When turkeys don't gobble
By Larry Myhre Journal editor | Posted: Monday, April 23, 2007
When turkeys don't gobble, the hunt gets tough. The Missouri bird, above, gave us the silent treatment but came in to the decoy anyway. (Staff photo by Larry Myhre)
Turkey hunting can be one of our most challenging outdoor endeavors, even when everything goes right.
Fact is, everything seldom goes right. That's an observation of mine after over 25 years of chasing this wild bird in a number of different places.
One of the most common curve balls an old tom turkey can throw your way is the silent treatment. If you've hunted turkeys, you know the drill. The toms will gobble and gobble while still in the tree at dawn, but as soon as they fly down, lock jaw sets in. Oh, they may still walk into your setup, but silent turkeys are incredibly hard to hunt. It's that gobble that tells you when they are close, and that it is time to get your gun up and not move. Their hearing and eyesight are so good that if a tom comes in quietly, he'll probably pick up on some movement you make and just walk away. You'll never know he was there.
The silent treatment is the most frustrating thing that can happen to a turkey hunter, and nothing will erode your confidence faster than not hearing gobbles when you know turkeys are around.
So, what should you do.
Two things. One, find a bird that will gobble. Two, sit down in a good spot and wait them out.
The first only works if you are hunting a large area, say 1,000 acres or more. The second may be your only choice if your hunting area is small.
If you are hunting a large area, you can be sure that at some point during the day you will find a bird willing to gobble and play the game. I've had most success at this in late morning through mid-afternoon. However, I rarely start ranging for birds much before 9 a.m. Patience can be a great virtue for turkey hunters and staying put on your first set at dawn often pays off.
I don't know how many times I've left a spot, walked a 100 yards up a ridge and looked back and seen a tom strutting right in front of where I had been sitting.
When searching for a tom that will gobble, I do things a little differently than what is normally recommended. I don't walk a ways and begin calling real softly in case a tom is nearby. Instead, I bring out a loud box call and rip off three to four loud yelps. Wait five seconds and do the same thing again.
When turkeys go quiet, it seems they will gobble if they are shocked. That's why the loud yelps. Often a nearby bird will give his presence away. He may never gobble again, but a few soft calls will likely bring him in.
One rule you should always follow when walking to find an active bird is this. Never, ever call until you have located a place where you can sit down immediately and be ready for a turkey's approach. I always call from a position where all I have to do is sit down, back against a tree or a cedar, and be ready. If a turkey gobbles from only 50 yards away, that is no time to begin looking for a place to sit.
Chances are that turkey you just shocked will come in silently or, perhaps, not at all. When I'm set, and I don't take the time to put out a decoy in this situation, I begin the next calling sequence with a quiet series of purrs and clucks on a slate. Often they will gobble again to the purr on a slate. Then I put that call down and get ready.
I wait about five minutes and then send out a series of louder yelps with the diaphragm call. This is no time to be moving your hands over a slate or box because that turkey could be right in front of you. After a couple more minutes I'll yelp again quietly and wait some more.
If I've only gotten the shock gobble, I'll wait about 30 minutes. If I've had any other response, I'll stay in position for about 45 minutes. If nothing shows, I'll get up carefully, look around and if I don't see him, continue on my way looking for another bird.
If your hunting area is small, it's best to set up in a spot where you've seen turkeys in the middle of the day before and just wait them out. There's not much other choice. Moving around in an 80-acre plot may just spook the birds out of your area.
Generally, I'll use a couple of decoys in this situation, placing them 20 yards out and preferably to one side where they can be seen well from the area you expect the turkeys to come from.
When I'm settled in, I take out my loudest box call (a big boat paddle from Quaker Boy) and rasp out a couple of series of the loudest yelps I can make. This should alert any tom within a mile that a hen is there. Then I just wait, calling about every 20 minutes, mixing it up with clucks, purrs, yelps and maybe even some cutting.
On these long waits, it's not unusual for a hen or two to walk in and look things over. It never hurts to have a live decoy around, and she'll often do some yelping on her own.
If you are in good turkey country, it's very likely that a tom will walk in at some time during the day. Sitting with your back to a tree for four or five hours may seem pretty boring, but it beats sitting at home or in the truck where you have no chance at all of bagging a bird. I often sit and dream about birds that came in the past just like they're supposed to, gobbling and strutting into shotgun range. I wish it could happen every time, but it doesn't. Maybe that's why turkey hunting is so much fun.
