Will they be back?

[buglebuster]

Ok so this morning i got set up in front of a big flock of birds working through the trees, 2 big gobblers snuck right out of range and behind me, 6 jakes 15 yards in front of me then another big boy at about 35 yards. He started to get a little nervous and i rushed the shot and missed!! All the birds busted out of there. My question is, will the birds use the same route tomorrow morning? I dont know if i should be sitting in the same area waiting again, if not i should be able to hear them again and reposition right?

[WAcoyotehunter]

it's anyone's guess.  If they roost in the same place, they might use that same route.  Turkey's are not too smart, but they are too damn unpredictable!  Good luck! 

[MerriamMagician]

Depends. A lot of times after I kill a bird and the flock spooks it kind of messes them up from their usual routine. One thing that really helps is after killing or missing a bird just stay put. The shot is so loud it confuses turkeys but generally they actually don't spook all that hard. Its the jumping up and running to your bird that can really really spook them. A lot of time after I shot one they will roost somewhere else and be quiet that night, but if left alone they almost always return to their usual roost area within a day or two and fall back into their normal routine, albeit a little more cautiously.

[PA BEN]

Depends. A lot of times after I kill a bird and the flock spooks it kind of messes them up from their usual routine. One thing that really helps is after killing or missing a bird just stay put. The shot is so loud it confuses turkeys but generally they actually don't spook all that hard. Its the jumping up and running to your bird that can really really spook them. A lot of time after I shot one they will roost somewhere else and be quiet that night, but if left alone they almost always return to their usual roost area within a day or two and fall back into their normal routine, albeit a little more cautiously.

I've shot tom's and the one with him jumped him while he was flopping on the ground.

[BOWHUNTER45]

When you shot and missed you should of jumped up and spooked the crap out of them ... Literally ...then just sit down and wait a few minutes until you hear the hens yelping ...once you hear those hens yelping I would start calling at them ... they are trying to get back together again which means they may come to your call and hopefully the gobblers show up too !!! Sometimes a very deadly tactic 

[buglebuster]

When you shot and missed you should of jumped up and spooked the crap out of them ... Literally ...then just sit down and wait a few minutes until you hear the hens yelping ...once you hear those hens yelping I would start calling at them ... they are trying to get back together again which means they may come to your call and hopefully the gobblers show up too !!! Sometimes a very deadly tactic 

I walked up to where they were because they did scatter, waited about an hour and hen called a little but never heard any hens or gobbles. Would it be worth it to sit in the same place tomorrow and just be quiet.

[Kola16]

If you have another place with birds, then I would go there. Whenever I shot a turkey in an area, the others were never back in that place for the next few days/weeks/months   

[Tom Tamer]

Hard to say. Like others said with a shot, they don't know what the loud noise was. Last weekend my daughter missed her first shot at 25yds on a Tom. I immediately told her to pump another one in and I went right back to calling. He stopped turned around and came right back and died in nearly the exact spot he was when she missed. Now if they busted good I'd try it ther again tomorrow. A true fall hunt you bust tue flock and scatter them real good. Then come back later or even the next day and call to them. They're so flock oriented they come back to find their missing friends. Can work in the spring too.

[MerriamMagician]

The turkeys could very well do any of the things that each person has mentioned in their post. Better to back out, hunt somewhere else tomorrow, then go back at em Wednesday. 

[buglebuster]

Went in this morning and set up in the same spot. Boss tom was going nuts on the roost, no other birds talking. I sat silent for an hour after sunlight then heard him gobble so i called softly. This bird was hot and coming in then he hung up about 100 yards away on private property. He was gobbling non stop, i could here him strutting around.

[PA BEN]

HENS. set up closer!!!!! O DARK THIRTY

[turkeydancer]

Oops ... I think you already know that it's best never to take a rushed shot. I could of done the same thing opening day but bit my tongue and let them walk.  That guaranteed me of less wary birds and the possibility that they would be back later that day  ... or at a minimum back in the same roost tree (or area) and using the same path the next day.  I harvested a nice 20.5 lb Rio Monday evening at 15 yds by doing so.   

