so that they couldnt see my move.once i was @ the bottom of the steep slope i would cluck 1 time if.. i mean if i got a reply i would shimmy up the slope where i could peek over the edge(just my eyes) into the cedars on top,upon seeing the birds i would ease back off the slope if needed to reposition if they were close to my location when i peeked over i would try to coax them closer with some soft purrs & scratching in the leaves if they did not come i would continue to shimmy back down into the cedars assuming they are thick enuf to hide my skinny A#$ try & make a 1/2 circle around them & call from a different angle,
 
like my signature sais killem or bumpem,im impatient specialy early in the season i would take 3/5 of my game to the birds(sneakin)& try & coax them the other 2/5... im not real good @ picturing the land in the ol' noggin but  try me another this could get fun

[mark hay]

that senario i've given actually happened. some of what you gave as calling was very close to what took place.
now go back to the time when you are at the top and peekin'and NOW know that you can't see down into thse cedars before sun up. it's like lookin' into a cave. and with every call you make the number of birds gobblin' increases.

[SamuraiTater]

ORIGINAL: Treerooster

4) Know that the the addiction to this sport, the very essence of it and why so many guys are crazy about it, is calling that bird up. Getting him in close and being in his/her space. You call a gobbler in close (20 or 25 yds) and if he graces you with a gobble or some drummning you will know what I am talking about. Oh you'll hear him alright, but you will also FEEL that bird. Your marrow will vibrate!

 
Dood, you ain't lying !    I'm very new at this and only called one bird in close (about 10 feet).  He was directly behind me and the only sound I heard was his feet in the pinestraw.......that is until I heard alarm putts.
 
Other than casual conversations with hens from a distance and distant yelping, I had never heard real wild turkey sounds before.  But when that big boy came running in and stopped right behind me I had no choice but to freeze.   I was trying not to even breathe but my heart was jumping out of my chest.

[trkyklr]

WELCOME! to the turkey hunting addiction there tater & to the forum

[mark hay]

well i realize i ain't a skilled writer,,,one that could paint a picture with words . also it would be easier to say how one might call if he could actually hear the birds and the intensity in their gobbles.
11 longbeards and jakes came in from the big hrdwoods , and one ol' gobbler came alone right up the steep place..

[Gobblerman]

Mark, I thought the picture you painted in your scenario was just fine.  All the description, although detailed and intriguing, was meaningless to me after your final sentence wherein you stated that three gobblers were responding and "on the ground and coming".  If I'm set up properly and ready to shoot, and have gobblers on the ground and coming to me, I'm not doing a thing other than pointing my gun in their direction and waiting for them to show up.  I'm not going to move a muscle, swat a mosquito, pick my nose, or nuttin' if the birds are that close (150 yards) and are on the way.  The only movement you will see from me is when I gently push the safety off and make that last inch or two of sight adjustment before squeezing the trigger!
 
Now, if on the other hand those birds for some unknown reason don't materialize in front of me, and in fact, are heading off to parts unknown, then I will start contemplating the landscape and potential movements.  But under the conditions that you presented, my experiences from forty-four years of spring gobbler hunting tell me to stay put and stay ready!
 
Jim

[mark hay]

evenin' Gobblerman
i can honestly appreciate your criticism. and to be quite frank, i don't know if i would have even made an attempt at  the scenario if someone else had given it . what i do think is that if we could get the birds to cooperate for 10 mornings , and put a different hunter on that ridge each morning, i'd bet the records would reveal 10 different strategies and probably 10 dead birds.
there were actually 2 other hunters with me . when we realized the bird was on its way i positioned myself 25 yrds behind the other 2 . i'll call my position 12:oo , 1 man at 10:00 , and one man at 2:00. the bird, turned into a flock , with most gobbling . when they were at what i estimated to be about 75 yrds they started moving to the right. the flock wasn't bunched tight , but they were in unison in their movement. i moved twice asthe birds came in. my last position being just over the ridge top.
now i'll admit that this old boy tends to get wound up tight when a bird is cooperating . needless to say , with a flock of loudmouth jakes and longbeards coming in i was beyond excited. i called too much and too loud. though one bird was taken and we all had should have tagged out i've thought about my own mistakes as the caller . but at any rate , it was a memorable and learning experience. i also look at it as a very rare event in the turkey woods. if i'm fortunate enough to get in as many years as you sir ,i doubt i'll ever see that happen again . there wasn't a hen among that bunch.
we returned to that same spot the next 2 mornings and worked birds each day , with one more going home with us . OH, those 2 hunters are step-sons in their 30's and are now addicts. wish i was a better teacher.

[Gobblerman]

And a good evening to you, as well, Mark.  Sounds like you guys had a classic hunt with those birds on that ridge. That is just the kind of hunt that we all hope for.
 
 I fully appreciate your comments about getting wound up in those kinds of hunt situations.  It's real easy to do.  I guess the only point I was really trying to make was that, in a situation where a hunter has birds interested and obviously on the way, often the best strategy is to just shut up and get ready to shoot.  More often than not, a really hot gobbler will find his way to you, regardless of the terrain, brush density, slope, or whatever.  It is really up to the hunter to keep from screwing it up....or not.
 
As someone on here has said before, I will take the right bird in the wrong setup anyday over the wrong bird in the right setup.  And as a corollary to that, with some gobblers, every setup will end up being right and with other gobblers, no setup will be right.
 
Jim

[mark hay]

well said gobblerman,,,well said