Ok so every time I hunt at my spot, a gobbler starts gobbling right up the hill. But they never come all of the way down. I've tried decoys and everything. I can't set up on the because my grandpa can't go on the ground. He gets too cold and he is always tired. So basically how can I entice them to come down? Any ideas?
Hard to make them come down hill. They are visual animals so they come up hills to see what's at the top. Its the hens job to come to the Tom so sometimes just a hen decoy wont do it. What decoys are you using? I've seen them come down hill but it's not as easy to do. The last one we had come down a hill was mad as hell. We kept cutting him off with a jake gobble. Try that?
I use a box call with bands. YouTube how to make a jake gobble. And I was asking more about what decoys, tom? Hen? Jake?
I don't know I never see him.. He starts off far away and then he comes to the top of the hill and stops
Hmmm. Tough call. It's not impossible though. Sometimes they will run down screaming if they're hot and ready it's just not ideal. Take your time. If he's still gobbling he's still interested. They don't carry watches. The majority of turkey I've killed have been late morning and a couple at the 1 o'clock buzzer!
Like shocker said try gobbling back/cutting him of. Also if it sounds like there there is hens with him then just imitate everything the hen does and sooner or later she will get mad enough to come down and he will follow here. And make sure you don't over call,a couple yelps every 5/8 minutes will do.however if he is responding back to your calls you can call a little more often but not more than once every 2/3 minutes.
It happened again this morning... They gobbled all over until 7:00 then we haven't heard one single gobble since. It's just frustrating
Agreed,once the hens go to their nest the gobblers get kinda bored/lonely and they can sometimes be easier to call in.
I educated a few Toms my first two years. I went to the same spot and made the same calls. Mix it up a bit. Set up on a different spot if you can, maybe it can't get above him but you could set up 50 yards to the left of where you've been setting up. Learn how to do a cackle call and a fly down. Take a plastic grocery bag into the woods. Grab both ends after making a series of tree yelps and then pull the grocery bag fast and loud. It sounds just like a fly down. Then use some purr calls to make it sound like your a hen feeding. You can take your hand and rake some leaves...I've had Toms gobble to me taking leaves like a hen feeding. I just said a lot but basically I'm saying don't do the same thing over and over and expect different results. Learn different calls and mix it up on that gobbler. And lastly, don't overdo it. Play hard to get. If he starts gobbling to you. Shut up. Put down the calls and get your gun up. He will come looking.
Variety is the key to stimulation BUT do not over call. He might not gobble directly in response to your calling. But like others have said, once the other hens go back to nest he will start to look for other hens in the area. This typically happens later in the morning, thats when you'll find most toms walking around alone. This past weekend I almost gave up on my hunt but a lone bird was looking for love and I gave him a few enticing yelps. He did not gobble in response to my calls immediately, but instead would gobble every so often to get me to yelp again. I just put my call away and waited for him to show up. Eventually his curiosity got the best of him. Calling him directly off of his roost will be difficult unless you can get set up very close to him before he flies down. Good decoys might also help you seal the deal.
I always find that my best success has been when the toms can see my decoys. If they just hear calling they won't always come in. They expect the hens to do that. But if they see a tom and or Jake decoy with a hen or two, then they want a piece of the action! I do very little calling. A few yelps every 15 minutes. If I think something is coming, I quit calling especially if they can see my decoys! Good luck!!!
I'm still learning as well. I made some mistakes yesterday but had some fun! Had a big field full of Toms. They were walking away from me and I'd left my calls behind to get up to see them. All I could do was film. Check out the video if you want! Field of Turkeys - YouTube
