Need some advice

[270Shooter]

Had a tough time this first part of the season, hunting mainly klickitat county. I'm relatively new to turkey hunting, though I did call in and kill a nice Tom in Yakima county a few years ago. My question for all you turkey masters is when you are trying to run and gun them (locate and move into call them in) how far do you go after locating the bird? Several times I've located a Tom and moved as close as I feel like I should go without bumping into him only to find he has either moved off in the opposite direction but still gobbling, or moved off and stopped gobbling altogether. Is that usually a sign that they are henned up? Or am I just not the good of a caller? I feel like my calling cant be too bad if they continue to gobble when I let out a few yelps, I just don't understand why they seem to keep moving off on me.

[jblackburn]

Could be a sign of just about anything.  Most likely there are hens, and they are already headed to where they want to go.  If possible, take a wide loop around him to get in front of where you think he's going. 

Are you using locator calls (like a crow) or hen calls?  I like to blow a crow call real hard every once in a while to keep him gobbling so I know where he is.

[sneakyjake]

All of the above.  I have located them on an adjacent ridge and hiked to it and called only to have them sound off where I started from.  Those guys only gobble when you are super far away or very close.  The ones that move away could be alone or with hens, but I think they are shock gobbling mostly.  They will gobble to almost anything but aren't interested either way.  The ones that gobble and shut up all together might be bumped, with hens and mostly content, or just lazy and figure you can find them with your super tukey vision after one gobble.  The same bird that doesn't give you the time of day at 8 may come charging in at 10.  Got to be mobile and have lots of options if you want to  work birds all day.   Gotta check their temps morn to night and don't pressure them unles they want to play.   Get the right cards and you got a straight flush.  Winner winner turkey dinner!

[270Shooter]

I usually use a crow call to locate them, or am owl call early in the morning and late in the evening. If I get one to gobble I usually move in and try some soft yelps, if I don't get a reply I try a little louder, usually they will gobble but rarely will they move towards me. I guess itbjustvtakes finding the right bird that is really fired up.

[packmule]

Sounds like you might be pressuring them a bit too much.....

It's pretty common to locate one, get excited and move in, call, not hear anything, and crank up the volume thinking he can't hear you....in truth, he's heard you all along and the fact that you closed pretty quickly and called loudly made him nervous and started him moving away from you. 

Keep in mind that the goal of looking for a gobbling turkey is to find a gobbling turkey, once you do that you want to be a little conservative...if he's gobbling occasionally and you aren't calling, the ball is in your court, you can maneuver to a good calling location, setup, and do some SOFT calling.  It usually doesn't take much.  If he moves away and continues to gobble, then yes, you may need to re-position.   But don't feel like you have to rush it.  Be quiet, keep tabs on him, and wait for the right situation to setup and call again.  You're calling itself may be just fine, oftentimes it's the amount of calling and volume  of calling that can sour the situation for you. 

Good luck and keep at it.  It sounds like you are finding turkeys so you'll have more opportunities.  Let us know how it goes.

[PA BEN]

If you are going to move in, move slowly and look around. They well see you before you see them. Before you go over a rise make a soft call, he could be moving in on you and might be right on the other side of the rise. I don't know how many time I've been busted out hunting by not calling before I go over a rise. I did it w/my daughter during the youth season this year, we were working our way up a ridge and I thought to myself I should make a call but I wanted to get her set up first. Sure enough as soon as we topped the ridge a big long beard was right there. She said, Dad you should have made a call like you taught me. Most hunters bump birds and don't even know it. Once they see a hunter making calls they wise up quick. BTW, where I hunt crow and owl calls don't work all that well because they hear them all the time. Years ago I would use a goose call, worked real well. Now with all the local geese they don't even gobble at it anymore. I use a squeal chatter now seems to work ok. Good luck. 

[baldopepper]

Patience is the key with these birds.  I think the biggest mistake most inexperienced hunters make is trying to move in on birds.  It's tough-if they're gobbling and moving they are looking for the hen making the noise and chances are far better they'll see you before you see them.  If you're getting a call back, set up and be patient.  I've had birds take 2-3 hours before they finally worked their way in, and just because they've stopped gobbling don't immediately move.  Jakes have a tendancy to come screaming in, but lots of long beards will come in very quietly-I usually give them at least 20-30 minutes after I've heard the last gobble before I move.  Very frustrating to look back where you were set up and see that big tom strutting around looking for a hen.  I'll bet most "run and gunners" are seen by at least ten birds they never see for everyone they do see. 

