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May 9th, 2018, 02:32 PM
#1
How to seal the deal
New turkey hunter here, today I finally saw some action but got busted calling in the Tom first thing this morning when I moved as he was coming from behind me and I was trying to get into a better position. Then I caught up with him a few hours later and he was with 2 hens and not interested in my calling at all, who can blame him, haha. Then called some more an hour later and he circled around me and actually went away from me. We called to each other for at least 30 mins while he was moving away. What would one do to break him free from the hens if that's possible or bring him back when moving away and when they are within 60 yards or so, what kind of calls would get him in close?
Thanks in advance and good luck to all still out there.
Last edited by Jems; May 9th, 2018 at 02:42 PM.
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May 9th, 2018 02:32 PM
# ADS
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May 9th, 2018, 03:01 PM
#2
Has too much time on their hands
I've had success with just waiting him out. You won't often be able to call a Tom away from live hens. You can try to get the hens to come to you by imitating their calls and "challenging" them for lack of better word. The Tom will follow the hens.
If you decide to wait him out, call very little. Just enough to keep you in his memory. Eventually the live hens will ditch him and he will come looking for you.
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"where a man feels at home, outside of where he's born, is where he's meant to go"
- Ernest Hemingway
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May 9th, 2018, 03:14 PM
#3
Has too much time on their hands
Originally Posted by
GW11
You can try to get the hens to come to you by imitating their calls and "challenging" them for lack of better word. The Tom will follow the hens.
That almost worked for me on opening day. I sucked the 2 hens away from the tom but cutting off their yelps with aggressive yelps of my own. But the tom hung back at 80 yards and as soon as the hens came to my decoys, the tom tore a verbal strip off the hens. The volume and aggressiveness of his gobbles left no doubt that he used some strong turkey profanity, causing the hens to nearly jump out of their feathers as they turned and ran back to him.
"What calm deer hunter's heart has not skipped a beat when the stillness of a cold November morning is broken by the echoes of hounds tonguing yonder?" -Anonymous-
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May 9th, 2018, 03:39 PM
#4
with toms less is always more. If you keep responding to him the thought process for the bird is your interested come to me. What you have to do is shut up and have him think where she go? Hard to do but is the best tactic at least for me. The best calling will never trump natural behavior.
Second resist the urg to get into a better position. Most often they do seem to circle from behind the calling, get the gun up in the direction you last heard him and eventually they move infront of you.
Time in the outdoors is never wasted
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May 10th, 2018, 12:40 PM
#5
Thanks for the tips. I setup this morning along the edge of a treeline and about 25 yards across is the woods. He was gobbling early at 5:35 for almost an hour and I just kept quiet, listening to him. About 4 hens went into him and I could see him strutting just on the inside of the trees. I waited for him to come out but he just wouldn't. Then he went deep into the forest.