I know everyone says it is not natural for a hen to call in a Tom. My question is how are so many people able to call in Toms if it is not "natural." I have a cousin that is an amazing caller. Every time I go with him he can call in a bird. He does not even sound the most realistic, but he knows what a gobbler likes to hear and birds come in just about every time. I also am wondering if anyone has seen a hen in the wild call a Tom to her instead of vice versa?
Yes a hen can call in a gobbler. Lot of factors come into play. Age and number of gobblers, availability of hens, pecking order, breeding cycle etc.
Toms go to hens for two reasons. Being over anxious to get the deed done or frustration when he heard her but she won't come to him. Both work to our advantage. This is why sometimes after a tom has answered you, the best call you can make is silence.
I was hunting a large open field quite a few years back in TN. I had been calling sparingly with a lone hen decoy out. I was new to turkey hunting and the area, so I was more or less standing by to see what action might happen. Anyhow, nothing had answered my calling all morning. Sometime around noon, a hen walked straight to the middle of that field and made every call I've ever heard hunters imitate, only much better. She proceeded to do this for about ten minutes until two gobblers came bolting in. Both came in from the opposite sides of the field, so they weren't together. She had called both of them in and they sprinted right by my decoy to get to her.
I think the hens don't call toms applies to the dominant birds. the ones that already have a harem and stand in a strut zone gobbling for the ladies. These are the birds that drive us crazy and seem unkillable. Until late season when their ladies are gone.
You bet your bottom dollar that a non dominant tom will go to a hen for a piece of action.
There just not intelligent, I am not so sure they know what there doing themselves most times! People seem to forget there brain is extremely small! But yes it is natural for them to gobble strut and drum to attract females, when no females show up they get frustrated and come to a call many times. This is where set up is so important, calling them where they like to go or already are going is soooo much easier!
Do hens call in Toms?? You bet they do. A few have called in toms for me!
I can't tell you what a gobbler will do. I'm convinced that he doesn't even know what he'll do next himself.
Quote from: trackerbucky on April 20, 2014, 06:58:40 PM
I can't tell you what a gobbler will do. I'm convinced that he doesn't even know what he'll do next himself.
That should be your signature line...
Probably one of the best turkey hunting quotes I have ever heard.
A hen will call while walking to a spot where she expects to meet a gobbler. The gobbler, if nearby, will meet her there because it is the preferred spot to do their business in the area.
Trust me after what I saw this morning a real hen will call in a tom, and ruin your hunt in the process...if she would have just had a beard it would have been a good ol' spite killing.
Read "The Wild Turkey and It's Hunting" by E.A. McIlhenny for free on Google Books and see what perhaps the greatest turkey hunter who ever lived, Charles L. Jordan, has to say on the subject.
Quote from: Gooserbat on May 02, 2014, 11:31:56 AM
Trust me after what I saw this morning a real hen will call in a tom, and ruin your hunt in the process...if she would have just had a beard it would have been a good ol' spite killing.
This.^^^ Especially if a Texas Rio hen. They can be some jealous b#tches.
I was once out turkey hunting and had to stand up to answer the call of nature. Naturally, while I was standing up I saw a tom and a hen I couldn't see when I was sitting. I went back to my hunting spot and sat down as soon as circumstances allowed, but the damage was done - the tom had seen me and departed post haste. This left the hen, who hadn't been facing me, wondering where her gobbler had gone. She started looking for him and ended up standing right in front of me calling her little lungs out. I could have easily kicked her, but I figured that no matter how hard I tried I wasn't going to sound more like a lonely hen than a real lonely hen. So I got a tutorial in hen sounds until she finally wandered off.
This lead me to two conclusions:
My camo was quite adequate to the task considering that I'd had a live turkey standing in front of me for 20 minutes without spotting me.
Hens certainly will call to gobblers when the mood takes them.