Busted call backs?

[1Morgan]

We've all been busted and the turkeys disappear. How many times have you just stayed in the area and called them back for a kill? Did you call them back or just sit quiet?

How far do they really go? We all say they ran to the next county but is that reality?

Will they come back "shortly?"

[turkey junky]

i have never been able to do this im under the impression of they all run to next county... lol not really but i just have never had any luck doing so if i bump birds im outta there ASAP & trying to find another bird i didnt bugger up... im just really paranoid about calling after a bump birds even thow i should not be...

[kygobbler]

I had a bird last spring that I had bumped and was able to call back to me. After about 30-45 mins he came within 20 yards of me but stayed on the other side of the bush and wouldn't give me a clear shot. That bird was my "bad bird" last year he teased me all season. I cant wait to get him this year, hopefully. Besides that one bird I have never had any luck on calling birds back after bumping them.

[Uncle Nicky2]

Fall turkey- probably a dozen times? That's pretty much what you are hoping for, to scatter them & call them back in.

Spring turkey- Twice. Two years ago when I hunted in Nebraska, I was trying to move on a group of birds, and accidentally busted the whole flock in a wooded creek bottom. I sat down for a minute to try & think of what my next move would be, and I heard them calling back & forth like they do in the fall when you scatter them. I got up to the top of the small hill where I was at, got set up behind a fallen log, and eventually called a gobbler in for a shot.

Another time I was hunting a farm a friend had given me permission to use. I had a group of birds fly down into a field after a rain storm late afternoon to feed, which struck me as odd. I was about to give up for the day, and was about 25 yards out in the field, picking up a couple decoys, without my shotgun. They picked me out and ran back into the woods. I quick put the decoys back in the ground, & got set up. After a half hour or so they came back into the field, and were calling back to me. I had them about 70 yards out, and they lost interest, it was a group of hens with a jake. I hung in there about another hour, and the jake came back out alone, this time he was gobbling, at least I think it was the same bird. I let him get to about 40 yards, and put the hammer down.

[ylpnfol]

unlike the fall, where you hang out more or less where you bump the birds and try to call them back when they want to flock up again [ a good thing ], in the spring, i don't hang around where i goofed up [ a bad thing ] and try to call the bird back to that location, when i have been able to kill/ call back a bird i bumped, i knew his stomping grounds and relocated to another likely spot and waited an hour or so and tried him again, one of my very best gobblers hung out on a ridge that had a wide open oak flat, adjacent to a hay field on one end and a creek bottom on the other, he got by me at flydown and went to oaks, i got down in a ditch and crawled to the flat, but he busted me at 100 yds, so i went to the creek bottom, took a nap, and he started up again at 9:15, i killed him 10 minutes before quitting time at noon, 21 lbs 12"beard.....last year, the last one i killed, busted me when i tried to move the gun, i relocated to a pine ridge 100 yds away, which is a popular hen roost, he came but i ran out of time that day [ still noon quitting time ], but i got him the next day....so it can be done, but you may have to improvise ...... note: neither of these birds flushed, they rubbernecked on off, putting all the way.....i would say if the bird takes flight, head 150 yds in his direction, give him i while to calm down and have at it.....one never knows

[turkey junky]

oh i have buggered up birds & killed them the next day if that counts??? a large group i bumped 1 afternoon ran & half flew across a huge soy bean field all the way basicly to the end like 500 yrds i followed the group put them to bed & set up there the next morning had a chance to kill a huge gobbler but i was young & didnt really know how far i could kill a gobbler with my new choke tube out of that huge flock i was only able to break 3 birds off a hen a jake & a huge ol tom the hen came in 1st the jake in toe & the gobbler chasing the jake & gobbling when he got to close i stopped calling once the committed to my set up gobbler hung out at about 50 yrds i had the gun on him the hole time & should of shot but just didnt want to wound a bird like my brother had the prior 2 days so when the hen took the gobbler over a slite hill i swung on the jake & shot b4 really aiming & at 25 steps my pattern was real tite & i missed he took to the air & i folded him up at like 55 yrds farther then the gobbler was standing when i was to scared to shoot man if i would of patterned my gun i would own his beard & spurs!!!

any way i was addmireing my jake while he was flop n around & wing beating & that big tom came running up to us??? he stood at about 60 yrds putt n??? then flew off once the hen flew the went back to the roost area... i then herd a gun shot across the valley & that was my brother we doubled that day... after that we got my dad & went & struck up 3 long beards we would of tripled that day back to back to back but the old man missed with his single shot 10 ga... it was a great day of turkey hunt any way!!!

