Now I've played this game for more years than I can count. But this year is one I just can't figure out..birds are thin. (Winter kill?)..and the birds I do have aren't talking like they should be.(hened up?).. I can't even find them in the pastures now!.,.I think it might be better next week.. I don't know.

All of the above....... Many folks are seeing the same !!!!

Just like the Deer...... Your either on them or your not.

Still beats working.....IMO

He just wants it over with so he can go lay down again..........

Anyway, good luck guys... stay at it.

Lot of gobbling yesterday, not one gobble today. Hard to hunt birds that dont talk. h.h.

Makes it real difficult though if you don't hunt fields where the birds can see a decoy from a hundred plus yards.

Thanks mr. Obvious... gessh. Bones are killing me...

Yea I am wondering the same they just don't really want to talk for some reason. I haven't seen Any strutting or toms with hens kind of odd.

GUNDUDE clean out your pms

Done.

Just sent it to ur email.

same thing here.

KEITH HAS PMS?!?!?!?!?!

Nice jack. Real nice.

It was the exact opposite for us. Heard a total of four gobbles Wednesday, but Thursday they were going crazy and didn't stop until nearly 10. The odd thing for me was that we couldn't find a bird in a field until after 3.

Up in northern Indiana the flocks have separated but I honestly dont think there are many receptive hens around yet. It seems like keying on feeding areas and strutting areas is the ticket right now. It seems like the mature toms are hanging in tight with any receptive hen they can find and pushing the jakes away. Gobbling didn't really begin up here until early this week so I think we are a week or so away from peak gobbling up here. Everything is late this year so it seems.

Guy shot a nice bird this morning on the same place my wife took hers and said they were gobbling big time once the rain stopped.

Our turkeys are deaf-mutes. :rolleyes:

Yeah...I agree with you gundude...but we seem to have a good variety up here in Randolph lately. But I do know that the winter has probably killed a few birds this year...bad thing for us, and the turkeys

I sat from 1 hour before shooting time to noon in Wabash....a heavy frost and no wind early, I thought I would hear something...No gobbles and no gunshots... no nothing....I could see around 500 yds + down the field along the ridge and easily hear any shots a whole lot further and zilch.....I was "miffed" when I didnt see or even hear a bird..... there were a few tracks along the creek however but nothing tangible.... makes one wonder ...

Didnt go today, rain until 10AM, then it got windy. Maybe next week things will pick up. h.h.

Sat from long before sun up to noon today at JP...foggy at sun up, no wind, very nice....didnt hear nothing, no gobbles, no shots ..... at about 10 am I had 7 birds(3 nice toms/4 hens) cross about 250 yds south of me thru a field...I was set up where the old youth camp used to be, it is now area 16(wra)....the Toms perked up when I called to 'em but they wouldnt leave the hens, they heard me for sure.... I waited 45 minutes after they disappeared and circled to the west of where they were heading and reset back up in a wood lot to get out of the high wind.....zilch....glassed one other Tom fanning/strutting in the refuge about 500-600 yds away...by then it was noon and you have to stop at that time and be out of the field by 1pm....try again tomorrow.....weather permitting.... JP has had 17 birds taken so far.... 2 were killed yesterday....

I've been out three times without hearing a single gobble, once in Hoosier nf and twice on a wma in ky. Funny thing was another hunter in the ky wma parking lot told me he heard nine different gobblers the prior morning! Fickle birds. But, the later the season, the better it seems to be getting. And the foliage is really coming on now making movement easier in getting set up.

Got my dog back home and most of my work done. I'm gonna try this crap again in the morning... rough season here for me but I'll stick it out..

Sat at JP for the last day of my 3 day jaunt....set up where I did yesterday... Toms are henned up ! At 6 I heard a faint gobble about 500 yds east of me....in the refuge of course.....at 6:30 I heard a gobble about 300 yds to by back right...I yelped, he gobbled....then went silent... yelped and nothing......didnt hear squat till 7:15, the SOB moved into the refuge....2 toms and 3 hens and of course the toms refuse to leave the hens.....I watched them strut and fan for over an hour...I even belly crawled to set up 2 decoys where they could see 'em as I called.....nope, they aint leaving the hens....they finally went SE across the huge green field and disappeared going up a ridge about 600 yds away... they won......I'll go back to Wabash next week, I'll hunt then pull the blind and call it quits for the spring and go fishing....

Probably DNR's fault there's no birds!!! LOL

Hey Jeff you could reverse your tactics and fish first light until 11 or so and then see if you could call them in later in the day. Or If you can fish a property that you can also hunt it can be pretty effective if you crow call or hen call for locator call once in awhile and load up in crappie or whatever between setups. The hens will wonder off to their nests by then and the gobblers may be more receptive. Just my two cents. I got a buddy I've been on several succesful bass boat hunts with down in Ky on their reservoir wma's. Your awful far north too, it has just been getting good down here now along the Ohio. Hang in there it'll come to ya.

I thought of that for the Wabash lease, but on the State F&W areas you have to stop hunting at noon and be out of the field by 1:00......

Unless you are EDST which is quit at 1:00, be out by 2:00. h.h.

Yep .....

Gotcha. Just a thought. I don't hunt the fwa's........so wasn't aware of that time issue.

I'm getting too old for this crap... :rolleyes:

I think I'm in the early stages of Alzheimer's. I seem to have forgotten everything I have learned about hunting turkeys over the last 25 or 30 years! Rough season to say the least!
My bones are killing me. But I'll hunt on!

Yea, all that sitting, even in a nice padded turkey vest kills my back too .....

two words...Gobbler Lounger

http://www.missouriwhitetails.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11752

I LOVE mine!

I bought the Turkey Thugs chair at WallyWorld for $19.... MUCH more comfortable than ground cushion or vest! Great purchase!

I bought the gobbler lounger and it is pretty nice

Ive got a Primos, and it is nice, its just my back sucks...

I bought the NWTF Turkey Chair and it is way too comfortable. Only problem is it weighty and doesn't fold up like the turkey lounge.

http://www.outdoordealhound.com/p-6347-turkey-chair-mc-wnwtf-logo.aspx

Jack