Can you say "Call Shy"?

[tomstopper]

I am a firm believer that a turkey can't stop being a turkey. Especially in the spring. I have seen turkeys not gobble until almost sun up because of hunting pressure. But just because he didn't gobble doesn't mean he stopped being a turkey. There are going to be gobblers that are not going to breed. Those that have been whooped so bad that they don't want to attempt to get whooped again. Does that mean they are call shy. I don't think so. JMO If you are sounding like a real hen, I sat keep calling until you get a response. Use different tactics but still be a hen.

Joe

Very nice statement and I agree.... The fact is that its a wild animal and has evolved by doing what they do & using their instincts. In order to survive, they must breed & that is the only fact... They either come to the call or not, but instead of wasting my time worrying about them being call shy, I will spend my time trying to figure out how to get closer to him, or how to get ahead of him, etc..  Good luck to you all this season....

[WV TURKEY THUG]

idk about call shy but if hes been caled in a few times and been shot at he will probably wait for the hen to come to him instead of going to her.

[L.F. Cox]

Ok.  Just a few weeks ago, a thread appeared about the most difficult Public land turkeys to kill.  Well, I said Mississippi and Florida.  I will prove my Mississippi point:

Got in tight this morning(less than 70 yards).  I never said a word to him.  Set up on a huge pine tree.  He pitches out in my direction and i am stoked.  He doesn't stop to smell the roses or stretch his wings.  No strutting.  He is in a hurry to go somewhere.  He has not spotted me.  I made 3-4 note soft yelp to stop him for a shot at 45 yards, and he takes off like the dang "Road Runner" !!!!!!!!!!!!     BEEP BEEP BEEP!!!!  I let loose a load of Hevi 7s to no avail.
What say you Mississippi Public Land Hunters?  Is this one call shy or what?  I would say he has heard it and seen all before!
I may have to put some Hevi shot in his feet before it's all said and done!

Most likely you got in too tight and he saw something possibly just a shadow he didn't like...turkeys aren't call shy they are hunter shy.

[GobbleNut]

Still, the fact is that anyone that states that turkeys cannot become call shy is denying decades of scientific research that clearly shows that they will,

Really? Decades of scientific research you say? Surely then you won't have any trouble pointing us towards at least one or two of these studies that demonstrated this behavior in wild turkeys... right?

Yes, really,...Go take a look at any scientific journal on animal behavior and conditioned response and you will find all the examples you need that show animals can be conditioned to do, or not do, things by repetitive reward or punishment.  Or are you suggesting that turkeys are somehow unique in the animal kingdom and are not susceptible to the same conditioning that every other animal on this planet is subject to?
One more time,....even if you think you are the best turkey caller and hunter on earth, you cannot change scientific fact that, yes, has been demonstrated conclusively by decades of scientific research.

[L.F. Cox]

No one would argue that animals can't be conditioned....but they are only hunted by man a month or so out of the year and most might only encounter a hunter a few times.

Turkeys pick up movement as small as a hunter just moving his finger on the forearm of his gun....even the reflection and movement in a hunters eyes.

Lots of hunters underestimate a turkeys eye sight...

You'll never make me believe turkeys get call shy

Even funnier is some people think turkeys get particular type turkey call shy.....like diaphragm shy

[Ruger M77]

I don't care where youre from I don't believe in ''call shy'' turkeys if gobblers were scared of hen yelps in states like Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Newyork ,ect..... that get lots of pressure turkeys would soon be extinct. My guess is you yelp he zeroed in on youre location picked you out and got outta there.

[ferocious calls]

Just get back in the woods and make it happen. Have hauled many tough Toms back to the truck after others claimed them unkillable. I always tell them, give me 3 days and I show you him up close. Turkey Toms sure can become shy but, they are still subordinant to the human brain self trained in feeding on them. No substitute for being there while seemingly not there. Scratching can be calling, soft clicks is calling, at times just walking will get them headed your way.

On tougher toms sometimes it can be best to wait for a gobble and then respond lightly. Later AM can drop thier guard. One day he will just be in the mood to have perferated snood. Good luck!

[eddie234]

I dont think turkeys get call shy, they get people shy. Turkeys are always going to make turkey noises, once season starts and hunters start running and gunning puts the turkeys on edge.

