spitndrum

Alright...im looking for some MAJOR help. I live in California...a little different...it seems like everyone else is coming from the east. The property I am hunting is private...10,000 acres turkey heaven...im the only one that hunts it. I am having some problems though. I thought these birds would be easy since they have never been hunted until this year. I have only hunted a small section of property where there are roughly 20 birds...about 9 longbeards. I cannot get these birds to respond to ANYTHING. I know they are henned up but they wont even reply to an owl call or crow call. They dont even gobble from the roost at a real owl calling. I went out yesterday...and heard 4 gobbles all day...two in the morning about 500 yards away. None of these were in reply to anything I do. This is very hard because I dont know where to locate them after they come of the roost...If they arent talking...they disappear. I actually drove up on two toms on my atv and I spooked them but i got off set up really fast and they gobbled back 4 times (dont ask me why they still gobbled)...this was about 930. But it seems they only gobble when you are within 50 yards. During the day...(from 9-on) they dont reply to ANY locators that i have tried or any calls at all. Help. I am getting frusterated. This is the 4th time I have walked up on birds without knowing they are there since they wont respond. PLEASE i need suggestions! Thanks guys.

dog1

Spitndrum,

What I do when I hear one gobbling, say today, I go to that area the next day about an hour before daylight and set up. It's a gamble but it has paid off for me year after year.

Is the land you are hunting heavily wooded, if so, take off after the nearest one that's gobbling and try to get within 100 to 150 yards of the bird and set up and start calling, if he moves, move with him, that is if he is moving away from you. Try paralleing him or circleing him to get in front of him. If the land is open, you'll have to try all of this but keep further away til you can set up.

My suggestion only, others will have good ideas that may be different but just as good, if not better.

Good luck,
dog1

spitndrum

that you for the reply dog1. The land I am hunting is very hilly and wooded. So I would usually try to take off and stalk them...but its hard to stalk when they do not reply to anything. I hear that one gobble in the morning...then stalk them and i can never tell how close i am because that is the only gobble i will here...then they will shut up. I assume this means he has got a hen already. I am hoping the hens will start nesting soon so it will free up the toms. Its just a tough one to call. I really dont know. I only have 2 weekends left and I am still yet to harvest a bird from this land.

MtnGuy75

Im having virtually the same problem with these CO Merriams spit! Rarely gobble and when they do there up the head of some canyon so ranging them is next to impossible! [:@]So now im on the track and stalk technique, ill let ya know if it works for me or not.

7mmsaum

Follow the advise given by the responders and also try calling to the hens and just because the longbeards don't talk dosen't mean that they are not there or not not comming, chances are they hear you and are comming in silently. This is happening to me in Va. I have been on birds all opening week. A group of jakes with a young hen came in about ten yards. I had them all fired up and that morning a nice gobbler came in and suprised me and I was not ready for him. I had no idea he was there until he clucked and I let him get past me about ten yards with his back to me and made soft putts to distract him so I could get ready but he was too close and I let him go on his way. I got back on him later that morning but he had hens with that time. Sometimes their just not as vocal on some days than they are on others. Try everythin you can but remember they will pattern you and if you do bump a bird leave it a lone for a day or two then try again. Keep on trying and you will get him eventually. Goodluck

Handles

I have had the same problems with my Wisconsin birds the past two years. Lots of hills and valleys, thick woods.
I could get MAYBE one gobble in the dark, but after that, nothing regardless of my locator calls ect.. I got lucky on Friday after VERY aggressive calling. L0UD cutting and yelps, higher pitched box call worked better than slate or diaphram (my single reed worked better than double or triple). I got two to sound off, but not until 9:00 a.m. I worked those guys hard. They were with hens but kept moving my direction. Their gobbles stirred up two other toms that were much closer, but never answered any of my calls. One of those two came in from behind and presented a shot.
Try the aggressive calling, it might get them to sound off when the soft stuff doesn't. I it can't hurt to try and the next day you can go back to soft calling.

Turkeydude

Have you tryed the fighting purr alot of times they will come in quiet you have to be ready.If all else fails, give it a try. It does work not all of the time,but it does work...Good luck

spitndrum

what is the fighting pur? how do you do it? with which type of call?

joemj36

Toms in Illinois have been doing the same thing. They gobble in the early morning, but after that they shutup. I have called in about 5 gobblers in 4 days and all of them but 1 came in silently. You say where you're hunting is very hilly, sounds kind of like where I hunt. What I like to do is get up on a ridge and glass the opposite ridges by the woodline to see if any are fanned out in the open. If so, use the hills to your advantage and sneak around to set up on them out of site. I got my gobbler that I finally shot doing this. One other thing I'll say is be ready because they always come from the most inopportune places it seems like, the key is to see them before they see you. Good Luck!

Thickbeard

Spitndrum the fighting pur sounds like the putt and pur but quicker and more aggressive and sporadic. Its the sound gobblers make when fighting each other. Its easiest for me to make this call with 2 push pin calls.