Even then, the birds roosted in the same trees again, but went the opposite direction the next morning.  I had them switching roost trees each night after that, but still not more than a hundred yards from where they were originally roosted.  Even when I've harvested one, they usually won't even move off more than a few hundred yards and are still frequenting  the same area. I can come back in repeatedly, moving extremely slow and deliberate, taking time to listen for the soft hen talk and watching closely (as the birds are now almost silent or extremely quiet and very wary.  I too soften my calling and call less frequent usually getting good results.

I go extremely early in the morning and move as close to roost as I feel I can get away with (using a green hat light only as needed to avoid pine cone "bombs", "snapping" sticks, etc).  I will try to position myself between gobbling toms or a single tom and his hens if possible.  I will let the birds gobble their heads off until about 10 minutes before legal shoot, then give him a 3 to 4 note sleepy tree yelp, then shut up.  About 10 to 15 minutes later, I will give him a hat slap flydown followed by a second hat slap about 15 to 30 seconds later.  Again I shut up. Quite often he will flydown within range or flydown and strut in just to look.  The next day, I may just sit quietly to see what they will do ... and then if I don't get lucky I can still see where they're heading ... and when able I take a quick circular route to get to where they're going or close to it.  I will wait until they get as close as thet're going to get and then just do occassional soft clucks (and maybe some purrs) and scratch the ground as if feeding.  That can be deadly because it's realistic for them.     

Just remember they are still in that general area and they will meander around as turkeys do.  If you call at all, do so very softly and infrequent. Be patient and they may just wander right into close range. Just remember they are out there all day, and time and the turkey's natural curiosity and sex drive is on your side.  Be paytient ... be patient ... be patient.
 

[BOWHUNTER45]

Hard to say. Like others said with a shot, they don't know what the loud noise was. Last weekend my daughter missed her first shot at 25yds on a Tom. I immediately told her to pump another one in and I went right back to calling. He stopped turned around and came right back and died in nearly the exact spot he was when she missed. Now if they busted good I'd try it ther again tomorrow. A true fall hunt you bust tue flock and scatter them real good. Then come back later or even the next day and call to them. They're so flock oriented they come back to find their missing friends. Can work in the spring too.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Oops ... I think you already know that it's best never to take a rushed shot. I could of done the same thing opening day but bit my tongue and let them walk.  That guaranteed me of less wary birds and the possibility that they would be back later that day  ... or at a minimum back in the same roost tree (or area) and using the same path the next day.  I harvested a nice 20.5 lb Rio Monday evening at 15 yds by doing so.   

Even then, the birds roosted in the same trees again, but went the opposite direction the next morning.  I had them switching roost trees each night after that, but still not more than a hundred yards from where they were originally roosted.  Even when I've harvested one, they usually won't even move off more than a few hundred yards and are still frequenting  the same area. I can come back in repeatedly, moving extremely slow and deliberate, taking time to listen for the soft hen talk and watching closely (as the birds are now almost silent or extremely quiet and very wary.  I too soften my calling and call less frequent usually getting good results.

I go extremely early in the morning and move as close to roost as I feel I can get away with (using a green hat light only as needed to avoid pine cone "bombs", "snapping" sticks, etc).  I will try to position myself between gobbling toms or a single tom and his hens if possible.  I will let the birds gobble their heads off until about 10 minutes before legal shoot, then give him a 3 to 4 note sleepy tree yelp, then shut up.  About 10 to 15 minutes later, I will give him a hat slap flydown followed by a second hat slap about 15 to 30 seconds later.  Again I shut up. Quite often he will flydown within range or flydown and strut in just to look.  The next day, I may just sit quietly to see what they will do ... and then if I don't get lucky I can still see where they're heading ... and when able I take a quick circular route to get to where they're going or close to it.  I will wait until they get as close as thet're going to get and then just do occassional soft clucks (and maybe some purrs) and scratch the ground as if feeding.  That can be deadly because it's realistic for them.     

