Silent birds

[pumper317]

I went out today to a spot that birds are usually covering up. On a normal calm morning like we had today, we hear 6,7, or 8 gobbles around. Well today, we heard not a gobble. I know there was a tom very close to us from putting it to bed, but he got right on a yelping hen, and never made a peep. I stayed until 11 am today and didn't see a bird, or hear a gobble.

What is up with that????? I know there are birds around. Any tips for my next venture to the woods?

[DonBo]

If you know birds are around, I wouldn't do anything different. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.

[sticknstring]

Probably some dispersal took place and the toms left are most likely roosted w/ hens. No reason for them to gobble. If hunter pressure has been low, the birds are probably still around. Silent birds can be frustrating though... easy to bump. Hang in there - they'll show.

[Wallydog]

Stay longer, they won't spend all day with the ladies.

[brittman]

There maybe something to the dispersal theory. We saw a lot of 3-pack gobbler groups and only one lone Tom (w/hen) in Season B. These 3-packs would all gobble if one set off. I typically hunt later seasons and it is almost always lone Toms.

Why these back up Toms stick around in groups was beyond us ... safety ?

We saw plenty of lone hens too (sometimes the lone hen was just a 1/2 mile down from the group of Toms).

If you have packs of Jakes running around, they can fill the air with gobbles and also shutdown the local Tom. They may not be able to beat him 1:1, but they can certainly ruin the mood of the moment if they cross the Tom & his hen.

[Sinker]

I hunted all day Wed. and had two toms on the roost gobbling before they flew down with the hens. Throughout the day there was a gobble here and there. Before sunset, a tom with four hens climbed the hill out of range and flew up. Usually they gobble for a while but this one didn't. Waited a while so I didn't spook them and left. Thurs. morning not one gobble from him. Thought maybe I spooked them the night before. But sure enough, they all just pitched down and headed for the hay field. Sat in a different place last night and this time I was able to shoot the tom. Compared to 10-15 years ago, it seems that calling isn't as effective and your best bet is hunting them like deer. Kind of like hunting turkey in the fall.