Your #1 turkey hunting weakness

[TRG3]

My #1 weakness is that warm, cozy bed at 4 a.m. after going to bed early at 9 p.m. and then tossing/turning for a couple of hours before finally going to sleep, if I'm lucky. At least one of the birds I got this season resulted in me forcing myself back out of bed after only two hours of sleep. Fortunately, it was only a 30 minute drive to my hunting spot and by 6:30 a.m. I was headed back home with a gobbler in hand.

[THattaway]

Fortunately, I have no weaknesses in my turkey hunting.  If I hear him clear his throat, he is taking a truck ride with me. Rivers, roads, fences, swamps, creeks, mountains - none are impediments to my calling skills and woodsmanship. 

Yeah,....me too!  I can also leap tall buildings in a single bound and bend steel with my bare hands. 
...Unfortunately, then I wake up and reality sets in. 
In the meantime, since nobody can prove otherwise,...I am just summarily declaring myself to be the best of all time,...anytime,..anywhere.   

I dunno, killing a tom turkey always makes me feel like a super hero...but I gotta say, killing a turkey that gobbles regularly every two minutes has got to be one of the less complicated parts of the game. Few of those survive very long.

[goblr77]

My #1 weakness is that warm, cozy bed at 4 a.m.

I hear you. That's my major weakness as well.

[Ihuntoldschool]

There is no such thing as call shy it does not exist and never has. A gobbler that was shy of a good hen sound would lead a lonely life. I don't care how much or how hard a turkey has been pressured if he comes to your hen calls he is most definitely NOT looking for a camo blob-FACT.  He is looking for the hen he heard. 

[THattaway]

Sure he is looking for a hen if he comes. If a tom hears hunter's hen calls day in and day out coming from a public land log road access, comes to investigate a couple times to see camo clad blobs, maybe gets shot at even and sprayed, then he might just start ignoring hen calls from that spot altogether. Maybe not gobble at them or come to investigate. Step off said log road and call from a different area, maybe a little softer and less and he might just gobble every step to you. Glad to keep discussing if you want to.

And call shy is a fact. You can condition any animal to react negatively based upon what it hears.

[lhprop1]

My #1 weakness is that warm, cozy bed at 4 a.m. after going to bed early at 9 p.m.

I hear you on the 4am part, but you lost me at 9pm.  How can you drink beer with the guys until midnight if you go to bed at 9pm? 

Which brings me to another weakness of mine:  Dozing off in the blind.

[Bill Cooksey]

There is no such thing as call shy it does not exist and never has. A gobbler that was shy of a good hen sound would lead a lonely life. I don't care how much or how hard a turkey has been pressured if he comes to your hen calls he is most definitely NOT looking for a camo blob-FACT.  He is looking for the hen he heard.

I agree with this 100%. Not wishing to put words in your mouth, but where we might differ is heavy hunting pressure can have a definite impact on the behavior of birds. That said, it's no different than a private place with a high number of turkey predators. Every close brush with a predator has an impact on their behavior. A few brushes per day are simply part of turkey routine. Increase them, and things change a bit. A pack of dogs ranging a farm can shut the ground gobbling down just as well as a dozen nimrods blowing through birds. Same with other predators.

That said, gobblers and hens are still trying to find each other and do their thing. Every one of them can be killed if you play the game right, and even a hot two-year-old can get the better of you if you don't. If I can get to a gobbler (property lines or impossible natural barriers come to mind) I believe I can kill it. Obviously it doesn't always happen. Seems like some seasons I can do no wrong and others I have runs where I do no right. I've reached a point now though where I can usually quickly get out of a rut.

Now, I do hate public land because it irks me to deal with others in the woods. I'd much rather a bobcat or coyote bust my hunt than another hunter. I don't begrudge others being there, but it just lessens the experience for me.

[THattaway]

Not wishing to put words in your mouth, but where we might differ is heavy hunting pressure can have a definite impact on the behavior of birds.

And most folks use "call shy" as a term to describe it. 

