It can't just be me

[Barbelboy]

Am I the only one having a weird season? Literally I've been out 17 times and only had one bird come in that immediately spooked at my decoys. Tons of gobbling on the roost. Then silence. Birds hanging up. No response to calls. I've hunted from north of Hinckley to Chaska. Blind sets. Roosted birds. Morning hunts, all day, evenings. I've hunted public land and several prime pieces of private land (hundreds of acres where I am the only one hunting) all with nothing to show. Is anybody else experiencing this too? 

[DonBo]

Just takes a moment to turn the season around.  If they were all easy, how much fun would it be?  It's the difficult times that let us enjoy the successes so much when it finally comes together.

But the photo?  Ouch!

[pumper317]

when I have hunted this year, which isn't much I have not had much luck.  I did get on a nice one with my niece, but I personally have not had it happen.  I hunt mostly public ground, and the private I can hunt has no birds on it.  It makes it tough when the birds are there, but they sit on the private ground and will not come off.  

It makes it tough, but it could change like Don said at any moment.  I am trying to get out for an afternoon when the toms are out searching, but family stuff and yard projects are cutting me short.  It sounds like you have a lot of places to try and a lot of birds in those places.  Keep at it, and one will get curious enough.  Try different things as well, less calling/ no decoys/ etc.  You never know what might just make one commit.

Good luck, and keep at it.  You still have time!

 

[Barbelboy]

Oh I know about it happening in an instant. That's why I have kept at it so far. The real bummer is I've taken a couple of kids out. And while I know that not always succeeding is a good life lesson, a nice cooperative Tom sure cements their  interest in the process. I was just wondering if others were experiencing a slightly more difficult year than usual. I even took a kid out on the WI youth season. In 2 days we must have covered 15+ miles. Not one gobble.

[Scoot]

I've had an interesting mix of "this is just too easy" and "I can't do anything right" this year.  Bet beat about the crotch area for several trips in a row, then had it all come together in an instant the next.  Being rewarded after sticking with it is the best!  Keep at it, Barbelboy!  Good luck and most importantly, have fun along the way and don't get too hung up on a punched tag.  Not always easy to do...

[ANYFISH2]

It has been a struggle for us around these parts as well.  The birds just haven't responded or traveled like they have in the past.  My Jake is the only bird harvested off of the properties I hunt, which all total about 900 total acres and 5 hunters.  There are certainly birds around, just extremely difficult to pattern and call in.

I have to say though, a season like this really fuels.my passion even more.  I certainly learn more on the tough years than the easy years.

Keep at guys, it only takes one bird to commit, and the whole season turns to a success story.

[Wallydog]

Wish I could be there or know more about what you have been doing.............Things should be right.  Are you only called softly????  I hunt frequently out of a blind and though many advocate being subtle and soft with calling I frequently really ramp up my volume so that any bird within earshot can hear where I am.  Bottom line is I'm an agressive caller and I experience decent success.  I've already seen 10 tip over this spring.

[Hoyt4]

X2 of what Wally said I have better success being aggressive on calls. If you have birds hanging up change your setup move or go without decoys or use decoys. Change from what ever you are using go with one hen or just a jake. Change what ever setup those birds have seen.There is something they do not like there when hanging up so make that change could be as easy as one hen or two hens. Give them a different look.

Change calls different mouth call or slate just little things like that could make the difference. If i'm on the same birds day in and day out I try always to mix it up each day it seems to help in the end you will find something they might like.

 

If they gobble like crazy and leave go setup right where they just left from. Be patient and once the hens kick them most times they will come back to those areas cause it was safe and there was a hen calling around there. I've killed many birds that way coming back late morning where they heard the calling right away. They just seem to think it's safe and come looking. I get right in there tight ,maybe just scratch the leafs they seem to fire back up.

[Neighbor_guy]

This season is kicking my butt too. I've been out in the morning, the evenings, mid days, green fields, dirt, un-tilled, tilled, decoy, no decoys, blind, no blind. 

I've decided this is a stupid game. 

Seen lots of birds, no birds. Had hens picking spiders off the walls of the blind while toms were on the field. Watched birds a hundred yards out with his hens. 

