I believe that often it is not what a gobbler sees when he comes to a call but what he doesn't see. Their ability to pinpoint a sound in the turkey woods is sometimes beyond comprehension. We are playing in their playground where survival is their #1 priority, when they sense something is not right they don't hang around and try to figure things out... They are gone!
I agree!
I think you are right, which is one reason I don't don't like/use decoys.
The dangers they endure everyday have given them that sixth sense we all see from time to time......
The amount of times I've had gobblers come in to 60ish yards and "smell a rat" is.. not terribly small. I hunt open hardwoods and I think you're right- they don't see a hen where the hen should be, and circle around wide to check it out instead of coming in on a rope. I've seen this exact same thing happen probably 7-8 times over the years. It's usually the older birds, too.
I agree and on that note, I couldn't tell you how many times a gobbler would come in from a fair distance and stop directly behind some type of cover no matter how small. Just last year I called one out of a field and there was a very small sapling out on the edge that this bird stopped directly behind. I wound up getting him but dang he gave me a few anxious moments.
John
I believe we put out an energy when we hunt...
I hear of turkeys ignoring deer hunters during the deer season, and I certainly see deer walk near me without concern during the turkey season....
I have watched turkeys walk right past a brightly colored parked vehicle and then seemingly spot me camouflaged and well-covered in the woods... Walk off putting for no apparent reason??
Thoughts are simply a combination of electrical and chemical energy... And who knows what they sense with that adreneline push we get as they start to respond to us?
Quote from: King Cobra on April 12, 2024, 11:57:21 AM
I believe that often it is not what a gobbler sees when he comes to a call but what he doesn't see. Their ability to pinpoint a sound in the turkey woods is sometimes beyond comprehension. We are playing in their playground where survival is their #1 priority, when they sense something is not right they don't hang around and try to figure things out... They are gone!
I agree with that wholeheartedly! We are in their home, their playground and they know if something isn't quite right or out of place then they are on edge. It could be what a turkey sees or doesn't see or what he hears or doesn't hear or in the case of a deer what they smell.
50 years ago, an old-time turkey hunter by the name of Chester Lesh once told me, "When you call a turkey has you pretty much pinpointed within 10 yards of your location, he knows that a hen should be there" and I believe that to be true. He also told me way back than that if a turkey could smell we would most likely never get one! I will go out on a limb here so to speak and must disagree with that statement. I wouldn't say we would never get a turkey, but if they could smell we wouldn't get as many as we do.
I think we all have that sense about us only theirs are more developed due to the dangers they live with everyday.