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How to Hunt Pressured Turkeys

Hard-hunted birds have seen and heard it all, but you can still kill them. Here’s how to win the battle with a pressured gobbler.

By John Trout Jr.

We all dream about easy gobblers — birds that don’t mind talking and walking the extra mile to your setup.

I found one once down in southern Illinois, after hearing an eager-sounding bird 200 yards away. Fifteen minutes and a few yelps later, the hefty gobbler was silenced forever.

But consider another gobbler, this one in southern Indiana. He was less than 150 yards away the first time he gobbled. I set up nearby and went to work. The bird didn’t respond. Then he gobbled again, this time farther and obviously moving away. I won’t mention the head-scratching tactics and tricks I had to use to kill that turkey, but it took more than three hours to finally get him within gun range.

That’s a perfect case study of two gobblers different as night and day. We’re know about the various personalities of turkeys and how one might act different than another. Nonetheless, personality was not the differentiating factor with those birds.

Gobbler No. 1 was killed during the first week of the Illinois season on private land with no other hunters. Gobbler No. 2 died late in spring at an area numerous hunters had repeatedly hammered.

Remember, the easy bird came to calling immediately. The tough tom made me apply a tactical approach before he finally submitted. Gobbler No. 1 was shot within 75 yards of where he first gobbled. Gobbler No. 2 traveled almost a mile along an old creek bed before temptation got him.

That bird had seen and heard it all before, and he was scared and cautious — over the edge.

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

I believe gobblers at crowded hunting areas suffer from a major lack of confidence. Even a boss tom that’s the bully on the block is often afraid to open his mouth, and he’s overly cautious with each step. Granted, we’re talking about a bird with a walnut-sized brain that can’t reason or think. Nonetheless, his lack of confidence fine-tunes his survival instincts.

When I began turkey hunting in the 1970s, I had no choice but to hunt a state forest. It was the only area that held turkeys, and if a bird gobbled, it was instantly surrounded. Most often, the tom would silently disappear, never to be heard again.

Although we can be grateful that turkeys are plentiful and have adapted to various habitats, the birds on crowded lands haven’t changed. These high-anxiety toms fly down from the roost each morning with a low dose of confidence.

What can you do to boost a gobbler’s confidence without arousing doubt?

LOCATOR TALK

Run-and-gun hunters realize that hearing a bird is a necessity. But when hunting gobblers that are over the edge, it’s tough to hear birds and sometimes tougher to get a response. That’s why I rely much more on locator talk than hen calls.

Although turkeys are social critters, it doesn’t mean that a gobbler will happily respond to hen talk. In crowded areas, turkeys commonly hear “yelp, yelp, yelp” — usually from hunters. This uniform calling soon becomes the red flag that shuts down gobblers.

Conversely, locator talk is different than turkey talk. Many gobblers that are over the edge and hesitant to talk still look to announce their presence. A locator call gives them that chance and lets you find a tom without arousing suspicion.

CLOSENESS COUNTS

Of course, it takes some form of hen talk to finally lure a nervous gobbler into range. However, it’s best to wait until the moment is right. That moment arrives when you get close.

Before saying more about closeness, remember that Eastern gobblers don’t compare with Merriam’s. I’ve seen Merriam’s travel a half-mile or more and fly across canyons and other obstacles to reach me. I don’t see that when calling to Easterns, no matter where I hunt — crowded lands or otherwise.

However, when hunting private lands with little hunting pressure, I’ve often lured in toms from a considerable distances — up to about 300 yards. I’ve never had that happen when hunting pressured gobblers.

In fact, I prefer to get as close as possible — even 100 yards — before applying hen talk when facing an over-the-edge pressured gobbler. Thick foliage increases the opportunity to get close, but I also use hills and ditches.

Getting close to a nervous tom is the confidence builder. Many birds that wouldn’t respond to your hen talk from 200 yards will do so if you cut the distance in half. The less distance a bird must travel to reach you, the better he likes it. Getting close also reduces the chances that a hen or another hunter will interfere.

CALL LESS, ENJOY IT MORE

Aggressive calling is a dynamite tactic in many situations, but it’s not the way to go when you’re facing a gobbler on hard-hunted ground. Pressured toms seem to prefer shy, quiet hens.