The one time I did have a solo Tom come in was the time I didn't have a decoy out. He hung up and wouldn't close the needed yards. He just stood there gobbling his fool head off for 45min. In that time he managed to call in 5 jakes that decided they wanted to kick his wazzo. They ran him off the property and across the next 100acre field to the swamp on the other side. 

The advice I was given.... Just keep trying. Eventually it will happen. 

I am having a hard time keeping my head up. But that's part of the game. 

[Borch]

Hasn't been easy this season for us either other than the first day.  Almost zero gobbling.   Birds are there but quiet and it seems we're in the wrong place at the right time.  But persistence will may off eventually. 

[monstermoose78]

Let's see I have yet to put a Turkey on the ground in 5 years. This year I had like 13 jakes come in but I was enjoying them to much to shoot one. Had toms hang out just out of range. Had the wonderful neighbors brother come visit. But tomorrow is the day monstermoose kills a turkey for his team.

[Archerysniper]

On Friday, May 06, 2016 at 11:46 AM, Wallydog said:

Wish I could be there or know more about what you have been doing.............Things should be right.  Are you only called softly????  I hunt frequently out of a blind and though many advocate being subtle and soft with calling I frequently really ramp up my volume so that any bird within earshot can hear where I am.  Bottom line is I'm an agressive caller and I experience decent success.  I've already seen 10 tip over this spring.

Same here,I will hammer them with calls and a lot of times they will vome in quiet. If they start to hang up thats when I dial it back to soft purrs and putts spaced out at long intervals. But it has really been a diffrent hunt this year. 

[paceman]

Yes this turkey hunting can be really frustrating! But that is what makes it the fun sport that it is. I too have been hunting on multiple properties. Heard lots of gobbles most every time but have seen very few. They always seem to fly down and head the other way. I know I have to be more patient, especially with a bow. Lots of experts say this mid season hunting is just plain tough. If nothing else I have seen some amazing sunrises! and have gotten really good at putting up the blind in the dark! But we still have like 3 weeks left...

[nbadger23]

I hate to say it, but it's good to hear some other folks are a bit frustrated as well.  B season kicked my butt.. wrong time, wrong place, all the time it seemed. I'm itching for the last 2 weeks to get back out there and give them another shot.  That was one thing I didn't care for about bow hunting them last year- I wore myself into the ground going after them hard for like 18 straight days and it almost got to be to the point of being no fun.  I'm very grateful for the changes to the season that allows those of us who gun hunt 7 days, then another 14 days .. for my sanity more than anything else!

It's like I say to myself on the bow stand when things are getting frustrating .... "it only takes 30 seconds for it all to come together!"  

I've heard and read before about waiting for a tom to "come back" to near where they may have roosted and hear my hen calls but have gone the other way once flying down.  The problem I have with that is the patience to do it.  I'm sure all it would take would be one success story from that tactic and I'd buy into it but it's hard to sit there for 2-3 hours if you're not hearing or seeing anything.  

 

 

[Scoot]

Well... like the pic in the original post we took a shot in the groin yesterday. Lots to the story but in short Ryan got busted drawing, rushed the shot, and missed. They were putting and about to leave so I said he needed to shoot. I rushed him, he rushed the shot, bad outcome. At least it was with a bullhead so the bird is unharmed.

The birds hung around the next several hours just out of range and refused to come back. Dang!

[monstermoose78]

Had a tom that would walk in front of the blind. I could hear drumming and him going into strut. Maybe I should have had the decoys out. I still got time.

i feel for Ryan but it will happen 

[I fish, therefore I lie]

This season has been a real head scratcher for me.  3rd season in NW Wisconsin had 2 hens and a jake come right in an visit by 6:00am opening morning. A tom hung up somewhere behind them and bellowed for an hour and a half, but never came in. Turns out he was on the other side of a draw and refused to cross it. Later in the week at a different location a single jake came in and that  was it. Wind, wind, wind. With 30mph gusts, you couldn't entice a starving dog with a ribeye steak, let alone nuance a wary tom to visit. Hopefully things will have changed when I get back out next Wednesday. I know there are plenty of birds in my hunting territory. It's just too windy. So windy in fact that I only heard one tom gobble on the roost all season. Normally I'd hear between 3 and 7 a day.

Edited May 10, 2016 by I fish, therefore I lie