I personally think that SC is behind several weeks.
This is the first time that I can remember that the birds are henned up this bad this early in the season.
The gobbling also appears to be hit and miss. They are either hammering their heads off or dead silent. Nothing consistent.
Any other SC boys hearing anything out there?
I'm not in Upstate SC, I down in the Lowcountry area. However much like you said, the gobbling seems to be very inconsistent.
I've roosted birds this year and gone back to the next morning and had them gobbling like crazy, then pitch down and go dead silent. And two days later the same birds will gobble like crazy from the roost, pitch down and gobble at any and everything.
I know Eastern's are tough birds, and I've accepted that the land I hunt makes for difficult hunts due to the way the land is set up...but the inconsistency in the birds patterns is driving me crazy
I am hunting in upstate also and the same thing, a couple of gobbles on the roost and then fly down and shut up... very tough to hunt them like this......
NC Foothills the same way
I hunted WMA's in Oconee county, this is my first year turkey hunting. So I didn't know what to expect. I got my first bird, 10.5" beard and 1" spurs. I am hooked!!!
So I have seen a lot of birds this year, heard some talking back and forth. Bought a Mossberg 535TK and put a tactical red dot on her. I am not happy with the pattern at 35 yards, wide open.
On the farm in Clarendon they have been all over. The weather this weekend kept them in the pines instead of the fields but they are hammering. Buddy went to an Upstate WMA on Thursday or Friday and they were hammering there as well. Have not been to my properties in Chester or Fairfield yet. I had a lot of trouble with hens last year. Do not have much to go one yet as I have not been out this year to look or listen.
Got Alabama on my mind for now but when I get back it will be a long wait for April 1.
We were out this week checking trail cams and looking for sign south of Greenville. Rainy weather shut em up for the day I was out scouting. Came across some good sign and have heard them in the woods around the house. Looks like it will be a descent year.
Fishbamboo - I have a mossberg 535 that I hunt with, I got the turkey/deer combo and the best pattern I can get with it is from the factory choke. I have tried IC and Jellyhead chokes on it to no avail. The patterns were wide open using mag blend hevi-6 and hevi-5, but at 35yds with the factory your looking pretty good no matter what I used.
So, from what I am reading and what I have heard, I have a 35 yard gun. Probably my 870 mod. choke with do well at that range.
Haven't heard any birds yet but I have seen flocks together with gobblers strutting...
Spent 5 hours in the WMA today, lots of sign, no birds. Seen two deer real close.
Late green up this year, well more like the old "normal" of 80s through early 90s really. Third week in April the upstate will have them going wide open and without hens. Lowstate probably more like by the second week. Watch and see.
6 hours today, heard one bird around 4P. Never seen it.
We got a single Gobbler on Camera last week. Cams out in differeent places this week so hope we see some action. Lots of sign not hearing anything though.
Turkey Time is here, see ya in the woods.......good luck everyone.
Not very much noise in the woods yesterday morning, sat for five hours in one spot. Moved to another a couple miles away, seen one deer and 5 turkey. They would not respond. Moved to a third spot, sat down on top of a grassy hill top. Made several calls on the box, and I could hear them running in the woods. Two big Tom's got within 25-30 yards and I dropped the first one. Huge bird, very heavy, but only a 10 beard and spurs that looked like they were wore down, very rounded on the point. Anyway first day, first bird this year.
Quote from: Fishbamboo on April 02, 2014, 11:30:55 AM
Not very much noise in the woods yesterday morning, sat for five hours in one spot. Moved to another a couple miles away, seen one deer and 5 turkey. They would not respond. Moved to a third spot, sat down on top of a grassy hill top. Made several calls on the box, and I could hear them running in the woods. Two big Tom's got within 25-30 yards and I dropped the first one. Huge bird, very heavy, but only a 10 beard and spurs that looked like they were wore down, very rounded on the point. Anyway first day, first bird this year.
Your day sounded like mine, without a bird at the end though. I saw 15 birds along the power line cut at different times. Some toms were alone, and 8 were flocked up. Saw 3 deer that came out the woods near me. Im only hearing them at daylight, after that not another peep. Today, I only saw one group of 4 in the distance. Zero birds so far, same as yesterday not a sound from them.
7 hours in the woods today, no gobble at all. Around 2:30P did see a tom with several hens. No shot.
sun up to sun down today. 1 gobble around 730am. 1 hen cut with me around 4pm in some thick pines. Watched a tom for about an hour around 6pm on the gas lines from about 150 yards out. I clucked to him twice and yelped a couple times. He turned all red, strutted 3 times and raised his neck up looking my way several times. Never a sound from him, he eased off into the woods. Thought he was going to circle around through the woods and pop out. He never showed. Not one gobble on the roost, but it did get windy and was hard to hear this evening. Spoke to a couple other hunters today, reported not hearing anything as well.
Only spent 4 hours out today, windy and looked like rain any minute. Did hear one gobble at 7:10, then nothing. Hit it again in the morning.
9 hours today, still no gobble. Did see one in strut, called he went the other way. No feathers today.
Quote from: Fishbamboo on April 05, 2014, 06:11:53 PM
9 hours today, still no gobble. Did see one in strut, called he went the other way. No feathers today.
6am till noon, did not see or hear anything today. Going to try a new area tomorrow.
Spent 8 hours out yesterday as well on WMA, we had a tom gobbling his boots off for an hour and a half but he would cross the engorged creek. Lucky guy was too far away to shoot over the creek also. I believe I would have spent the two hours walking to get him if he was close enough to drop in his tracks.
Busted a Jake walking to a new spot on Saturday. I believe he jumped out of a Hidey Hole, didn't see him till he scared me out of my boots and onto my . Couldn't get a shot off I was laughing so hard.
So far some comical times! We will see how it goes this weekend.
5 hours yesterday, seen one fly off. 5 hours today, seen three hens. No gobbling at all. Try again in the morning.
:'( Sounds like my season so far
4-1 had 3 gobble on adjacent land
4-2 had 2 gobble on adjacent land
4-7 had 2 gobble no luck
4-8 only 1 hen within 20' she clucked and purred for 10 minutes with no answer
4-10 nothing
4-11 nothing
5 hours today, had a few gobble in the morning. Did not see them, then seen one right at the car when I was leaving. No shot.
4 hours yesterday, 5 hours today. Still seeing hens, no gobblers. Cold weather is killing the season.
8 more days, gota hit them hard.......
Hunted from daylight until 2:00PM. Heard 4 gobble, had one come in to about 75 yards in tight brush. I worked that bird for 90 minuted and then he just shut up. Waited there for a hour after and no sign of him! Strange weather this spring and it sure has affected the turkeys.....
I'm hunting the NC piedmont and had similar experiences. Hens had been flocked up until the past few days and the gobblers have been pretty quiet most mornings. They seem to shut up after they hit the ground. I passed on two jakes @ ~35 yards around 8AM and had a mature gobbler pass by on the ridge above me following a hen. He gave courtesy gobbles and kept on after the hen. Work today, then hunting again in the morning.
Jim
:TrainWreck1: Hunted today from daylight, had one hen within 30 feet clucking, and yelping and heard no answer. this was the last chance for me to hunt this season, so the turkeys definitely won this year! Maybe the weather and turkeys will cooperate better next time.
I put in 6 hours yesterday, heard a few running away as I moved. Never seen'm. Storm's today and that should just about do it for this year. I put in about 90 hours this year, and my opening day kill was it. Time to move on to some serious trout fishing.