[Bill Cooksey]

Not wishing to put words in your mouth, but where we might differ is heavy hunting pressure can have a definite impact on the behavior of birds.

And most folks use "call shy" as a term to describe it. 

Okay, but it would be a misnomer since it has nothing to do with calling. It's a conditioning to excessive pressure where the birds become more quiet and less aggressive in their movements.

[OldMarine]

We could all be more patient working a Gobbler we haven't seen  nor heard .

[THattaway]

Not wishing to put words in your mouth, but where we might differ is heavy hunting pressure can have a definite impact on the behavior of birds.

And most folks use "call shy" as a term to describe it. 

Okay, but it would be a misnomer since it has nothing to do with calling. It's a conditioning to excessive pressure where the birds become more quiet and less aggressive in their movements.

I don't see how you can separate it out from hunting pressure since calling is so much a part of turkey hunting. I can put you on a field turkey today that will go straight away from calls from any member on this board, sight unseen. Most times though, folks blame a turkey as call shy when it's simply a subordinate tom, henned up or otherwise preoccupied, not answering or coming.

And to get back on topic, I suffer from yanked triggers as a weakness once in a while. Probably a carry over from target panic from too much bow shooting over the years. Raises it's ugly head once in a while with no rhyme or reason. Would trade that one for any other mentioned here in a heartbeat.

[Bill Cooksey]

I don't see how you can separate it out from hunting pressure since calling is so much a part of turkey hunting. I can put you on a field turkey today that will go straight away from calls from any member on this board, sight unseen. Most times though, folks blame a turkey as call shy when it's simply a subordinate tom, henned up or otherwise preoccupied, not answering or coming.

Because too many encounters with ANY predator causes the same thing. Humans happen to involve calls, but the bird behavior is the same no matter what predator is responsible. Too many encounters causes both gobblers and hens to get quiet, at least until they get a little time unmolested. In the hens case it's even more common the problem is four-legged predators.

A turkey with a few unmolested days behind him will be more vocal, and so will the hens in his neighborhood (and the latter is key when thinking of how we call). Usually that makes it easier to find a way to kill him. Obviously that's more likely on private land or unpressured public areas. It's also a heck of a lot more fun, but turkeys are still finding each other. It's up to us to figure out how. Often it's easier said than done.

[Greg Massey]

Agree, get creative as season become later, start becoming more aggressive with your calling. This means put more excitement into your calling at the peak of breeding, when gobblers are with hens, calling more aggressive is needed to pull the gobbler away from the hens. Some people will say these birds are call shy and its time to tone it down. The opposite is true: What really happening is that hens are leading toms away from the sound of another hen. Challenging these hens to try and bring him along. People think it makes turkeys call shy that ridiculous, turkeys communicate by making turkey noises. If they were afraid of turkey sounds, they would never mate.

[Va3toes]

Definitely patience! I have very little but I'm working on it.

[THattaway]

Bill,
How you can believe that a turkey will go quiet when molested but you can't believe that they can be imprinted to connect sounds (calls) to the molester. You do realize turkeys can recognize other individual turkey's calls don't you? Have you ever witnessed two broods and hens separate? Then if that's the case don't you think a turkey can be imprinted with calling from those "dozen nimrods blowing through birds" you mentioned earlier who might hammer the same spot repeatedly throughout the season? Don't just take things I've said here out of context. Still seeing "If they were afraid of turkey sounds, they would never mate" while that has never been claimed. Cracks me up. Why do folks assume anyone who mentions "Call shy" never killed a turkey, can't call, can't hunt, has no woodsmanship skills, can't understand turkey habits, etc. etc. I raised far stupider domestic turkeys as a kid and witnessed first hand negative behavior related to calling. There are and will always be a few animals who've experienced enough hunting pressure to live to see a ripe old natural death. I've ranted enough on that subject so I will stop but I will say one thing further. Don't anyone tell me it's a fact a turkey cannot become call shy unless you are a turkey yourself.

Greg,
You feel free to come on to SC and try the easterns here with calling harder as the season progresses for a few years on turkeys that are hunted and report back to me how your success rates stack up.