Same Gobbler? How can you tell?

[charlie elk]

In turkey hunting stories we hear; we read about a tenacious hunter who matches wits with an old gobbler day after day and in some stories year after year. Heck I've told a few of those myself.
Until...
A few years ago during late May hunt I thought I was after the same gobbler for 3 days, with great satisfaction I killed him on the morning of day 3 filling my last tag. Weary from a long spring of sleep deprivation I thought this would be my last hunt of the spring and had planned to go back to work. However, the next day at sunrise a gobbler sounded off from the exact same tree!? But I thought I had killed the last active gobbler. Of course I bought another tag to pursue this new/same gobbler. Killed him the first morning out.
Now this question nags at me-
How does a hunter know if it is actually the same bird they are after from day to day?

[turkey junky]

i think that very same thing when i hear or read these 3 yr quests for the same gobbler they rarely say oh boy that gobbler had 1.5 inch spurs ETC. most the time people may be hunting the same bird day after day but the bird that gets killed is some young dumb 2 yr old & that old boy is still roaming the woods laughing at us!!! lol

i was in NE last season at a new WMA & roosted a nice gobbler this bird had a real high pitched gobble a scream gobble like merriams have i was in hybrid territory & could actually here the difference in the 4-6 gobblers i could hear gobble each morning i hung with that scream gobbling turkey for 3 days & seen him 3 times & kinda got to know his routine & his white color on tail fan so i was safe to guess that was the same bird but we will never know cuz he is still on that damn WMA lol!!!

my brother hunted archery turkey hardcore a few yrs ago & he wounded a gobbler we called limpers the only way we could tell him apart was his limp we could see for the next 2 yrs so that bird messed with us 3 yrs & he was already at least 2 when he was wounded any way we seen him 3 yrs total then after last winter he was gone coyote or owl food id guess??? or hit by car that happens alot wear my brother hunted...

[WillowRidgeCalls]

That's a tough one charlie. Unless there is something unique about that birds looks or sound it's hard tellin one from the next, unless you have a long time to study him. Most times that don't happen. We think because a bird is in the same area or tree or strut zone that it's the same bird, but is it??

[ylpnfol]

i'm w/ scott on this one, unless there is something physically or vocally [ is that a word ] unique about a certain gobbler, its virtually impossible to tell if your dealing with a gobbler you've worked in the past. on the land i hunt, gobblers roost in the same areas, if not the same trees day after day, year after year..... predictably, not too far from the ladies....it is the stuff that legends are made of tho....

[eggshell]

I usually name the bad gobblers that fool me over and over. I will call him Ralph and then when he comes in and just before i shoot I say, "Ralph is that you?" then if he raises his head and looks my way (you know like when you hear your name said in a crowd) I know it's him and I shoot. That's all the proof I need to satisfy my ego. There you have one of the greatest secrets I've ever divulged.

[Gopherlongbeards]

I usually name the bad gobblers that fool me over and over. I will call him Ralph and then when he comes in and just before i shoot I say, "Ralph is that you?" then if he raises his head and looks my way (you know like when you hear your name said in a crowd) I know it's him and I shoot. That's all the proof I need to satisfy my ego. There you have one of the greatest secrets I've ever divulged.

What an elegant solution! why didn't I think of that...

[charlie elk]

That's really good eggshell, thanks for divulging your secret I'll be giving that a try this spring!

[Cut N Run]

That's just outstanding, Dana. I'll have to add that technique to my bag of tricks.

Gobblers are very competitive for breeding rights and when the boss is gone from a favorite area, another takes his place. If the boss shows up again then order is restored or there's going to be a fight.

I have had experiences with the same bird from one year to the next because I recognized a particular physical characteristic unique to that individual that was not present in other birds in the area. We had one at the lease for a few years that had a particularly deep and raspy gobble. My buddy E.P. killed him because we never heard that gobble again after that day.

It is kind of like how a dominant bass always takes over the best cover in the best hole. Twenty years ago, I was scuba diving in Gennie Springs & Crystal River in Florida and I noticed that the biggest bass were always on the best cover in the deepest holes in the river. I would see some decent bass cruising around in shallower waters, but the biggest bass were always in the best spot. It has to be some kind of a law of nature.

Jim

[retranger]

I go with eggshell !!!!!!