Just remember they are still in that general area and they will meander around as turkeys do.  If you call at all, do so very softly and infrequent. Be patient and they may just wander right into close range. Just remember they are out there all day, and time and the turkey's natural curiosity and sex drive is on your side.  Be paytient ... be patient ... be patient.
 

Thats exactly right ...patients is the main killer when turkey hunting ... I can not count how many times I have gotten up and walked away to later return and have him gobbling his head off RIGHT WHERE I was sitting hours ago ...Its tough but patients is the whole thing  another thing thats happened to me a few times too is calling at birds across a road or hwy and they gobble their butts off at me and will not come So I get up and work my way across the road and around them and once I get to where I think he is and let out my first yelp he gobbles where I just came from  Should of stayed where I was  To many times to count !!! Patients Patients and more Patients !

[Tom Tamer]

Oops ... I think you already know that it's best never to take a rushed shot. I could of done the same thing opening day but bit my tongue and let them walk.  That guaranteed me of less wary birds and the possibility that they would be back later that day  ... or at a minimum back in the same roost tree (or area) and using the same path the next day.  I harvested a nice 20.5 lb Rio Monday evening at 15 yds by doing so.   

Even then, the birds roosted in the same trees again, but went the opposite direction the next morning.  I had them switching roost trees each night after that, but still not more than a hundred yards from where they were originally roosted.  Even when I've harvested one, they usually won't even move off more than a few hundred yards and are still frequenting  the same area. I can come back in repeatedly, moving extremely slow and deliberate, taking time to listen for the soft hen talk and watching closely (as the birds are now almost silent or extremely quiet and very wary.  I too soften my calling and call less frequent usually getting good results.

I go extremely early in the morning and move as close to roost as I feel I can get away with (using a green hat light only as needed to avoid pine cone "bombs", "snapping" sticks, etc).  I will try to position myself between gobbling toms or a single tom and his hens if possible.  I will let the birds gobble their heads off until about 10 minutes before legal shoot, then give him a 3 to 4 note sleepy tree yelp, then shut up.  About 10 to 15 minutes later, I will give him a hat slap flydown followed by a second hat slap about 15 to 30 seconds later.  Again I shut up. Quite often he will flydown within range or flydown and strut in just to look.  The next day, I may just sit quietly to see what they will do ... and then if I don't get lucky I can still see where they're heading ... and when able I take a quick circular route to get to where they're going or close to it.  I will wait until they get as close as thet're going to get and then just do occassional soft clucks (and maybe some purrs) and scratch the ground as if feeding.  That can be deadly because it's realistic for them.     

Just remember they are still in that general area and they will meander around as turkeys do.  If you call at all, do so very softly and infrequent. Be patient and they may just wander right into close range. Just remember they are out there all day, and time and the turkey's natural curiosity and sex drive is on your side.  Be paytient ... be patient ... be patient.
 

Thats exactly right ...patients is the main killer when turkey hunting ... I can not count how many times I have gotten up and walked away to later return and have him gobbling his head off RIGHT WHERE I was sitting hours ago ...Its tough but patients is the whole thing  another thing thats happened to me a few times too is calling at birds across a road or hwy and they gobble their butts off at me and will not come So I get up and work my way across the road and around them and once I get to where I think he is and let out my first yelp he gobbles where I just came from  Should of stayed where I was  To many times to count !!! Patients Patients and more Patients !

Exactly they know where you are to within 3-4feet on a single cluck and purr. My buddy yesterday worked a Tom that hung up.....gave hims some advice,about patients....he went back in the afternoon and found the tom gobbling from the very spot he had been setting in that morning. Luckily the bird shot right up the hill and my buddy shot right back knocking him in the dirt. Only time I'm not patient anymore is when I'm with someone else. Trying to get them some action or like this morning had my daughter along....they get bored and cold fast. Nothing going on except one hen way in tye bottom sounding like she was alone and milling. If by myself I'd still be there. Even though they ain't talking they are listening and moving.