turkey hunting help

[reggart]

I don't know what I'm doing, pretty much the first time I have ever tried to hunt turkeys with any real enthusiasm.  The first two weekends were not successful, they don't like the calling I am doing at all.  I can hear hens responding to me but that only lasts for a few minutes and then they quit. 

I am using a slate call and it sounds just like them when I use it, I have been practicing.  I have tried early in the morning and throughout the day.  I even watched a Tom from about 100yds away and as soon as I started clucking he went the other direction.  what's the scoop?

[TWG2A]

I wish I could help you with this... 

Here's some Montana turkeys I photographed right off the I90 Freeway!  Lot's of them here!

[HornHoarder]

If your hunting pressured public land turkeys, they can become leery of calls, no matter how good you sound. Definately harder to hunt, but not unkillable. Try to locate a good strutting zone (old logging road, field, ridgetop etc..) Then just wait them out, with little to no calling. If you can identify their roost area, another good evening ambush spot. Hope this helps, and good luck.

[MtnMuley]

You're having the same problems many experienced turkeys hunters have as well.  No matter how good you sound, it totally depends on the turkeys mood.  You say you're hearing the hens for a while.  To me, that's not necessarily a good/positive thing.  More than likely that tom won't leave those birds for anything.  All you can hope for is to be set up in the right ambush path ( if you want to hunt that way), or that his hens will go nest and he will be looking for some new treat during the middle of the day.  I've seen some of the most pathetic calling work on smart ole toms if you can find them vulnerable.  The best times are still coming.  I love May.   Last thing I'll add, be persistant, as it sounds you are.  You will do fine.  Remember each day out is a another day of experience under the belt......... and far better than sitting behind the TV or working.

[Pathfinder101]

Best bet is to find the roost tree.  Set up in the PITCH DARK far enough away from the tree so that they won't wake up and hear you, but not so far that they won't see your decoys when they fly down.  Wait until the gobblers start up before you call.  Don't overcall.
In the evening, set up an ambush on the way to the same tree.  Set the decoys where they will see them when they come to roost.

[Tom Tamer]

Sounds to me like you're doing alright, as other have said, the Toms are with hens and lots of them. With each passing day now more and more hens will be going off to set their nest. The Toms will get lonely. The tom you mention going the other way when you clucked, most likely had hens with him They don't want competition from other hens so they lead him away from the intruder(you).
 As for your calling, if hens are answering you and or Toms gobbling, you're fine they think you are a turkey otherwise they wouldn't respond. As most here will atest....the worst soundign turkey calls in the woods are usually real turkeys.
  Stick to it, read what you can to learn more but the best lessons you are now learning are being out there and getting schooled by the real deal. I've hunted them for fifteen years and can hold my own with calling and spent the whole weekend wishing a tom would answer...to no avail. Two hens answered me in much the same way you descibed they didd to you. They just had their prize and was in no mood to fight me for it. It'll happen to everyone usally earlier in the season like it is now.
 Good luck.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Pretty much what Tammer said ...maybe try that same bird in Mid morning , early afternoon ...like 11 to 2 ... sometimes its best to just sleep in and wait for mid morning when they are playing hard to get ! Thats one thing I like about Washington . We can hunt all day and on Sunday ... back where I come from we had to to out of the woods by 11am ... and no Sunday hunting .....

[reggart]

Thanks everyone for your input.  I feel much better after hearing your experiences.  It sounds like persistence is the key.

[turkeydancer]

Good advice from some really good turkey hunters. But here's some more:
 
