I went turkey hunting for the first time last weekend with no success and I am looking for a little help as some advise as to what I might have been doing wrong. First let me set up the scenario and he techniques I was using. I was in the western part north central Texas about 100 miles west of Dallas hunting Rio Grand Turkeys. The terrain was fairly hilly with thick mesquite tree thickets and the occasional large oak tree with a few open rocky meadows. I started hunting Saturday morning sitting along a small road that I was advised by the person that deer hunts the property the turkeys travel regularly in the fall and winter I stayed there till about 9 am and saw and heard nothing so I decided to do a little calling with some shock calls. I tried a crow, owl and hawk call with no response. Then a train went by on some nearby tracks and blew its horn and two turkeys started to gobble near by so I set up my hen decoy and started to do some yelps with a mouth call. The two gobblers continued to gobble but moved away from where I was. I never saw them but I did try and move around them to cut them off as they were moving away but they stopped gobbling and I lost them. Later that afternoon I was doing a few hen yelps and heard a gobble so again I set up and continued to call but this time the gobbler never came in. He stayed in the thick trees gobbling once about every five minutes until he finally either stopped or moved away. Late in the evening, about 7:30, I saw two hens cross a road about 100 yards in front of me so I decided to follow them at a distance because I figured they were heading to roost. I followed them for about ¼ mile until they headed into a large clump of big oak trees which I figured they were going to spend the night in. The next morning I went to were I last saw the hens go in hopes that maybe a tom was with them or at least they would maybe call one in but neither happened in fact I didn’t even see or hear the hens come out of those trees. So I figured they either didn’t roost in them or moved out without even making a sound. At about 8:30 that morning I started walking around stopping about every 200 yards making some hen yelps and listening. I heard a few hens call back and then finally I heard a gobble at about 9:30. This time I decided I needed a more proactive approach on this one so I continued to call to keep him gobbling and went in after him. As I continued toward him he kept gobbling but was moving away from me the whole time. I would call and he would gobble back and move away I would move forward and the same thing. Every time I would get closer and call he would move away and gobble back. This went on for what seemed like about a half mile until he finally stopped gobbling back and I lost him. I never heard another gobble that day but did hear a few hens yelping everyone in a while.

I don’t know what I was doing wrong if anything or everything, but any advice would be greatly appreciated because I am going to try again this weekend coming up hopefully with yall’s help have better success.

Sounds like you had fun.

The following is probably not true but if I was there this is the lame excuse I would give:

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I went turkey hunting for the first time last weekend with no success and I am looking for a little help as some advise as to what I might have been doing wrong. First let me set up the scenario and he techniques I was using. I was in the western part north central Texas about 100 miles west of Dallas hunting Rio Grand Turkeys. The terrain was fairly hilly with thick mesquite tree thickets and the occasional large oak tree with a few open rocky meadows. I started hunting Saturday morning sitting along a small road that I was advised by the person that deer hunts the property the turkeys travel regularly in the fall and winter

I would never sit in a place in the blind for more than 5 minutes. Turkey hunting is not about ambushing one - its about hunting and fooling them.

If I do not know where the gobblers are I would start with the shock calls - especially the Barred Owl call just before daylite. If no answer I would move 100 yds and do it again. I am the "run and gun" type of turkey hunter and there are some bad things about that such as busting turkeys with all the movement.

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I stayed there till about 9 am

WOW - I admire your patience but never would have done that. You wasted a good part of the prime hunting time.

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and saw and heard nothing so I decided to do a little calling with some shock calls. I tried a crow, owl and hawk call with no response. Then a train went by on some nearby tracks and blew its horn and two turkeys started to gobble near by so I set up my hen decoy and started to do some yelps with a mouth call.

Good move. But how far away would you guess they were? If more than 200 yds I would have moved up to 100 or 150 yds as long as I did not think they would see me.

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The two gobblers continued to gobble but moved away from where I was. I never saw them but I did try and move around them to cut them off

An end run on turkeys is a bad idea 99 percent of the time especially if they are moving. They will see you and go silent as they slink away.

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as they were moving away but they stopped gobbling and I lost them.

They likely called in some hens with their gobbling and moved off with the hens in tow.

If they did not obviously move closer to me as I could hear by their gobbling getting closer I would have switched to a cackle.

If that did not get them coming I would try the "put" call to try to get the hens in to me. They will come in to "rescue" one of their lost friends. The gobblers will follow them in. This is usually pretty easily done.

The problem with this is that you run a great risk of the hens seeing you and scraming with the gobblers right behind them. Nevertheless, a high percentage of the time the gobblers are close behind them and you can get a shot if you are ready and have the gun pointed at them.

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Late in the evening, about 7:30, I saw two hens cross a road about 100 yards in front of me so I decided to follow them at a distance because I figured they were heading to roost.

Not a bad idea at all as long as they did not see you. If you seen them they seen you too.

At roosting time, I like to give a soft "tree call" until you hear a gobble and then you have the gobbler located.

If that doesn't get a gobble try the barred owl call. You need to find the gobbler.

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I followed them for about ¼ mile until they headed into a large clump of big oak trees which I figured they were going to spend the night in. The next morning I went to were I last saw the hens go in hopes that maybe a tom was with them or at least they would maybe call one in but neither happened in fact I didn’t even see or hear the hens come out of those trees. So I figured they either didn’t roost in them or moved out without even making a sound.

