Update 5/17 He never came back! Either he was snagged by another hunter. There was evidence of inconsiderate people (trash, crap bags etc) near my area and along the route I've taken many times. Also a loud over done and not well practiced peacock call right at sunrise that the gobbles just moved towards. By day 2 I had completely torn up my hip and scratched my Cornea. No luck on that first kill yet. Still have not even had a chance to raise my bow for an attempt at a shot. But I'm wiser. Hello all, Here's the story as quick as possible. I've been out to this public land spot 3 times now. About a week apart. I have 2 days left that I 'm free to hunt before season closes. 1st day I could hear the hens but couldn't spot them. 2nd day I set up on the edge of the meadow where I was pretty sure I was hearing the hens. (lone blind on the "wide shot") This time I heard the tom about 50- 75 yards south west. Only one gobble. less than 5 minutes after, a truck drove up and stopped on the side of the road about 200 yards south of my blind. It was there for a few moments and then drove off. The Tom never called again. I spent about an hour after that calling every now and again. nothing. 3rd day I set up ahead of where I heard the tom. ("Lost the trail" image) He finally came out and I saw him 70 yards from my blind bout 40 yards from my decoys. I measured the distance on the other side of the fallen tree. (scratch pin). He didn't strut in. He walked in from the west, tall as though he was checking it out. He walked across the opening basically the length of the log and then back to the trees where he came from. I could hear his gobble as he started to walk up and around my blind. The trail I marked in orange is roughly where i could hear his calls. I got eager and I decided to take my chances stalking. I'm not good at mouth calls yet so I had to take my slate. I know I over called. I stayed in the growth and I know he was taking the game trail. Eventually his calls were far away and then nothing. (Very windy, gusts up to 20mph very little let up) Decoy set up. Hens were nearest to me about 20 & 25 yards. Tom was furthest out 30-35 yards under the shade to the left. Closest to the log and clearly in view of Bruce before I would have been able to see him. Here are some questions I have: Should I set up closer down the "alley" and to the left giving me a view of him coming in or should i set up more to south west in the smaller clearing? Should I take the tom out of the decoy set up and just use the hens? I only have 2 hens. Should I have waited the rest of the day in hopes he'd strut back or is it likely he'd take a different route back? I am DIY and Solo. This is my first Tom season and have never had a chance to take a shot with my bow (or any other weapon) on any species. I've done a lot of research myself and picked a lot of brains with the NWTF guys. Any advice is greatly appreciated and considered. Thank you.
It sounds like you may be locked in on a tom that has hens. Hen'd up toms are the toughest to call in. It is similar to hunting a herd bull (elk). A tom that has hens is not going to be willing to stray very far from them, for fear of another tom taking his hens while he's away from them. In my experience the best way to shoot a tom that has hens is to setup somewhere they already want to be. Meaning, you set up somewhere they go daily. The fly down area or strutting area, one of their travel paths from fly down area to food, or setup very near where you encounter them in the morning but in the evening...they will likely return there in the late afternoon so they can roost in the same area again for the night. Another way is to get the hens fired up at you. The hens have a pecking order, and the "lead" hen can get fired up at another hen's calls sometimes. Basically, if I'm calling and a hen seems to answer every time, I will start mimicking her and calling over the top of her. I've had this result in the hen leading the whole group over to me. I presume it pi**es them off. The Tom is usually at the back of the group, he of course follows because he goes wherever the hens go. So, what to do. First option is to keep after this tom. You have some intel about him now. You've heard his calls and seen him. Move your setup closer to a location that you've heard or seen him. They are generally very habitual and will follow nearly the same pattern every day around the same time of day. It sounds like on day 3 you were close, but just too far away for him to completely commit to your decoys. Probably because the hens were just out of sight and he wasn't willing to stray farther from them. As far as your decoy setup. Many folks use a jake decoy in their setup. I haven't ever tried it, I simply use one single hen decoy. But it makes sense to cover both things that a tom will come to...fighting or mating. You've tried a setup with a jake and hens and it didn't reel him in, so perhaps try just hens and see if it's more appealing to him. Really don't think it matters a whole lot though, he probably just didn't come in because it was too far from his hens. Second possible option. Find another tom that doesn't have hens. Many times there are other toms around a group of hens that a "boss" gobbler is keeping. Similar to satellite bulls staying close to a herd of cows a herd bull is keeping, they stay nearby and are always looking for their chance to steal some girls. These toms will be much easier to call in. There should be some lone toms nearby. My favorite way to locate turkeys is to arrive at my hunting spot a good hour before daylight. Many people use crow calls or owl hoots to get toms to gobble while still in the roost, but I just wait for them to do it on their own. There is a point in time before hunting light, when the sky is getting pretty light, that they gobble their heads off all on their own. I then move as close as I can and setup. Close, but not so close they'll hear me setting up. After I get setup I will give two or three yelps, in one series, to let the tom know a hen is nearby. Then I do not call again until they fly down out of the roost (I once read that it isn't normal behavior for hens to call from the roost, so I avoid it mostly). You can tell they're on the ground by either actually hearing them fly down or by when their gobbles suddenly sound further away (they sound much louder in the roost than when they get on the ground, don't mistake this as them moving away from you) . The above tom your hunting, you know which way they head off in the morning, so setup in a direction from his gobbles that you know they went on a previous day. If this tom still won't come in, or you bump him, or whatever, the hunt is not necessarily over. Give up on him and walk the area slowly while letting out 3 or 4 yelps on occasion. This "run and gun" tactic is a very good way to locate another tom. I go light when doing this, no blind to carry. If I get on a bird I just throw out the hen decoy and sit 20 yards from it against a tree. The only way to draw a bow undetected with this kind of setup is to draw when the tom is strutting around the decoy and his tail fan completely blocks his head from view.
First off, THANK YOU. All of this is amazing information. The one thing I was looking for is how routine are they? Now I have a great idea of where he's coming in from and can start to track in closer maybe even find the roost. I haven't given much thought or even asked how I could find a roost. I just considered it as walk around where you've seen them and look up. I'm looking forward to the next two attempts coming up. This hunt here has been the most thrilling thing I've experienced in a long time. I haven't taken a shot on anything, but i'm hooked. If I don't get him this season next season is going to feel like forever away. More time to scout and learn. Thank you again @Mod-it Once again you have been super helpful.
You'll know a well used roost tree by all the turkey droppings on the ground under it. Rather than looking up, look around on the ground under trees in the area you first see/hear them in the morning. One that they use frequently will be absolutely bombed with turkey droppings on the ground under it. They will use more than just one specific tree, but they are generally within the same area. I often do not bother to pin point exactly which tree they're using for a roost, I just need to know the general area they're roosting so I can setup close in the morning. I can't say how important I think it is to be in the woods well before shooting light. If the sky is starting to get light, that is prime time to hear them gobbling from the roost and locate them. This would be a great time to hear other toms gobbling, to use as a backup plan if that darn Bruce won't cooperate.