           Make sure that you have the turkey calling rhythm down. Although all turkeys have different voices, they all have what is known as the same turkey calling rhythm. I've heard too many callers either calling way too fast or way too slow which does not sound natural to the turkeys, and they will always go the other way.
     Watch your volume and frequency of calling. I find that soft calling usually will work better at getting them in especially if they have been being hammered by everyone with every turkey call made.  If they are not calling a lot, you shouldn't either ... let a tom gobble 2 to 3 times to your every call and let his natural curiosity and sex drive work against him. Remember he can hear a hen cluck at over a quarter mile and knows within a couple of feet from where the sound came from. My general rule is to call softer and less frequent the closer he comes.
     Make sure you change it up some. Too many callers fall in the same pattern. Turkeys never do three yelps, then two clucks, and then repeat.  Too many turkey hunters repeat the call exactly the same every time and it does not sound natural to the turkeys when they do.
     Make sure you're calling from an area that they frequent.  If you are calling from an area that has no turkey sign, it is not natural for them to hear sounds coming from there and they will also shy away. 
     When you call, make sure you are on the same level or slightly above them.      They normally do not like coming downhill to calling.
      Throw your voice.  Turkeys seldom stand still, so it's not natural for him to here sound coming from the same couple feet area.  With my mouth diaphragm, I slightly turn of my head and use either hand to deflect the sound so it sounds like I'm feeding or moving around.  Same thing can be done by moving a box or friction call from one side of your body to the other and tipping it slightly in different directions.
      Make it sound real for the turkeys.  Some of my best calls are an occasional hat slap against an arm, leg or chest to make it sound like a fly down in the morning or a bird stretching out their wings during the day. Rack your hand in the leaves like a bird is feeding. Add realism to make him think you're the real deal.
       Never call from an open exposed area like the middle of a field, logging road, or other exposed opening.  If they see you, the game is over. 
       Lastly ... if I use a mouth diaphragm in the early morning, I will change to a different diaphragm later in the morning, or a box, or friction call, or tube call, or wing bone, or push-pull.  Especially if I've accidently bumped a bird, I change the type of call. Think of it like fishing, how long will you use a lure if the fish are not or have stopped biting on it?  If I'm running and gunning, I will use a different call every couple hundred feet going out and coming back.   
   Good luck ....

[TWG2A]

\let a tom gobble 2 to 3 times to your every call and let his natural curiosity and sex drive work agaist him.

Welcome to the world of dating.....

 

[turkeydancer]

    
Nothing gets a males attention faster than hearing a female calling him in a very sexy voice ...  he may be old, but he's not dead (yet) ....
 

[Pathfinder101]

Good advice from some really good turkey hunters. But here's some more:
 
     Make sure that you have the turkey calling rythme down. Although all turkeys have different voices, they all have what's know as the same turkey calling rythme. I've heard too many callers either calling way too fast or way too slow which does not sound natural to the turkeys, and they will always go the other way.
     Watch your volume and frequency of calling. I find that soft calling usually will work better at getting them in especially if they have been being hammered by everyone with every turkey call made.  If they are not calling a lot, you shouldn't either ... let a tom gobble 2 to 3 times to your every call and let his natural curiosity and sex drive work agaist him. Remember he can hear a hen cluck at over a quater mile and knows within a couple of feet from where the sound came from.
     Make sure you change it up some. Too many callers fall in the same pattern. Turkeys never do three yelps, then two clucks, and then repeat.  Too many turkey huntersrepeat the call exactly the same everytime and it does not sound natural to the turkeys when they do.
     Make sure you're calling from an area that they frequent.  If you are calling from an area that has no turkey sign, it is not natural for them to hear sounds coming from there and they will also shy away. 
     When you call, make sure you are on the same level or slightly above them.      They normally do not like coming downhill to calling.
      Throw your voice.  Turkeys seldom stand still, so it's not natural for him to here sound coming from the same couple feet area.  With my mouth diapragm, I slightly turn of my head and use either hand to deflect the sound so it sounds like I'm feeding or moving around.  Same thing can be done by moving a box or friction call from one side of your body to the other and tipping it slightly in different directions.
      Make  it sound real for the turkeys.  Some of my best calls are an occasional hat slap against an arm, leg or chest to make it sound like a flydown in the morning or a bird stretching out their wings during the day. Rack your hand in the leaves like a bird is feeding. Add realism to make him think you're the real deal.
       Never call from an open exposed area like the middle of a field, logging road, or other exposed opening.  If they see you, the game is over. 
       Lastly ... if I use a mouth diapragm in the early morning, I will change to a different diapragm later in the morning, or a box, or friction call, or tube call, or wing bone, or push-pull.  Especially if I've accidently bumped a bird, I change the type of call. Think of it like fishing, how long will you use a lure if the fish are not or have stopped biting on it.  If I'm running and gunning, I will use a different call every couple hundred feet going out and coming back.   
   Good luck ....

Wow turkeydancer.  Some great stuff here I didn't know.  I think I'll print this, shrink it, laminate it and put it in my pack...

BTW, here's PathfinderJR's bird from Friday night.  Ambushed on the way to the roost tree...

[turkeydancer]

      Great job to Jr (and Sr) ... nothing better than getting your boy, girl, other family and friends their birds ....