Larry Myhre is editor of the Journal. Reach him at (712) 293-4201 or email at: larrymyhre@siouxcityjournal.com
Fact is, everything seldom goes right. That's an observation of mine after over 25 years of chasing this wild bird in a number of different places.
One of the most common curve balls an old tom turkey can throw your way is the silent treatment. If you've hunted turkeys, you know the drill. The toms will gobble and gobble while still in the tree at dawn, but as soon as they fly down, lock jaw sets in. Oh, they may still walk into your setup, but silent turkeys are incredibly hard to hunt. It's that gobble that tells you when they are close, and that it is time to get your gun up and not move. Their hearing and eyesight are so good that if a tom comes in quietly, he'll probably pick up on some movement you make and just walk away. You'll never know he was there.
The silent treatment is the most frustrating thing that can happen to a turkey hunter, and nothing will erode your confidence faster than not hearing gobbles when you know turkeys are around.
So, what should you do.
Two things. One, find a bird that will gobble. Two, sit down in a good spot and wait them out.
The first only works if you are hunting a large area, say 1,000 acres or more. The second may be your only choice if your hunting area is small.
If you are hunting a large area, you can be sure that at some point during the day you will find a bird willing to gobble and play the game. I've had most success at this in late morning through mid-afternoon. However, I rarely start ranging for birds much before 9 a.m. Patience can be a great virtue for turkey hunters and staying put on your first set at dawn often pays off.
I don't know how many times I've left a spot, walked a 100 yards up a ridge and looked back and seen a tom strutting right in front of where I had been sitting.
When searching for a tom that will gobble, I do things a little differently than what is normally recommended. I don't walk a ways and begin calling real softly in case a tom is nearby. Instead, I bring out a loud box call and rip off three to four loud yelps. Wait five seconds and do the same thing again.
When turkeys go quiet, it seems they will gobble if they are shocked. That's why the loud yelps. Often a nearby bird will give his presence away. He may never gobble again, but a few soft calls will likely bring him in.
One rule you should always follow when walking to find an active bird is this. Never, ever call until you have located a place where you can sit down immediately and be ready for a turkey's approach. I always call from a position where all I have to do is sit down, back against a tree or a cedar, and be ready. If a turkey gobbles from only 50 yards away, that is no time to begin looking for a place to sit.
Chances are that turkey you just shocked will come in silently or, perhaps, not at all. When I'm set, and I don't take the time to put out a decoy in this situation, I begin the next calling sequence with a quiet series of purrs and clucks on a slate. Often they will gobble again to the purr on a slate. Then I put that call down and get ready.
I wait about five minutes and then send out a series of louder yelps with the diaphragm call. This is no time to be moving your hands over a slate or box because that turkey could be right in front of you. After a couple more minutes I'll yelp again quietly and wait some more.
If I've only gotten the shock gobble, I'll wait about 30 minutes. If I've had any other response, I'll stay in position for about 45 minutes. If nothing shows, I'll get up carefully, look around and if I don't see him, continue on my way looking for another bird.
If your hunting area is small, it's best to set up in a spot where you've seen turkeys in the middle of the day before and just wait them out. There's not much other choice. Moving around in an 80-acre plot may just spook the birds out of your area.
Generally, I'll use a couple of decoys in this situation, placing them 20 yards out and preferably to one side where they can be seen well from the area you expect the turkeys to come from.
When I'm settled in, I take out my loudest box call (a big boat paddle from Quaker Boy) and rasp out a couple of series of the loudest yelps I can make. This should alert any tom within a mile that a hen is there. Then I just wait, calling about every 20 minutes, mixing it up with clucks, purrs, yelps and maybe even some cutting.
On these long waits, it's not unusual for a hen or two to walk in and look things over. It never hurts to have a live decoy around, and she'll often do some yelping on her own.
If you are in good turkey country, it's very likely that a tom will walk in at some time during the day. Sitting with your back to a tree for four or five hours may seem pretty boring, but it beats sitting at home or in the truck where you have no chance at all of bagging a bird. I often sit and dream about birds that came in the past just like they're supposed to, gobbling and strutting into shotgun range. I wish it could happen every time, but it doesn't. Maybe that's why turkey hunting is so much fun.
Larry Myhre is editor of the Journal. Reach him at (712) 293-4201 or email at: larrymyhre@siouxcityjournal.com
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