Lots of possible explanations here - If the hens are nesting they may not have flown up at all or they could have just glided out silently or they may have moved off further before flying up etc.etc. It was a good idea that you had though. Sometimes good turkey hunting ideas just dont work out.

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At about 8:30 that morning I started walking around stopping about every 200 yards making some hen yelps and listening.

Now we are talking!!! but you should have started that about 20 minutes after daybreak not 8:30.

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I heard a few hens call back and then finally I heard a gobble at about 9:30. This time I decided I needed a more proactive approach on this one so I continued to call to keep him gobbling and went in after him. As I continued toward him he kept gobbling but was moving away from me the whole time. I would call and he would gobble back and move away I would move forward and the same thing. Every time I would get closer and call he would move away and gobble back. This went on for what seemed like about a half mile until he finally stopped gobbling back and I lost him. I never heard another gobble that day but did hear a few hens yelping everyone in a while.

Strictly a guess here but I suspect he saw or heard you. He had hens near him and he wanted to move away from you but wanted the hens to come with him so he was gobbling to keep them moving along.

The other possibility is that he was moving with a couple hens and it sounded to him like you (another hen to him) were coming to him so he just kept moving with them.

All in all don't change your tactics much. You have the right instincts but may need a little more experience and turkeys will give anyone a good dose of that.

It sounds to me like the hens are actively coming to the gobblers right now where you are hunting. You are going to have a tough time getting the gobbler to come to you because the hens are going in to him when he gobbles. I would seriously concentrate on calling in the hens with the "put" call. A slate is good for that and you can do a whine with it too.

A week or so from now those hens will be on the nest and the old gobblers will come running to you right off the bat. For now you will have to call in the hens or get between them and the gobbler without being seen or heard.

Of course all the above is total speculation by someone who has been made a fool of more times than he fooled the turkey. Turkeys can leave anyone scratching their head but they are hunting in its purist form.

Post a picture of that big tom.

IMO you have hens around. It will take a miracle to pull a gobbler away from them.

You may be calling too much. Also try changing calls.

Thanks for the advise guys and hopefully I will get back after them this weekend and have a pic to post.

Turkey hunting is really hard. You chase them all over the place, they laugh at you as they are walking away the the girls.

You act like the turkey version of Cindy Garrison and they still walk away!

Then one day you choke on your call, make some god awful noise and he comes running like he has a death wish.

Keep at it, it might take a year or two and you will connect. In the mean time try to learn why they did what they did, and how to use it the next time.

Run and Gun works at times, sitting still for 2 or 3 hours works others. One good lesson I have learned is one answers you within say 150 yds max and then walks off stay put for a while. He will service his lady friend and then most of the time he will come looking for you.

One thing is certain, when you call if one is around he now knows exactly where you are. And he will remember it for a long time.

Getting kind of carried away since opening day is Saturday here in PA.

Dulcinea

One other item. If you ever watch barnyard chickens, all of them will make whoppee! But only a few will actually set. Turkeys are the same way, only a few hens will sit. There will always be hens around. Do not let the presence of hens discourage you, but use them to get to the guys if you can.

D

Damn hens screwed me up yesterday when I had a hard gobbling tom coming in. She started giving us all kinds of hell when we called. I think the tom found her and headed off. Well at least we had one gobbler down on opening morning. Had sme 4-5 inch bearded jakes come in to about 50 yards but they didn't like our decoys and moved on. On opening day though we had 3 gobblers run and I mean run in and try to beat up our jake strutter decoy. Alas I didnt have a good shot and my brother-in-law took a nice bird.

I went after back after those dang birds again yesterday and now I have another question. How sensitive to the weather are turkey? I got to the hunting area about 45 minutes before sunrise and the weather was anything from what I would call ideal. It was sprinkling off and on all day with a steady 20 mph wind with gust that were probably close to 30 or 40. I figured though I am here and I couldn’t think of nothing that I would rather be doing than spending a day in the field so I started again with the locator calls. I figured with the wind it was going to be tough for them to hear me and me to hear them so I would only walk about 100 yards at a time before I would call. I did this all morning with no response so I decided that I would go to an area that I had seen with a lot of tracks and several areas that it looked like they had been dusting themselves and sit and take a break for a while. I stayed there for about 3 hours and saw or heard nothing so I decided it was time to get moving again. I went back to the call and move technique till about 2 in the afternoon until I ran into an area that it was obvious they had been strutting (lots of foot prints and drag marks in the sand from the wings) and set up there for the afternoon with the decoy. I was there for about an hour when the sun finally broke through the clouds and I heard a gobble in the distance so I decided to sound back at him with my shaker gobble and he replied but was moving away so I got up and tried to head him of figuring he was with hen but he went silent and I lost him. That was the last and only one I heard all day and I am blaming the weather for it. I have also decided that I completely hate turkeys with a passion now and I can’t wait to go after them again.

The wind will cause them to not move around as much as normal.

I had the same problem this weekend out on a local farm. They either could not hear me or else were not in the mood to move much.

I moved a lot and eventually bumped into a gaggle with a gobbler in tow. I was hunting with my run-and-gun 410 single shot and he would not come close enough. He did not seem to want to move much at all especially after he witnessed my decoy blow over. Ultimately a jake busted me.

On another front there are 17 hens, 4 jakes and one big gobbler behind my office that I watch every day out the window. When its windy they just squat in the leaves or roost on a tree that has fallen over.

I have heard the theory that all the the moving leaves and branches put them on high alert since they depend upon eyesight to detect predators.

Thank goodness the buggers can't smell or they would be impossible to kill.