trophy time

sometimes those older birds are very well educated, and if they feel something is wrong they will not come in. I hade that happen about 3 years ago and that bird would not come in it always stayed about 80 yards away all 5 days i hunted it, and i moved my set up everyday. What i think made that tom smart was earlier in the season his two buddies were shot so he was the only one left.

SwampCollie

Its very tough to get one gobbler away from one hen. Its pretty much a done deal for him, and there isn't much point in him seeking out what he has already found. So don't beat yourself about it.

There are a few things that you might want to try differently next time however.

1) It depends entirely on which part of the country you are in, but where I live, Saturday was opening day. Early in the season however, no matter where you are, you will be facing off againest one dominent bird, who has been rulling the roost for nearly a month. This is the bird you should be after! In order to get him to come play your game, you are going to have to challenge him. This is where jake decoys and full strut decoys are VERY effective. A fighting purr is THE early season call! Use a jake, or a full strut with a low position hen, and the boss bird will come a running, if not flying.

2) This sort of ties in with #1, but it has been my experience that one single hen decoy, especially in a field or large open area (100 yards across or greater) is a fantastic recipie for a hung up bird. One hen, especialy an excited one, all by herself will almost ALWAYS come to the gobbler. And the tom is used to that. He will strut and gobble, usually about 80 yards out or so, and wait for her to close the distance. Adding in a feeding hen, or a low position hen, or espeically the jake or full strut from #1 is a good way to make him come be a part of the group, and then a part of your good memories.

Again, there isn't much you can do in that situation that will improve it. The best thing to do is just stay put. After that gobbler breeds that hen, he may very well come back to where you were at to see if that hen is still in the area, or if she is receptive.

BKE

With the Tom being the boss in this situation, aside from a fighting purr (mentioned above)is there any other that could be used to simulate a dumb young jake thinking he could horn in on the hen and get the boss pissed? As for the fighting purr,is that something a jake woulddirect toward theTom?

TurkeyT

Ditto. Make the same calls as her and then one up her with a few yelps for the gobbler

SwampCollie

Jakes don't make a heck of a lot of noise in the spring. At least not until they figure out how to gobble, then they never shut up. I have seriously yelled at jakes to shut up and had them gobble back at me (its uproaringly funny, because you can say anything you want to them and they will gobble right back at you).

In the fall, jakes kee kee a lot, I suppose because they get lost right much, and young turkeys don't make much noises other than whistles anyway. They are sort of the red headed step sons of the woods. Hens don't want them around, and gobblers won't tolerate them either, which is why you usually see them in bunches.

I don't really think a jake would challenge a boss gobbler, but conversely, I don't really think that gobbers know the difference between a jake decoy and a full blown gobbler decoy. All they know is that its another male turkey trying to run game on his hens, and he will usually flex his wings to put a stop to it; which is when you put a stop to him.