[turkeydancer]

Some good advice  given above   ...

Best to use his nautral curiosity and sex drive against him.  I will usually give soft contented sounds ... I do not answer every gobble, but will let him gobble at least 2 or 3 times to my response.   I may even walk 30 yards in the other direction and then sneak back to where I started.  Work the bird ... don;t let him work you.   That said, you can tell from his responses (take his temp) if you need crank it up a bit.
This year I had a gobbler that liked to gobble, then go silent, and sneak in quietly off to the side out of range just to peek .... I used my full strut decoy and a gobble from a tube call next time he tried it ... that got him fired up and coming in like a missle to kick my Killer B's tail feathers.    Sit, be alert, and be very patient ... it will pay big dividends.
 

[270Shooter]

Thanks for the advice guys I'm going to be hunting tomorrow so hopefully ill get another shot or two. I guess it's just hard for me to decide how far to move towards a bird that's gobbling that sounds like he's up to a quarter mile away. But I'll definitely try to be a little more patient with them.

[youngbull]

I had the same thing happen to me on easter weekend 4 days in a row and it was very frustrating and puzzling. I hunted the same county on state land but didn't see another hunter. Shock called birds in the morning 3-5 birds. Fly down came and they moved away from me they circled around me and continued cu rocking till noon just out of range.
I believe I messed up by calling to early and setting up on a bad position.
first I set up in the bottom of a draw. Next I set up next to a dense finger of scrub oak. I think set up and calling a little later in the morning would have increased my chances. Good luck and be patient.

[Tom Tamer]

Doing it right, move as close as you fell is safe, it is possible he seen you, except if he keeps answering you from farther away I doubt it. Sounds like a disease called Hennyitis. Most likely a hen is either with him when he gobbled or one popped out and found him and is dragging him away from the competition( You). He continues to gobble in hopes you will do the same and come find him. About all you can do is either try and get around in front of him or try and set him out back where you first contacted. He may wander back toward you once he is alone or you may find him there on the roost the next morning. Henned up is a hard nut to crack sometimes. Especially right now when they seem to have a lot of hens for most the day.

[Tom Tamer]

That's some of the allure and frustration of this sport, everyone had a different answer yet NONE of them were wrong or off. And they all work from time to time. Like Cuz Strickland said " The only absolute I turkey hunting is there are NO Absolutes."

[kevinlisa06]

Happened to us this past weekend. We heard a gobble across canyon so made a couple calls and nothing he shut up quik. We come back the next morning and low and behold there were tracks right where we were sitting along with strut marks. Looked like the Tom had 2 hens with him.


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[270Shooter]

Ok so here's how today went. 33 degrees this morning it's cold a nothing gobbling on the roost. At about 930 about a mile past a closed gate I finally get a Tom to gobble about 3-400 yards away. He is slightly up hill from me. I set up on the closed road and call, he gobbles quite a bit and I answer him once for every two to three gobbles he makes. At first it sounded like he was getting closer but after about ten minutes his gobbles began to get more and more distant. He is paralleling the closed road I'm on so I decide to move with him, he is gobbling every three-five minutes now without me calling as I try to catch up. Finally as I near the end of the road where it opens up into a clearing and a small stream runs through I hear him gobble and he is close I'd say no more than 80 yards now. I very quietly move another 10 yards forward down the road and sit up against a the only decent tree left. I get setup and left out a few soft yelps and he double gobbles. I do three more soft yelps and he doesn't reply. Safety off now and I'm already thinking this is a dead bird walking, he's going to come right in on a string now. After about 5 minutes he hasn't showed or made a peep. After ten minutes a call soft. No reply. After 20 minutes I try again to no avail. I get up and slowly move into the clearing which is another 30 or do yards farther down the road, to find it empty. I was so frustrated, I really thought I had him dead in the rights when he double gobbled so close. My only explanation is that he had a hen or two with him and they led him away, the only thing is I never heard another hen. I just can't see why on earth he wouldn't come in if he was by himself as fired up as he seemed to be... I know that's why they call it hunting but it made for a frustrating morning and the 2 hour drive home even worse.

[baldopepper]

Turkey hunting makes a lot of mornings frustrating .  Sounds like you did everything right  My guess is the bird was with hens and just wasn't going out of his way to find more.  Might try him again in a week or even sooner a little later in the day when the hens are separated or on the nest.  Be nice to get a little revenge on him.