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I used this technique yesterday to call the birds in for my son. He was using his 20 gauge and his range maxes out at 30 yards. Inset him up in the blind with the hen and Jake decoy 20 yards in front of him and I went back into the woods 30 yards behind him and laid prone behind a tree. The birds hung up about 50 to 60 yards in front of him for about 10 minutes. They gobbled when I called but stayed put. I changed to softer clucks and purrs and they started to move in slowly. One finally made the mistake of coming in for a closer look and bang...flopFWIW:
If you are solo you can try facing your calling away from him and trying to call softer making him think that the hen is moving away.
If you are hunting with a partner have them move back 30 yards or so and continue calling.
Bob
You'll figure it out. Took me 3 seasons before I tagged one.I’m still hunting.... yet to fill a tag.
Was out again this AM... didn’t hear a single gobble. Landowner said there were 4 out yesterday at the same time. LOL
FYI... I’m a new hunter and I suck.
The hard thing about these toms is deciding how long to hunt them in a morning, if they're otherwise pre-occupied or "hung-up"- will they be horny enough for a round 2?
They're tough. That's 2 hunts this season where they wouldn't come in. Gotta keep at it.
Both birds I've taken and my sons bird were all mid morning. 9am to 10am. And they were all hot to come into my calls and decoy set at that time.I roosted a bird in a spot, Saturday. Came back with my friend on Sunday night to show him. 2 gobblers this time.
I hunted it Monday morning. It was a great hunt- best yet. No tom yet, but I had 2 toms gobbling like crazy. There was a hot-to-trot, huge hen about 15 feet to my left on the edge of a field going into the woods. She was putting and bobbing her head back and forth and lingered a little while as I gave a tom call.
The 2 toms must have lured her like the pied-piper. I heard her put inside the woods later. Impossible to out-compete mother nature. I had 3 decoys in the field- a beautiful avain-x hd jake farthest out, an avian x hen in the middle and friend's older hen decoy closest to me.
Meant to go right back and hunt it Tuesday and/or today. Let the coldness convince me to be lazy and stay in. I'm planning on roosting them again tonight and going in tomorrow.
The hard thing about these toms is deciding how long to hunt them in a morning, if they're otherwise pre-occupied or "hung-up"- will they be horny enough for a round 2?
They're tough. That's 2 hunts this season where they wouldn't come in. Gotta keep at it.
The decoy set up that worked for my hunts has been a single Jake and hen. I put the hen down low on the ground without using the stake.....then put the Jake like 8 inches behind her. My first Turkey that I took using that setup I had two mature Tom's basically run in and start molesting the jake decoy. They didn't even fan out or strut.....just rushed in and attacked. Seemed to piss em off that a young male was on their turf breading up a hen. Well.....they were pissed off till I shot one of em then the other one ran off as fast as his legs would allow.I roosted a bird in a spot, Saturday. Came back with my friend on Sunday night to show him. 2 gobblers this time.
I hunted it Monday morning. It was a great hunt- best yet. No tom yet, but I had 2 toms gobbling like crazy. There was a hot-to-trot, huge hen about 15 feet to my left on the edge of a field going into the woods. She was putting and bobbing her head back and forth and lingered a little while as I gave a tom call.
The 2 toms must have lured her like the pied-piper. I heard her put inside the woods later. Impossible to out-compete mother nature. I had 3 decoys in the field- a beautiful avain-x hd jake farthest out, an avian x hen in the middle and friend's older hen decoy closest to me.
Meant to go right back and hunt it Tuesday and/or today. Let the coldness convince me to be lazy and stay in. I'm planning on roosting them again tonight and going in tomorrow.
The hard thing about these toms is deciding how long to hunt them in a morning, if they're otherwise pre-occupied or "hung-up"- will they be horny enough for a round 2?
They're tough. That's 2 hunts this season where they wouldn't come in. Gotta keep at it.