Lots of gobbles but couldn’t seal the deal. Tips?

J86Warren

FNG
Joined
Feb 1, 2020
Messages
65
Location
Conifer, CO
So I just got back from turkey hunting for a few days and we had a ton of action but could not shoot one. I heard probably 100 gobbles, saw plenty of turkeys, had turkeys answering my calls but they would not come in. Tried decoys, tried no decoys, tried waiting for them near their roosting trees morning and night, tried stalking them. We’ve had success before in this area several times but it has always been because they’d eventually come in to range to our calls. Just wondering if y’all have any insight as to why they didn’t seem interested in coming in, and what we could’ve tried differently. Thanks.

These are Mtn birds in Colorado by the way.
 
Joined
Sep 4, 2021
Messages
482
Location
Salt Lake City
Did you try going silent after a response? I was out as well, birds were unresponsive to calls but we gobble periodically throughout the day. I missed one on the opener that I kind of lucked into but the next day I sat down midday for a quick nap, got woken up by a gobble. Called real quick and set up for 15-20 minutes then went back to sleep. sure enough 40-45 minutes after the gobble, the bird walked up out of the drainage saw me and went right back down.
 
OP
J

J86Warren

FNG
Joined
Feb 1, 2020
Messages
65
Location
Conifer, CO
Did you try going silent after a response? I was out as well, birds were unresponsive to calls but we gobble periodically throughout the day. I missed one on the opener that I kind of lucked into but the next day I sat down midday for a quick nap, got woken up by a gobble. Called real quick and set up for 15-20 minutes then went back to sleep. sure enough 40-45 minutes after the gobble, the bird walked up out of the drainage saw me and went right back down.
We tried that also. Seemed like they had their minds made up where they were going and would head there regardless. Sometimes strutting and gobbling along the way.
 

evergreenethos

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 26, 2022
Messages
136
Location
Duvall, WA
I would think they were either henned up, I was calling too much, they are expecting hens to “meet them halfway”, or there are so many hens the toms just don’t need to move at all. Did you try splitting up and having one of you drive them? Did you try having somebody call 50-100 yards behind the shooter? This really helps to get them to close that last bit of distance when the toms are expecting hens to meet them halfway, halfway to your calling partner is really all the way to the tip of your choke tube.
 

Fordguy

WKR
Joined
Jun 20, 2019
Messages
566
Did you try going silent after a response? I was out as well, birds were unresponsive to calls but we gobble periodically throughout the day. I missed one on the opener that I kind of lucked into but the next day I sat down midday for a quick nap, got woken up by a gobble. Called real quick and set up for 15-20 minutes then went back to sleep. sure enough 40-45 minutes after the gobble, the bird walked up out of the drainage saw me and went right back down.
^ THIS. I had a specific tom I've been chasing for 3 years that I was finally successful with this year.

The attempts below took place over a 2 week period.

The first time I went out after him I called and he would gobble in response, but he was moving away from me. I stopped calling thinking he was with a hen. He continued to move away and gobble every few minutes, so I hustled in a wide half circle attempting to intercept him. He had circled back around and ended up silent 20 feet from where I was originally calling. He saw me as I was coming back to that spot.

The second time I went out after him, he would gobble on his own but would shut down when he heard a hen call. He didn't circle around or come in for a look.

The third time I tried sneaking in to within a hundred yards and using a gobble call thinking that maybe he was a dominant bird that would come in looking for a fight. Nope. He was looking for love, not looking for a fight. He heard the gobble call and he ran the other way.

The fourth time I heard him calling and I stayed silent. Over the course of a few hours, I snuck in to within 75 yards using landscape and clumps of cedar. I couldn't get any closer and he was with 2 hens, so I settled in for a long wait in a small cedar clump. The hens were covering a wide area roaming back and forth and my hope was that eventually they would close the distance and bring him into range. It took another hour, but eventually he was close enough for a shot.

If I had had called until he responded and then gone silent and just stayed in position on my first attempt, I would probably have had a good shot at him, but my season would have ended early. Part of the fun is figuring things out. It's the chase, the struggle, and the effort that goes into it.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 4, 2021
Messages
482
Location
Salt Lake City
We tried that also. Seemed like they had their minds made up where they were going and would head there regardless. Sometimes strutting and gobbling along the way.
Yea, seemed that way where I was as well. I think what @evergreenethos said is what I would’ve done if I wasn’t solo, a buddy and I did that last year, had a bird hammering but hung up, I started working away from him calling and it brought him straight to my buddy.
 

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