losing interest

[grizzly]

went out this morning started calling and got this tom all fired up after a short time he seemed to lose interested and walked away so i backed out carefully and moved to another spot and resumed calling nothing . the same thing happened last time out . i feel my setups are as good as ever . are you late season hunters haveing the same problem . do you think it's the early warm weather we are haveing this year. it seems to be just the older toms i have had two jakes come in with no problem but this year i'm trying to pass on them but it's getting harder to just let them walk . i have also notice there seem to be fewer hens this spring could it be they're already on the nest. any thoughts would be helpful[:D] wayne

[WillowRidgeCalls]

If he's gobbling on the roost a lot call to him ONCE and quit When he hits the ground call ONCE again then don't call until you see him. I prefer not to even call to him on the roost, unless he only gobbles once or twice, then I'll call once to let him know I'm there. If he hits the ground and goes away I will gobble at him on a box call, and then go into some fast cutts and clucks, gobble again then quit until he shows up. Then excited clucks n purrs and cutts. I'll purr until he's into gun range. I've only been out 6 times and have brought 4 birds to the gun, 3 down, 1 miss, 1 got ran off by 3 jakes before we could shoot. The last time out 7 Toms came in at once. Only 1 day I have not seen a bird. This is all on public land.

[rondo1982]

The toms are looking and listening for hens.   Try to put yourself between the roosting and feeding areas.  The hens are flying out of the trees and feeding.  They are also feeding before roosting at night.  Try to find an ambush point in between.   Fencelines work really well.  Do not call very much.  The hens are not calling that much right now.  I watched two toms run to  the exact spot where a hen flew from the roost into the field.  The wing noise maybe the key.  The hens did not make much noise and the toms only gobbled from the roost.    Keep the faith turkey hunting is not the easiest thing in the world especially at this time of the season.

[mark hay]

I can't help but think that the majority of the hens were bred before our season opened on the 19th of April . I base this soley on observations at the hunting area and farms between there and home , and farms around where I live .
 Along with some bumpy weather , and an impressive amount of hunter pressure , and that big male coyote I saw out in the timber this morning . if I were a gobbler I'd be more cautious about broadcasting my presence to the world .
 Just over an hour ago , as I neared home , I spotted a hen in a creek bottom field feeding . I slowed down for some gawking and there is also a gobbler in the field . They were 100 yards from the road ,,about 75 yards from the brush choked ditchline . Also they were about 60 -70 yards apart .
 Toms head was brickred and all feathers down tight . He wasn't feeding , he seemed to be keeping tabs on the hen . He finally had enough of my presence and boogied toward cover . The hen did the same . Both taking their own shortest route to cover . He went in ,but after she reached cover she turned to run toward the tom , along the edge of the brush.
 
 I don't think they are losing interest . It warmed up early . Then it stormed and rained over four inches . Then it got hot. And now it's cool and windy ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and they are turkeys !
 
 I've heard them gobbling on and off the roost in June , like it was late March.

[grizzly]

man what's with the weather 60 out the other day, 33 and snow this morning one gobble is all i heard .i guess i should have been a little more clear it's not that i'm not seeing toms .it's just that they're not getting in shooting range they seem to come with in 100yards or so then stall. i have tryed both calling and shuting up . but they seem to gobble for a while then walking back the way they came . i think i can rule out hunter pressure .it my land . coyotes may be a problem cause there's a lot of them around here . none the less  i'll keep trying [;)] wayne

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Are you using a decoy Griz? and are they facing that tom that out there out of range?

[grizzly]

i haven't been using decoys lately scott but i'm thinking about may be dusting them off[;)] wayne oh by the way the call i got form you sounds great in the woods[:)]

[natman]

ORIGINAL: grizzly

it's not that i'm not seeing toms .it's just that they're not getting in shooting range they seem to come with in 100yards or so then stall.

If you can see them 100 yards away you may be hunting in the wrong spot. Gobblers expect the hens to come to them. They may decide to make it easier for the hen to find them, but if there is 100 yards of clearing between them and where the calls are coming from they know the "hen" can see them and they may well stop and wait for her to come out.

Find a spot where they have to be in shotgun range in order for the "hen" to see them.


See:

http://forum.turkeyandturkeyhunting.com/tm.aspx?m=29591