One spring, while hunting the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, I worked a gobbler two consecutive mornings. Well, actually, I only attempted to work the bird. Like many pressured toms, he gobbled a little on the roost. When he hit the ground, he zipped up his beak for the day, never responding to the usual yelps and cutting I offered.

The third morning, I approached from another side and set up in the dark near where the bird had been the previous mornings. When the bird gobbled, he was 200 yards away, so I got up and moved closer. As dawn broke, I offered the turkey only a couple of clucks. He didn’t answer immediately, and I assumed the day would progress like the previous two. As the minutes passed and the gobbler remained quiet, I continued to avoid temptation to yelp. Twenty minutes later, it paid off. The silent bird flew down and landed 60 yards in front of me. He approached slowly, with his head stretched high, looking for the hen. I shot him at 40 yards.

Since then, I’ve become a firm believer in calling less to a pressured tom. That bird had come in without answering my calls and after hearing only two clucks. The hunt might not have been as exciting as a bird that gobbled furiously and strutted his way in, but the results were the same.

Subtle hen talk has become the key when hunting pressured birds. That usually means clucks, or perhaps three or four gentle hen yelps, provided it’s not windy and conditions are favorable to get close. I use only enough volume to be heard and refuse to call more than once or twice. If a gobbler moves away, I resort to other tactics to build his confidence, such as moving to a new setup before calling again.

Veteran hunters know pressured gobblers seldom respond quickly, even when hunters use subtle hen talk. Such birds take their time, and patience is the virtue. You should expect pressured gobblers to tread lightly and come in quietly — provided you’re on your own.

DOUBLING UP

In the early 1990s, I traveled to a public hunting area to team up on a few apprehensive gobblers, and I watched three longbeards fall to the double-team tactic. Each time, a hunter float-called called behind the shooter.

parrish and stoltz

Two-person calling is highly effective on hard-hunted gobblers.

Doubling up really helps when facing pressured turkeys, which often hang up. Sure, many gobblers hang up to wait for hens to come to them, but nervous toms seem to insist on that.

Because many gobblers hang up 60 to 70 yards from the hen talk, the ideal situation is to set up a shooter 30 to 40 yards in front of the caller. It’s not about calling expertise. Rather, it’s about strategy and placement. It might seem like dirty pool, but it’s legal and tips the odds slightly in your favor. Notice I said slightly.

Even though doubling up boosts your odds, there’s still a good chance it won’t work. Pressured toms are tough no matter what you throw at them. They can still sneak in and circle, often showing up closer to the caller than the shooter. Or they might turn around and head for parts unknown, leaving you and your buddy alone.

Once, while working a bird for my friend, the gobbler came in quietly from behind me and stood less than 10 yards away, drumming and strutting. After a few minutes of posing and looking for the hen, the gobbler left, never to be seen or heard again. My friend, who was 30 yards in front of me, never knew the bird was there.

Doubling up holds no guarantees, but it provides new hope if you pursue a pressured turkey.

A GREAT EQUALIZER? LATE-SEASON LONGBEARDS AT THE BUZZER

Surprisingly, the late season provides one of the best opportunities to kill a pressured gobbler. Although birds are extremely educated by that time, it’s also when they become most vulnerable.

First, consider that hunting pressure subsides considerably late in the season on public and private land. Most hunters who take time off work do so early in the season. Further, many hunters who didn’t fill their tag simply hang up their camouflage until next season. Moreover, with fewer people in the woods, there’s less chance of hunter interference.

Perhaps the best news is that most hens are nesting during the final few days of the spring season. That doesn’t necessarily mean that nervous toms are no longer tense and uneasy, but fewer hens make gobblers more vulnerable. It’s advantageous to stick with it till the end.

As hens begin to nest late in the season, gobblers often become more vocal. Although pressured birds might not gobble as often as their unpressured cousins, they’ll still likely talk more than they did earlier in the season.

If you succeed against any pressured gobbler, you’ll have earned it. You’ve beaten one of the best.

Editor’s note: The late John Trout Jr. was one of the top turkey hunting writers and photographers. He spent his 30-plus year career hunting pressured turkeys across North America.

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Proven Buzzer Beater Turkey Hunting Tactics

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