What to do when gobblers just stop...gobbling?

Today was the first time calling in a long beard. It was the second best turkey hunting experience. When i first called him in he gobble right after each hen cluck sequence. After three gobbles i saw its head but i left my decoys at my blind that i was 200 yards away. I can tell he was looking for a turkey because he only moved his head and keeping his body behind the wall. He then came around into the thicket about 20 yards away. They had some openings but it never stayed in one for more then two seconds. After a while of trying to call him in i could not see him any more. He gobbled a few more times then went silent. I think im going take a shotgun instead of my z7 next time.
I think i was calling too much and i should have moved to the other ridge to change the direction. What do you guys think?

 

When he stops gobbling he's on the move most likely coming to your calls. I stop calling or call softly in the opposite direction of the coming tom. Hunting with a bow is tough no doubt and out of a blind even tougher.Kudos for getting that close. My deal sealer is scratching the leaves like a feeding hen would do. Good luck no matter what weapon you choose

 

Thanks for the advice. The best part is watching his reactions. Im going to bring a decoy next time because i would have sealed the deal if i had my hen decoy with me.

 

Like what was already said. A tom that gobbles at your calls, then falls silent, is usually on the move, toward you.

However, in your case, I'm imaging the bird got into the thick stuff and could look out, into more open timber. He didn't see a hen anywhere but could hear hen sounds. He may I have figured something was up and sneaked out of there. They're pretty smart critters and can be tough get into range sometimes.

Once I get a bird to respond to me pretty hard (by that I mean gobbling at pretty much every call I make), I'll usually tone it down quite a bit until i'm only giving a few clucks and purrs every 15 or 20 minutes. What I've found is that toms don't like to be ignored or walked away from and a lot of times come looking for that "hen" that was chatting up a storm with him.

When I'm calling to a turkey, I liken it to "playing hard to get". Give him just enough sweet talk to get him all hot and bothered... then "walk away" from him.

Just tone it down and get your gun up and ready.

As for decoys. I know a lot of guys use them with great success, but I have honestly had more bad than good come from using them. It seems like every single time I used them, birds hung up. I quit using them a few years back and since calling the way I have described above, been much more successful. For me, I want that tom to come in searching for that hen and if he doesn't see her, keep walking (toward the direction of the call, me) until I blast em.

 

I agree with everything. except for the fact that they have to be the dumbest birds out there. They not only come to our decoys but they attack them repeatedly. NOt just the toms either I have seen hens attack hen decoys. I would really like to try to put a mirror out in the field and see if a tom would just keep attacking himself in the mirror. NOW that would be a great video.

 

After you get a tom gobbling on top of you like that you must be patient. You've got him all excited. I would sit a minimum of one hour after he became quiet. Real soft yelps and purrs...I love the scratching of leaves also, it seems to seal the deal sometimes. BE PATIENT.

 

As others have said, when I get a bird fired up... I'll quit calling. If you call too much he'll think you're going to find him. Patience is tough but when he gets tired of looking for you, he'll gobble. Playing "Hard to get" has provided more results than anything else (for me).

 

I see this alot just after a storm or heavy winds which most of us has been living with the last weeks, overcast days tend to give birds lockjaw it seems but after a good still sunny day and clear night they come back strong. Also late season i get to where i dont call at all until the birds have hit the ground and then only with soft clucks and purrs and sometimes a good seat and a blind is in order and sitback and enjoy the morning cause there is nothing to change a bird thats call shy and maybe been shot at a few times.
Best of luck.. gun or bow

 

I've had the best luck, like the guys already said, with just being quiet once he get's close enough and all hot and bothered. Another trick my grandpa taught me is take the hat off your head and smack it against your leg or side.. it mimicks the sound of turkeys flapping there wings.. gets the bird curious and usually comes in to check it out. Patience is the key, sometimes it sucks waiting the old thunder chicken out but the reward is for sure worth it.

