Hunting heavily pressured birds

[eroger]

Hunting an area in South Louisiana that has a lot of hunting pressure. I'm usually sucessful in the early season but once the birds get educated it gets tough. The late season birds just clam up or gobble once or twice then loose their voice. The area I hunt is hardwoods and lots of swamp. Any suggestions you guys can give?

[mark hay]

I too hunt heavy pressured birds ,,,but in Ohio . It has been my experience that along with the birds being less vocal the woods green up good and thick and the halfhearted hunters thin out . The birds continue to break up as the hens leave the gobblers and take up house keeping on a nest . The gobblers become anxious , but still very wary .
 Faint , ever so soft calls . Purrs , clucks and lots of mock scratching work well . They seem to throw up a caution flag to normal and above normal volume calling . I rarely call to roosted birds and if I do I rely on their uncanny hearing ability to hear my faint calls and only call once .
 Not only are our turkeys hunted hard ,,but the mushroom hunters continue to bump the birds around throughout the afternoon .

[eroger]

Thanks for the reply, I'll need to tone down my calling a bit. I've encountered 10 toms so far this season and have only filled one tag. Some were with hens and others were by themselves. One morning in the early season I even had a tom fly in 10 feet in front of me while I was standing next to a tree getting ready to move to another location, I did't get him but got a good dose of adreneline.

[eggshell]

I agree with Mark entirely. Comfort calling I like to think it is....the sounds you hear flocks making while feeding along. If a gobbler fires up and is really hammering your calls then pick it up he's horny and he'll come. On any given day any bird may be suicidal horny, but you have to play it safe to start. Also stay put and wait longer in set ups, birds will slip in silent. This is where patterning and knowing travel lanes comes in. I've killed my share of "impossible birds" and patience has been a bigger player than anything else. If you know an area a gobbler likes then sit on it and only do an extremely faint call or two every 15 minutes. a couple soft clucks are good as turkeys often use clucks as location calls. If you think you heard a cluck or a sudden turkey sound, but aren't sure, keep your eyes peeled. You may even catch yourself thinking "that wasn't a turkey. Also, This is one time roosting is a good card. If you can get really close to birds they will drift by for a look, but you still only need one cluck when he flies down, and do not tree call to him, you want him on the ground. The biggest two mistakes most people make is over calling and too much volume, for late season birds. For me it is immensely difficult not to call. Good Luck

[WillowRidgeCalls]

When I'm working high pressuerd birds I've found that the less you call the better. When a gobbler sounds off on the roost I'll answer him with just a couple very raspy yelps and some soft clucks, then go quiet, just let him know your there. After he's on the ground, I'll give him some excited cutts and clucks and a few kee kees, then go silent for a bit, sometimes I won't touch a call for an hour. Patience is a must on high pressuerd birds, if that gobbler knows your there he'll be checking you out, it becomes a stand off and if you move he'll stay put and wait for you to come to him. If your working a close bird you may have to stay put for 3-4 hours sometimes. Patience, patience, patience.

[SpitnDrum]

One thing I would like to add is pressured or unpressured gobblers have one thing in comon.They are used to having hens come to them.It's simply nature and how they really do it in the wild.Once a Tom gets a few seasons under his belt it makes it a little more difficult to get him to respond to calling the way we are intending him to.He will gobble and aknowledge to you that he is there,but what he is really saying is (you come to me).This action leads to the stories every one talks about when you here a stubborn (pressured Tom mentioned).I believe turkeys get human shy wich makes them more timid to there surroundings.I don't think that turkeys ever become uncallable.After all turkey talk is the way they comunicate and reproduce.I agree 100% with the gentlemen above.Tone down your calling and be sparing with it.Think to yourself that your the Stubborn Boss hen in the area.

[eroger]

Thanks for the advice guys, figured I may have been calling a little too much and too loud just needed a little reinforcement. Is it me or does turkey hunting cause a bit of insanity?

[eggshell]

naw, It's you we're all sane.....hey why is everyone laughing. 

[SpitnDrum]

naw, It's you we're all sane.....hey why is everyone laughing.

[:D][:D]Ye thats why we are running around acting like a bird with a brain the size of a peanut!!!

[MoJack]

I am by no means an expert, but one other item I have learned trying to hunt birds in high pressured areas, is to really think out your set up. If he can clearly see where the sound is originating from far away, and he doesn't see a *real* hen, he probably will never come close enough for you to ever know he was checking you out. You have to be over a rise, or behind a bush, or some other trick of the terrain. They will be looking for the hen making the racket, and if he doesn't see it, he won't come in. I have this scar, several times over.....