Late Season Turkey Advice

Gorp2007

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Dec 4, 2016
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930
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Southern Nevada
Yesterday was the last day of Spring turkeys here in South Dakota and I was able to locate and set up on some birds but couldn't close the deal. The first two were gobbling at eachother from the roost at first light and I got set up and called back and forth for about 45 minutes. They would keep gobbling, but never came any closer and never seemed to actually be responding to my calls, they were just gobbling randomly (probably hoping I'd come to them instead of vice versa). After 45 minutes, a pick-up drove down the forest road between me and the birds and they shut up, so I decided to cut my losses and go find another bird.

I eventually found another bird when he randomly gobbled at the bottom of a draw while I was walking the ridgeline. I set up and called a few times but he never reponded, so I moved on and as I worked my way along the ridge I actually saw him down in a clearing facing away from me. I set down and started to call and he gobbled back once but never got any closer and shut up after after about 20 minutes, never to be heard or seen again.

Now three weeks ago, I was able to call one in to about 100 yards before I think he saw me and decided to go seek other companionship. I got him to come in on a strut and gobbling to beat the band, but I was set up in a really bad spot and forgot my facemask at home, so I think he saw me (or saw something he didn't like) at 100 and he immediately calmed down and kept gobbling, but stayed 100-120 yards away as he walked around me and headed off down a different draw.

This is all just a really long way of asking two questions. First, should I have just stayed set up on those first birds and kept trying my luck? Second, do late season turkeys sometimes just get tired of chasing hens and show less interest in coming to my calls, or is it more likely that I'm just a bad caller and don't produce those sensual tones that get the toms all hot and bothered? My wife has already informed me that my turkey calling isn't sexy, so I'm willing to concede that the turkeys may not like it either. I'm calling with a diaphram and a box call and the only turkey that I've been able to really get to come in was responding to clucks and yelps on the mouth call.
 

WRO

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Joined
Nov 6, 2013
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2,946
Location
Idaho
I just get the lil bastards making noise, then I walk them down and kill them.

There not that hard to sneak up on.

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N2TRKYS

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Apr 17, 2016
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3,954
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Alabama
So how far away would you say is too far? I'm trying to get close without being in visual range since I assume if I can see a turkey, the turkey can see me.

There's no set distance. Around here, if I'm over 100 yards my odds go way down. When I'm out West, I can usually get at least 100 yards, most of the time, inside of that. The terrain out there has made turkey very easy for me compared to around here.

Good luck.
 
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G

Gorp2007

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Joined
Dec 4, 2016
Messages
930
Location
Southern Nevada
There's no set distance. Around here, if I'm over 100 yards my odds go way down. When I'm out West, I can usually get at least 100 yards, most of the time, inside of that. The terrain out there has made turkey very easy for me compared to around here.

Good luck.

Thanks, I've already apologized to my wife for the amount of time I'm going to spend out in the woods next spring.
 

N2TRKYS

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Apr 17, 2016
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3,954
Location
Alabama
Thanks, I've already apologized to my wife for the amount of time I'm going to spend out in the woods next spring.

Heck yeah, I love it. Nothing wrong with preapologizing.

FWIW, our turkeys will gobble a few times on the roost and not act interested at all after fly down late in the season.

Keep at them, you get'em. Or, if you want some help, I'd love to hunt SD. Lol
 

codym

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Jan 30, 2018
Messages
483
Location
Las Cruces
It's hard but you need to play hard to get. If I have birds responding I know I have a better chance of screwing things up the more I call. Also don't be afraid to reposition if you get away with it. Turkeys sometimes are on a mission, they have somewhere they want to be and calling them off thier line seems impossible. They may answer but your not going to pull them off. Best chance is to call them somewhere they want to be. I'm not a fan of stalking turkeys, if I can't call a gobbler in then I don't need a bird. I watched a youtube video from people I really enjoy and they were spot and stalking turkeys on public land. They were completely legal and seemed to enjoy themselves but I had to cringe. Kind of like walking with the wind at your back through a bedding area. Making it hard for the next guys to work a bird.If your hunting birds that people are doing this, know it's going to be exponentially tougher to get a bird to commit. Be patient and know that you are gonna fail, you learn more from your failures then your sucesses sometimes. If you take one thing away from this, less is more with turkey calling. You wan't him to come find you.
 

philos

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Feb 26, 2012
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1,385
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Behind you
Try changing up your calls-try quiet clucks, purrs and even scratching on the leaves if you can do so without being seen. You might be surprised how far even seemingly quiet clucks travel to turkey's ears. Sometimes you can put your hand over your mouth and redirect the sound-as if the hen is moving away. If the gobbler is vocal and moving in your direction call sparingly even thought you might be tempted to call frequently.
 

Jimss

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Joined
Mar 6, 2015
Messages
2,074
Possibly sound like smart toms that may have a little hunting pressure? If they don't actually see another turkey they head the other way? Possibly set up with a hen or 2. Smart ole toms also like movement. If they see just decoys that don't move they may also head the other direction. Toms late in the season roost with hens and spent time with hens first thing in the morning before hens head to their nests. If so, it's sometimes nearly impossible calling them away from hens. You may be able to set something up late in the morning or early afternoon once the hens leave them and toms are prowling around alone. It's a matter of perseverance, changing things up, and finding the right tom at the right time when all the stars align. If toms are shutting up after your calling....try something different....possibly don't call as much....try different calls,....different decoy set ups....etc.
 

RyanCmns

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Joined
Feb 27, 2018
Messages
573
It's hard but you need to play hard to get. If I have birds responding I know I have a better chance of screwing things up the more I call. Also don't be afraid to reposition if you get away with it. Turkeys sometimes are on a mission, they have somewhere they want to be and calling them off thier line seems impossible. They may answer but your not going to pull them off. Best chance is to call them somewhere they want to be. I'm not a fan of stalking turkeys, if I can't call a gobbler in then I don't need a bird. I watched a youtube video from people I really enjoy and they were spot and stalking turkeys on public land. They were completely legal and seemed to enjoy themselves but I had to cringe. Kind of like walking with the wind at your back through a bedding area. Making it hard for the next guys to work a bird.If your hunting birds that people are doing this, know it's going to be exponentially tougher to get a bird to commit. Be patient and know that you are gonna fail, you learn more from your failures then your sucesses sometimes. If you take one thing away from this, less is more with turkey calling. You wan't him to come find you.
2 things I completely agree with play hard to get and especially in late season you will not pull a bird away from where he is going! Best of luck

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