 

Thanks to all of you guys. I tried to stay quite but man is it hard seeing as i never shot a turkey and this was the first time i called one in. Im taking my shotgun next time. Kudos to all of you that shoot anything with a bow. This coming deer season will be my third year bowhunting

 

Haha, I know exactly what you mean. Been there, done that. It took me quite a few seasons when I first started until "I got it", meaning I figured out how to "act" to get the birds to come in. Not saying it works every time, because it sure doesn't. But since that one season, I've been more and more consistent at calling them into range and taking birds from year to year.

Don't sweat it. Have fun with them and do not be afraid to try different calling tactics. You'll learn a bunch, have fun doing it and sooner or later, you'll call one right into your lap.

 

If you're not in a blind, another way to deal with them going quiet is to either move closer, or farther away. Both changes have helped me get a gobbler going again....but keep in mind this can be risky. Especially if you're moving closer. Because like people have already said, a quiet gobbler could be a gobbler moving in towards you....That being said, I prefer to make a move closer to a bird more often, when they are gobbling still, but hung up. If they've gone silent, and I don't think they're coming in, moving farther away just might be the trick.

 

Extend your shooting range?

 

Just be patient!!!! I've been hunting this tom for the last week and all four times out he has slipped by. He is extremely stubborn. He gobbles from 100 to 200 yards away all day long and moves into about 75 yards away and goes completely silent. I have set up in a couple different spots, trying to get closer to him. I know about where he is roosting and all four times he has done the same thing. I got busted twice trying to move in closer after an hour of waiting.

The last time I set up right where I though he would come to (this is all hardwoods by the way). I made a set of calls and I heard him gobble. He kept coming in gobbling the whole way and then I finally see him appear through the trees. I got to watch him for about an hour and a half. Finally he was about sixty yards away and then another turkey comes strolling through the woods and off he goes.

Very frustrating, but at the same time I got to watch the exact way he moved in and went silent. Once silent he was still coming, but not as fast. I learned so much by being able to see this. Patience, patience, patience is what it is going to take to kill this bird. Hopefully I will outsmart him this weekend.

Just because they stop gobbling doesn't mean they are gone, it is tuff to figure out when you don't see anything for a long period of time. The advice these guys are giving is extremely helpful and accurate. Patience is key. Good luck!!!

 

Thanks im going out on sunday to see if i could get another shot but im going to bring a hen decoy with me and a shotgun...should be a good day.

 

In Pennsylvania, when the birds shut down, most guys just drive around with shotguns hanging out every window, hoping to see one in somebody's yard or maybe hanging out close to the road.

 

Here's another "trick" that almost worked for me this past weekend on bird that I would really like to get on the ground.

He did the normal. Quit gobbling once on the ground and strutted for the better part of two hours in front of me, at 75 yards. He had hens and wouldn't leave them.

The hens started moving away and taking him with me. I reached around behind me and started scratching leaves and purring, making a heck of a racket like hens feeding. He gobbles twice at this and came within 40 yards of me, but didn't offer a good shot.

Gobblers expect to see a hen and hear hen sounds, like feeding hens, when you call to them and they come in. If they don't, they'll likely hang up and search with their eyes.

 

I take it you weren't using a deke then?

 

Hey thanks for telling me these hints. I could ot go last weekend for a number of reasons but this weekend for sure is going to be the gobbler demise. Its going to rain and i know tukeys tend to come out and eat in the rain. I was wondering if you have any tips on what locator calls are good.

 

Greg, I've had a lot of bad experiences with dekes here. Not saying it wouldn't have helped me in that case. But it seems like every time I've used them in the past, birds would simply hang up out of range on me. I've had much better luck just letting the gobblers search for me.

To answer the OP's last question. I just typically use an owl hoot in the morning and a crow call the rest of the time. Though, I must admit that I don't do a lot of locator calling and prefer to call for an hour or so and if I don't get an answer, move a hundred yards or so and do it again. You can cover good ground this way as long as the cover is good to allow moving.