stubborn toms

[freedomrules3]

I have no idea where all the big toms are... i know of a dozen left overs from last year that are just failing to show themselves. the field count is down still also, last couple of years the fields were full. i can only think they are stilled tightly henned up. i have had gobbles only to show some excitement then walk away. frustrating hunting birds that pay no attention at all too many hens around. could be time for a fall hen season around here . i know of several decent birds but none wanna play very long , i guess i'll just leave em alone for a week and get some work done ;D

[WVHunter129]

Well Rick that was the way it was on Monday last week and Friday. Both days that we hunted were terrible days. Monday it had snowed the night before and there was 6 inches on the ground. Didn't hear a bird all morning. Jumped a hen off her nest and she had 6 or 8 eggs in it. Friday it was a light rain then more of a steady rain. Didn't see or hear anything. Didn't even bother going last Saturday cause of rain.

This Saturday is looking good, sunny and temps around mid 70's. Maybe that will get them gobbling...keeping my fingers crossed.

[scdave449]

Rick, field birds are the toughest at times.............THIS being one of those times. Run a little deeper from the birds on the field, get in the woods man. Those birds maynot be responsive to hens at all that moment, but I assure you if you can simulate a couple of birds, gobblers fighting, hang on and be ready quick!!!!!!!!Odds are those birds will pack-up and come a running!!!Use a series of gobbles, some loud definative purrs, slapping your hat to imitate flapping wings and rustling leaves just may do the trick. A bit unorthodox but I've used it to a great success. In a fact a close friend doubled on his first bird, both mature Toms, 19 and 20 respective. What a thrill indeed. Also used that to break down that invisable wall of glass that sometimes appears at 60 yards, it does work though. What the hell, give 'er a try. scdave

[hatracked]

JP you got any idea what the problem is?
Sure you do!

JP will tell you and so will I that this is the time of the season that separates the men from the boys.To kill turkey during the peak of breeding season you got to know your birds , be on your birds. To kill em you darn near have to be sitting up under em in the am playing whos the closest with 15 hens.Happens everywhere.

If you havent found those toms from last year yet , youve lost em , and simply failed to find them again this spring. They moved you didnt. They are out there breeding somewhere its just not the same spot as last year. They arent going to mysteriously all the sudden move in and start breeding the hens in tha reas your hunting now. They very well might show up after they are done with their current hens if theres hens nesting in your area. More on that in a minute.

So you got to start out by asking yourself where could they have gone. Whats changed in the enviroment that caused the shift. Had the food source changed , did the mast crop drop somewhere else last fall, did the mast crop in your current hunt area come out poorly. Agriculture change ? Logging? Look at the details , figure out whats missing with the toms and then figure out where the closest next option might be. Chances are you not missing those toms by much but they are obviously not using the area your hunting to breed hens.

If you find them , you can expect to have to get to the roots of turkey hunting and do your homework and extra credit daily , if you want consistant action. Toms arent going to respond by traveling great distances to your call when every hen in the woods wants some. You got to get close, real close like hearing nails on the limb close. Scouting , in the highest manner is what you need to do . You need to know what tree he is in this time of year.

Or you can do like the majority of hunters do and stay out of the woods until the hens start nesting. Then the gobblers , stupid as they get all year, will travel a half mile or more to find a willing hen and your gun barrel at the location of your of a cutting hen call. Takes the scouting and the challenge nearly all the way out of it. Troll the woods cutting and wait till you hear him gobble ,set up fast , he's coming. If your used to seeing late season increases in gobbler numbers it due to the fact the breed is basically over and they are ganging up in rape gangs getting whats left. They travel huge territories looking for those last hens in every nesting area in their annual range .

I get the impression Rick that your the kind of hunter that wants to be on the hunt for the hunt. Some of the absolutely best turkey hunts are when I am forced to dive into the middle of them in the dark and sucker tom away from his roosted hens. That is what its all about for your die hard turkey hunters. Ask JP , he'll tell yah up close and personal wit a tom and his hens , in the spring woods as the sun comes up is as good as it gets.

Go get em man , they are out there everyday of spring breeding, they are simply demanding new strategy and effort at this point of the season , to consistantly stay in the action.

[hatracked]

Heres something I wrote that might help you find out what those toms already have. These killing fields can change over the years but wherever they are this year they are there being used daily right now .Youve got to define and find the killing fields in your area.

The Killing Field Revisited
by John Coit

Rare is the day when a turkey hunter can claim a sure thing. Years of repeated teachings by longbearded shadows in the woods have left many a hunter shy of calling any tom or place a sure bet. Bring in the Killing field, a small non descript patch of South Carolina soil that harbors an incredible lure to these birds we call turkey.

Settled nicely between a major river bottom with its bordering ½ mile of thick swamp and a large planted pine tract, the killing field produces toms year after year. Before I get into why it works so well, lets meet some of the players. The Graveyard Gobbler was the first to tell the secret, a bird high in stature, long in spur, and wary as any I had hunted. His offspring, the "Oak Flat Tom", "drummer", and the "walk away tom", had all refined his skills and kept his haunts interesting to us turkey men. These were but a few of the many toms seemingly locked to the killing fields magnetic draw.

