I'm tired of reading about turkey shells and pattern boards :OGturkeyhead: so figured we'd have a honest to goodness turkey hunting discussion that's become near and dear to my heart since moving to Bama a few years ago...(thank the lord I dont live in Mississippi, right Mississippi guys :toothy12:)
I'm talking about SILENT birds.
You know birds are in the area (gobbler tracks, strut marks etc) but you're just not hearing them (even on the limb). What do you fellas usually do? GO........ :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:
Didn't I already give you some pointers through pms and emails about hunting in the southeast a few years ago when you moved here? Diff screen name now, maybe you don't remember me.
It's simple, shoot said birds and stand on his neck to make sure he is dead. Eventually you will remove them from the gene pool.
What prize did I win?
I have a small area to hunt, i normally have to set up and get the turkeys to come to me. I will set up and call every 15 20 minutes in areas that i have seen turkeys in before. Ive never had a turkey come it gobbling like they do on tv.
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Red,
My post was more of a joke but I guess it didn't read that way. Do think I've corresponded with you previously though.
Yeah I hunt and kill silent birds, specifically on occasion. Usually it's after they have shown up unexpectedly and busted me. Sometimes it becomes personal. Other times it's simply when I keep seeing sign at certain spots, tracks crossing a creek that keep showing up at the same spot etc. May be as simple as lingering a little longer at those spots calling with the thought he's there and silent, not moving on because I'm not getting responses. Usually just try to hit those spots at different times of day too till I hit it at the right time. It's akin to hunting big bucks in a way, you may have yet to lay eyes on him but knowing he's there keeps you after him. Some of the best toms I've killed came in silently. I don't camp a spot though, I just hunt slower than most.
Silent birds, you must hunt close to me , Down here they may gobble to start with but most of the time the older gobblers come in quietly. You might hear him cluck once but usually they are silent. If I have one that gobbles coming in he is usually a younger bird.
Never really cared whether they gobble or not. I tend to hunt them like I do buck deer. If I know there are turkey there I find the hens set up and let the toms come to me. The key is to know where they wanna be and get between there are and where they are at the moment. Just like I do bowhunting.
Good thing you're in Alabama now, we ain't go no turkeys here in MS. :gobble:
I hunt on a cattle farm and if they're silent I usually try to slip around the edges of pastures to find where they are and make a set up. The problem is when it's early in the season and no leaves on the trees the turkeys can see a looooong way and makes it tough.
Real slow stalking and setting up in likely areas to cold call is my second choice.
Scouting can help a lot as well. If you can pattern what the birds typically do you can try and set up where they want to go and you may end up not even having to call.
Quote from: THattaway on February 27, 2014, 09:09:30 AM
Didn't I already give you some pointers through pms and emails about hunting in the southeast a few years ago when you moved here? Diff screen name now, maybe you don't remember me.
It's entirely possible.... or maybe my sarcasm meter's broke and you're kidding. Either way, it's a turkey hunting forum and I'm tired of talking about shotgun shells and the rest of the worlds problems so thought it'd be a good time to talk some turkey! :morning:
Quote from: THattaway on February 27, 2014, 09:33:06 AM
Red,
My post was more of a joke but I guess it didn't read that way. Do think I've corresponded with you previously though.
Yeah I hunt and kill silent birds, specifically on occasion. Usually it's after they have shown up unexpectedly and busted me. Sometimes it becomes personal. Other times it's simply when I keep seeing sign at certain spots, tracks crossing a creek that keep showing up at the same spot etc. May be as simple as lingering a little longer at those spots calling with the thought he's there and silent, not moving on because I'm not getting responses. Usually just try to hit those spots at different times of day too till I hit it at the right time. It's akin to hunting big bucks in a way, you may have yet to lay eyes on him but knowing he's there keeps you after him. Some of the best toms I've killed came in silently. I don't camp a spot though, I just hunt slower than most.
No worries brother. I agree with you and hunt much the same way. I always enjoy hearing how other folks do it and figured it was a topic worth discussing. I appreciate the feedback and glad to see you back on OG!
If I know for sure tom's are in the area, I like to set up where I think one may come to silent or not and sit tight and be patient. I have until 12 noon in VA to get on a bird, and I don't get in the woods til 9 30, so I see my fair share of non gobbling turkeys.
Another thing that has shut up our turkeys on the ground is every time a turkey gobbles a dog comes running through the woods looking for it. Coyotes hasn't helped any either.
Quote from: warrent423 on February 27, 2014, 12:28:41 PM
Patience and confidence in your setup are keys to success with this style of hunting. I have the patience of a rock.
