Silent Birds....

[redleg06]

I'm tired of reading about turkey shells and pattern boards 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 ) 

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........         

[THattaway]

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?

[eddie234]

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.

Sent from my ZTE-Z990G using Tapatalk 2

[THattaway]

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.

[bmhern]

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.

[highwaygun]

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.

[northms]

Good thing you're in Alabama now, we ain't go no turkeys here in MS. 

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.

[IowaGobblers]

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.

[redleg06]

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!

[redleg06]

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!

[appalachianstruttstopper]

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.

[redleg06]

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.   

[SCTrky10]

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....

[renegade19]

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! 

[J Hook Max]

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.