Spring turkey season of 2002 was an awesome one in SC. Birds were flopping all over the Pee Dee and me and my buddies had allot to do with it. Things were so good in fact we realized mid season that we had yet to revisit the killing field. Years prior I had tumbled a tough tom after unlocking the secret to the area and vowed that every year we would be back. We adjusted plans and set our sights on the old honey hole for the following am hunt. It was time to return to the killing field.

It's important to note here that this "honey hole" is a public land spot hunted by many other folks; rare is the day when these birds don’t see some pressure. Many come close, but few realize just how close they really are to the secret. Wood blindness I guess, but they fail to look at the big picture and then the minute detail of it all. Open your eyes and the secret is plain to see.

Our hunt began with a pre dawn set up ¼ mile from the field. Our tactic was to stay out of the direct action long enough to get an audio education of how we should approach. Like clockwork the toms sounded off through the swamp bottom, letting us know that the killing field was the right place to be. We broke camp and moved into well known areas and made our presentation.

Clucks, purrs, cackles , leaf scratching, fly ups, fly downs, anything is fair and the more the merrier. Our intent. To sound like the mother lode of hens heading into the killing field. With our first calls out, the phone began to ring, on the line, Mr. Tom asking for directions. We obliged with more cutting, cackling, and sweet sexy yelps. Before long the phone was ringing off the hook, seven to ten toms were tripping over themselves to come on over. The combination of widowmaker cutts, shipwreck cackles, and a double suicide clucks made for a combination that was too much, the line was busy!

How do you set up when multiple toms are coming from multiple directions? You make a stand, just like Ol’ Custer and prepare to fight them off. Circle the wagons boys this is it ! Set up in a natural pinch point in the field, we stated our case and watched eagerly past our dekes for any sign of approaching toms. The hens came first, leading the way and investigating this new flock of intruders. Then, one by one toms poured into the field from various directions. A total of seven toms entered the killing field in a three minute period, all were closing.

Calling procedure was backed off to cluck, purr, and scratch only, we love to see a tom strut but experience tells us now is the time for closing calls only. The wait and subdued calling was short lived. Five toms all in a row half strutted into the dekes and it was with no hesitation our gunner laid down two toms. 39 lbs. of gobbler flopping and another 55 lb. or so taking off , what a sight!

Jeff Lee with a double suicide.

Normally this would be enough for a great turkey tale, but in this case it was just the beginning. The total take from the killing fields in 2002 in 7 hunts 6 gobblers and 5 misses ( two by my son and 3 by another hunter who wishes to remain anonymous). That’s 11 toms shot at in one 10 acre patch of woods in 7 days. What’s the draw?

All right here’s why the killing field works, and honestly it's nothing special, it happens everywhere turkeys live.

The field is surrounded by three types of habitat:

Planted Pines
White Oak flats
Unhuntable swamp bottom
There are many uses for each habitat throughout the day and entire breeding season for the turkeys.

White Oaks for feed and loafing areas
Pines for nesting cover and hen roosting
Swamp for cool mid day haunts security and roosting
Throw a wide open field for dusting and displaying smack in the middle of it all now. Are we getting the picture?

Let's put a magnifying glass on it, ah ha you can see it all at the same time even when we look at it ten acres at a time. That’s the secret...it's a micro habitat that provides every possible need a turkey could have all in a ten acre piece of dirt.

The killing field is in essence a turkey haven smack dab in the middle of 3400 acres that are infested with turkey. Without a doubt these features exist in other places on the 3400 acres we were hunting. The difference though is clear, it has everything to offer in a small package which bottles the toms and focuses their travel through the area daily.

Do you have a scene like this in your neighborhood? My bet is you do, you just have to find it. What you are looking for is roosting, feeding, nesting , strutting, and loafing areas all in one small package. Certainly if you have turkeys you have pieces of this recipe scattered all over your lands but where do they all meet. It is this point where the killing fields begin and end.

A footnote: I recently hunted a tom I dubbed the elevator in Western NY. This tom had the perfect set up with all of the ingredients present for a killing field. Amazingly enough and despite the total dominance of this tom, four other toms who were not getting any breeding time in refused to head to greener pastures. With this information in hand, the tom was rolled on the last day of the season by a good friend of mine, in his own little 10 acre killing field. That is another story to be told by the lucky man that broke the elevator and squished the worm (way to go Craig!). My bet next year there will be another right there testing his luck in these new found killing fields of western NY.

[freedomrules3]

Problem isnt seeing the birds or being on them, they havent left. they just wont come off the private land in one spot, one that i think is a good bird has a 6th and 7th sense about his surroundings and is very henned up, i can see him every time im out there. another where i have seen several 2 year olds and have been literally chasing one i think is a very good bird by his actions. he gobbles alot nice long deep ones but i can only move up so close on him and with the leaves coming on strong now it is hard to see. i could have killed 4 birds by now, i'm just looking for tomzilla . I know the one spot there is at least 2 in this catagory , betting the other 3 spots i see birds regular have at least 1 good one each.

sc i am in the woods just happens i like woods where on at least one side is a field. they tend to roost around the edges of the fields here. they just havent been appearing in them for some reason or another. farmers have been doing lots of work lately, they are running late this year due to the rainy early season. weather may have something to do here , its been way cooler than normal.
nice read hat