wear i killed that jake my brother had rolled a bird the day B4 so maybe it was just the spot that got me that bird...

but i had buggered them up the day B4 & killed 1 out the flock the next day but i dont really count that as a busted call back situation they had all night to calm back down...??? they were kinda used to being bumped in that field in that 5 day season he had shot at birds had coyotes run them off & a rude bunch of farm kids driving/mud n in the soy bean fields basicly following turkeys with there farm truck & me busting the flock the day afternoon b4 i killed 1 so they were buggered up no doubt... & i seen them pitch out the tree so i know the bird i killed was part of the flock i buggered the day b4...

[Cut N Run]

I've had a couple of birds bust and come back to the same general area later. I didn't bust either of them real bad, they just got nervous and didn't like something. One was shy of a decoy and the other time, who knows?

I had one two year old come towards a small food plot and he was not at all comfortable about the strutter decoy I had out. After the gobbler left,I scrambled out grabbed the offending decoy, and stashed it in a camo bag under a leaning log. The gobbler came back through about an hour later and was looking hard at where the decoy used to be, though he wasn't looking hard enough for me. I rolled him at 20 yards. My guess is the food plot acted as a regular meeting place for turkeys and that's why he came back so soon. He was not a dominant bird and probably didn't come to the food plot looking to fight.

The other gobbler drifted through the high flat I was hunting well out of range of me not long after fly down, but he didn't like something in my direction. He broke into a run, & hauled butt down the creek bottom towards a neighboring property. He started gobbling again 15 minutes later within about 250-300 yards of where he busted and then continued down the creek, so he couldn't have been too alarmed. I changed positions to the creek in the direction he went, figuring he had a place he liked to strut somewhere along the creek where I heard him. He came back up the creek just before 10 AM and walked within easy range looking for the hen he heard.

The first bird was pretty quiet on the way back towards me, while the other one was more vocal the second time through than he was the first. Most of 'em that bust are gone for the day, so you may as well find another bird to pursue.

Jim

[charlie elk]

How many times have you just stayed in the area and called them back for a kill? Did you call them back or just sit quiet?

Frequently, if the turkeys are not gobbling or making other sounds I can hear I then rely on stumbling upon them causing them to be bumped. Pick a spot setup and wait 20 min or so before making a sound. This wait is critical to let the area settle back into its natural rhythm.

How far do they really go? We all say they ran to the next county but is that reality?

Turkeys do not go far, usually they only leave sight range (200 yds max) and hunker down. When the natural rhythm returns they get up and do whatever turkeys do; this is when I call.

Will they come back "shortly?"

Define shortly- sometimes I feel like an hour is short other times 15 minutes in long. In the latter case I move on just because I need to see new terrain. However since I know there are turkeys in the area I'll be back.

Sometimes I employ the fall tactic of breaking em up. For example when a group of hens and gobblers are at the far end of a field I will try to sneak and rush to get the hens off one way the toms the other. Then I go to where the hens were and start calling usually a tom comes back quickly (well within 30 min)

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Luckily so far I've only been busted three times, by a hen and by two gobblers, they snuck in from behind me. When the hen busted me and ran off puttin, I started puttin right back at her and then went to fighting purrs. It was only a short time later a gobbler came running down the edge of the field to meet his maker. The first gobbler that busted us came in silent from behind and busted my partner when he looked out the side window to see, the bird was standing 7 yards away beside the blind, he started puttin and turned to leave, I started cutting hard at him and he stopped to take a second look at at our decoys at 30 yards, my partner grabbed his gun, shaking like a leaf and missed, the bird took to the air and flew off. The last gobbler was coming in and saw something he didn't like, started puttin and turned around and left. I grabbed my gear and moved about 80 yards in the direction he left, set back up and using a differnt call started calling to him. He started gobbling and started to work back in rubber necking as he came, and met his maker. If I bust a bird that I was working, I'll switch calls, because that bird heard that hen that he was coming to and found danger, switching calls makes you a new hen that doesn't have danger associated with it. Most times they don't go far, depending on the terrain, a couple hundred yards. They do come back shortly if they are in the mood for hen company.

[Gopherlongbeards]

This fall I was also able to call in a few birds that had seen me and and started putting by sitting down immediately and putting back at them. I think they simply saw movement and it startled them, but weren't sure what exactly it was. The putting convinced them it must have been another turkey. One of these times I was wearing blaze orange as the muzzleloader season was still going on...