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[turkey_slayer]

Still, the fact is that anyone that states that turkeys cannot become call shy is denying decades of scientific research that clearly shows that they will,

Really? Decades of scientific research you say? Surely then you won't have any trouble pointing us towards at least one or two of these studies that demonstrated this behavior in wild turkeys... right?

Yes, really,...Go take a look at any scientific journal on animal behavior and conditioned response and you will find all the examples you need that show animals can be conditioned to do, or not do, things by repetitive reward or punishment.  Or are you suggesting that turkeys are somehow unique in the animal kingdom and are not susceptible to the same conditioning that every other animal on this planet is subject to?
One more time,....even if you think you are the best turkey caller and hunter on earth, you cannot change scientific fact that, yes, has been demonstrated conclusively by decades of scientific research.

You give turkeys way to much credit.  I would like to see a link to the research proving turkeys get conditioned by humans one month out of the year when they are at their  dumbest cause of women on the brain.

I agree animals can be conditioned but totally disagree to become conditioned to avoid the breeding ritual. Also, it takes time to be conditioned. Do you really think a month is enough with prob only a handful of encounters at most? Most get killed the first mess up. If they do get conditioned and survive do they remember it the next spring and avoid it all again? The thing with science is data can be manipulated how the person sees fit. I trust what I see because I'm out there almost everyday during this time not what somebody I have no clue about writes. He could be a hunter trying to prove call shy exist

[alloutdoors]

Yes, really,...Go take a look at any scientific journal on animal behavior and conditioned response and you will find all the examples you need that show animals can be conditioned to do, or not do, things by repetitive reward or punishment.  Or are you suggesting that turkeys are somehow unique in the animal kingdom and are not susceptible to the same conditioning that every other animal on this planet is subject to?
One more time,....even if you think you are the best turkey caller and hunter on earth, you cannot change scientific fact that, yes, has been demonstrated conclusively by decades of scientific research.

Nice try, but you're talking to someone who actually works as a professional biologist and who actually knows a thing or two about study design and interpreting studies done by others. Claiming scientific evidence when you have none doesn't impress me.

Of course animals can be conditioned, so can people for that matter. Heck, give me a captive turkey and enough time and I may actually be able to create a call shy bird. However, there is no place where hunting pressure over the course of a one month season is sufficient to condition wild birds to have a negative response to the vocalizations of their own species, particularly when those vocalizations play a key role in the mating process of that species. Hasn't happened, never will happen.

[stinkpickle]

Sorry, but a 3-4 note soft yelp in turkey talk means, "My mother will be staying with us for a while."  That bird wasn't call shy...he was MARRIED!   

[turkey_slayer]

Sorry, but a 3-4 note soft yelp in turkey talk means, "My mother will be staying with us for a while."  That bird wasn't call shy...he was MARRIED!   

I thought the married ones were the ones that never shut up

[stinkpickle]

Sorry, but a 3-4 note soft yelp in turkey talk means, "My mother will be staying with us for a while."  That bird wasn't call shy...he was MARRIED!   

I thought the married ones were the ones that never shut up

LOL!  They tend to run right up to the muzzle of the shotgun.

[THattaway]

Let me ask you this. I know I've done it as well as others on here. Call a bird up, shoot and miss then call him up an hour or so later and kill him. You would think a stick of dynamite going off where the "hen" was would teach him something. Or, how many birds have you killed that had been shot previously? If getting injured after coming to a "hen" doesn't make you think twice then what would?

Sorry to reply so late but this is the first chance I've had to return.

I think it has to do with the circumstances of the event. If you shoot and miss the bird, even hit it, and jump up and run out at him I think there is a good chance that bird may be looking hard for a camo blob pretty hard from then on. I've killed a number of birds that have been previously shot, most were pretty darn wary as well.

My Dad raised bird dogs. They are probably much smarter than turkeys but when you dicipline a dog ten minutes after he did something wrong he simply cannot connect the previous behavior with it. You have to discipline him right then when he does something you don't want him to do to get any success. I see folks all the time attributing reasoning ability to turkeys, I do not so don't misunderstand any of my comments. Most bumped toms settle down quickly but faced with circumstances they've experienced before with immediate negative re-enforcement, usually multiple times, then they usually are gonna react in a certain way. Beyond that, the simple urge to breed will overcome them at times.

[ShortSpurs]

They are just like us; there are days we talk our heads off, and days we don't say a word all day, just like gobblers.

And they get decoy shy also, sometimes!