I dont have that kind of patience and it just eats at me to feel like I've "wasted" hours in an area when I havent heard one sound off and I know I got some ground available to me. Thats when that little devil on my shoulder starts telling me that somewhere out there I can ease up on one to get a visual or find one that's willing to sound off...
If I hear one that morning but he goes silent, that's a different story. I can hang with them all day in that area until I kill him or feel like I learn something to come back and kill him later.
Like many others have said, you have to get close to, or setup where the birds want to be. My tip though is this: Start listening, or try to train your ears to listen for spitting and drumming while setup. No, you can't locate him from a long distance, but it's pretty amazing how far that sound can carry in the woods. I have killed multiple birds now that I have heard drumming before I ever saw them. I'm sure many of us have experienced the awful feeling of losing patience, stand up, and PUTT!. Leave with no bird, and educate one all at the same time. Well maybe, just maybe if you listen closely the bird will be strutting, spitting, and drumming some on his way in, or just out sight hung up. That sound can help alert you that there is a bird close by even though he isn't gobbling. It's not always the case, but has helped me kill a few birds in the past. Just a thought....
Killed a bird last year that absolutely would not gobble except maybe once on the roost. For 3 days I tried everything to get him to work, even gobble calls trying to sound like an invading jake. Nothing.
Finally, I set up on him one morning and did a fly down cackle when I figured the birds came off of the roost. Just sat quiet after that. About 45 minutes later, guess who showed up, silent as he could be. One soft purr and he came into gun range. Boom! Nice mature bird. 10" beard, nice spurs.
After getting my hands on him I figured out why he wasn't a gobbling fool. He was darn near beat to death. I mean he had the tar whooped out of him. Also found several pellets in his breast that looked like lead #6 shot that had healed over from the previous year. (I shoot Hevi 7's) No wonder he wouldn't gobble, he was tired of getting beat up and shot at. One of my best hunts.
This year, I'm gonna kill the dude that whooped him so bad!
Welcome to Alabama and our close mouthed gobblers. when they get like that , you hunt them where they feed just like you were deer hunting. Not as much fun , but still effective. Stay with them , they will eventually start gobbling.
I kill'em for being quiet. Don't want them breeding.
If you have an idea what their doing when their gobbling, then you have a good idea what their doing when their not. Just apply the same tactics and stay alert, which you should do on a gobbling bird as well.
Quote from: redleg06 on February 27, 2014, 12:43:50 PM
I dont have that kind of patience and it just eats at me to feel like I've "wasted" hours in an area when I havent heard one sound off and I know I got some ground available to me. Thats when that little devil on my shoulder starts telling me that somewhere out there I can ease up on one to get a visual or find one that's willing to sound off...
Hey Red: Ya man, I know the feeling that you're talking about above. I have this feeling more during deer season than turkey season, but nevertheless, I have to "fight" this feeling -- and fight against it I do. Like others have said, if you've done your homework, tracked & scouted birds, and you play the "waiting game", I think you'll be rewarded for it - eventually. I always have to remind myself that the birds are on THEIR schedule, not mine. :)
A dude I listen to a lot says this: "Preparation time is never wasted time". Stated another way, any time you're spending out in the woods, hunting and/or scouting (more scouting & observing than hunting for me, most times!!), I feel like I'm being "productive" in preparing myself to kill a bird -- whether they gobble or not. I try not to let too many negative thoughts creep into my mind, even if I haven't seen/heard anything and even if, given an opportunity, I've blown a chance at a good bird I've prepared for a long time.
I'm patient - up to a point. I really like what is said right here (and you can find these "kill spots" where you hunt):
Quote from: warrent423 on February 27, 2014, 12:28:41 PM
I use my woodsmanship, as well as my knowledge of how turkeys move through a certain piece of ground, to locate what I like to call, "kill spots". These are places I feel confident I can persuade an educated turkey, or smart turkey, as I prefer to call them, to feel comfortable enough to come look for me. More times than not, these are areas that the "googans" have not yet tried to call a particular gobbler to.
I'm patient on these "kill spot" areas FOR DAYS, 'cause hunting history, animal patterns, etc. have just *proven* that I'm gonna kill something on this spot at some point in time. Maybe that's the goal this season - identifying some "kill spots" & proving that this season. Some spots have just "paid off" for me over the years -- for example, we've got an old graveyard from the 1800's on our property - and dude, deer & turkey *LOVE* that spot. Why?!?! Well, I've got some theories, but I don't over-think it; but I *DO* check it regularly, and setup on that spot regularly, and kill stuff there regularly. It's the exact same tactic I used on public land, too.
Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I *love* to setup observation stands & just "watch" what happens; these are places where you can really see a lot of land at once. Even if nothing happens, I still feel like I've been real productive - 'cause I'm watching like a deg'gum HAWK what is happening on & around that spot. I really love to do this on high points on pasture land, where I know there's game on the property. Once the animal "shows" itself, dude - I get a *RUSH* & put a plan into place to get him. And by showing, it could be gobbling, or it could be a totally silent bird, cruising through an area, feeding on bugs.
Sorry for the long answer, but I encourage you to take a different perspective this year. You'll enjoy this ultra-frustrating sport a lot better if you do.
BTW, one of our "kill spots" on my Dad's land in SE Alabama -- only just a few weeks ago -- I saw nearly 30 deer & had 7 mature gobblers within 30 steps of my "kill spot" over a 3 day period of time. Good woodsmanship, scouting, and "hunting history" has proven that spot, and I was rewarded for it.
Guess where I'll be this spring??
If they won't gobble they may have more hens than they can handle. Call the hens
If they're not talking, I do one of two things. If it's an area where I can slip along, and scan open woods or fields, I look for birds to set up on. If the area isn't conducive to that, I set up in a spot I know they travel through, put out my dekes, and play the waiting game, calling every 15-20 minutes.
Some will say that is too much calling, but I'm like you, if I am not hearing or seeing them after a while, I get restless.
Spot and stalk ambushes work pretty well in ag areas when they're in fields.
Quote from: redleg06 on February 27, 2014, 12:43:50 PM
Quote from: warrent423 on February 27, 2014, 12:28:41 PM
Patience and confidence in your setup are keys to success with this style of hunting. I have the patience of a rock.
I dont have that kind of patience and it just eats at me to feel like I've "wasted" hours in an area when I havent heard one sound off and I know I got some ground available to me. Thats when that little devil on my shoulder starts telling me that somewhere out there I can ease up on one to get a visual or find one that's willing to sound off...
If I hear one that morning but he goes silent, that's a different story. I can hang with them all day in that area until I kill him or feel like I learn something to come back and kill him later.
If I know that birds are using the area,and not gobbling,I have the patience of a rock also.
I will hang out in the area all day long.
Most of the time I hunt by sitting in front of a tree. But if they aren't gobbling and the woods seem dead, I will throw up a blind and just sit until something shows up. I do a few yelps every 20 minutes or so just to let anything in the area know I am there.
It is a lot easier to sit in a blind for long hours instead of out in the open. You can move around some and even stand up and stretch when needed. You never know when those black eyes are looking your way. If you are sitting out in the open, any movement on your part and he'll be gone and you'll never know it.
Quote from: surehuntsalot on February 27, 2014, 09:29:28 PM
Quote from: redleg06 on February 27, 2014, 12:43:50 PM
Quote from: warrent423 on February 27, 2014, 12:28:41 PM
Patience and confidence in your setup are keys to success with this style of hunting. I have the patience of a rock.
I dont have that kind of patience and it just eats at me to feel like I've "wasted" hours in an area when I havent heard one sound off and I know I got some ground available to me. Thats when that little devil on my shoulder starts telling me that somewhere out there I can ease up on one to get a visual or find one that's willing to sound off...
If I hear one that morning but he goes silent, that's a different story. I can hang with them all day in that area until I kill him or feel like I learn something to come back and kill him later.
If I know that birds are using the area,and not gobbling,I have the patience of a rock also.
I will hang out in the area all day long.
^^This
Quote from: guesswho on February 27, 2014, 02:14:20 PM
I kill'em for being quiet. Don't want them breeding.
I bet you'd kill them either way but I did think about that the other day... how we basically end up "culling out" the loudmouths every season while the quiet ones probably tend to live a little longer.
For two years I found tracks and strut marks in the same sand bed ,road and never heard that bird gobble before I would take off to hunt one in the distance. One day after a rain I found his tracks in the afternoon,
marked his last tracks toward the truck with flagging and paced back 200 yards or so. The next morning I slipped in , sat parallel to the flagging in the woods about 10 yards from the road.
After hearing another bird gobble a few times I pulled out my Lynch's box and made one cluck. A few minutes later I heard wing beats and got ready. He landed about 20 yards from me, went into full strut and when he came out of strut I sent the Fed Premium #6s to his neck. One of the oldest birds I ever killed and he had become a loner as I never saw hen tracks where he had strutted.
Note: I hate silent birds and ones that shut up when you yelp or cluck but you just have to deal with it.
There are some birds that we refer to as guest birds because they will entertain you but they aren't likely to get their picture taken. ;)
RAJ, killer story; thx for sharing your woodsmanship skills with us... Like an old buck, the older gobblers are tougher to bag - but it *can* be done!