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azhunter85

turkeys not fired up???

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been scouting alot lately and seeing alot of birds, im getting the impression the "rut" is over. no gobbles barely any strutting activity and toms with toms only, a couple toms with hens but not many, anyone else seeing this??

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Don’t worry it’s not over. It doesn’t end until the last week or two of May when all the hens start sitting on their clutch of eggs. The weather might affect their daily calling excitement but the breeding and egg laying is determined by daylight hours and not the weather. In many different years of hunting and weather it doesn’t matter if there is still snow or if it is dusty dry and hot and not a drop of water anywhere they start and end there cycle around the same time each year. Keep at it and good luck.

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Thx for the encouragement! Went out tonight and saw more toms alone and some strutting action, no talking... One more week and hopefully be posting some results!

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2 years ago, they were gobbling like mad 2 days before the end of the second season, three weeks into May! You just never know!

 

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had gobbling at 1:00 pm yesterday, more gobbling at 2:30.... saw 2 strutters with hens at 5:30 saw a strutter with hens at 6:00 saw a strutter with hens at 6:45....

today strutter with hens, called in the 2 year old "satellite" bird at 6:00 am. at 9:30 strutter with a dozen hens and called in the 2 year old "satillite" ..... 10:00 strutter with 3 hens..... 1:00 stutter with a hen and he rode in the back of the truck with us.... it is far from over...... IMO

good luck

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Saw a group of Gould toms yesterday. Four or five jakes and a couple of more mature birds. The most mature was making the other toms keep their distance. The largest of the group responded to calls by gobbling after most every call.

Should be a great week for calling!

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Took my son up to 4A for the youth hunt this weekend. Due to school and work schedule, we could not go up until Saturday afternoon. One afternoon and one morning was all the time we would get to chase turkeys; To make it even more challenging, I haven't hunted turkeys in 4A since 1983. I hoped we would get lucky, but was prepared to see nothing and hear nothing. Saturday afternoon we came across a hen who led us to the general roost area. My son and I walked the entire area and noticed lots of tracks...old and new. We got a couple of gobbles just before sunset, but not enough to know exactly where they roosted.

 

We returned to the same spot this morning (Sunday). We got there a little later than I had planned. It was already legal shooting light. Within 5 minutes of leaving the truck, we had toms gobbling. We moved in their direction and them picked a spot behind a fallen tree to set up our camo netting. We spent the next 30 minutes talking back and forth with the toms. There were at least 3 toms and they were very receptive to my calls. They pretty much stayed put, then moved to our left. Then they moved in close...within 75 yards but we couldn't see them. Then they went silent. I think they heard or saw us somehow. We tried to move in front of them and set up our decoys. They answered a couple of times but had no intentions on coming our way. We moved one more time. We sat down and waited. After 20 minutes had passed, a lone gobble came out of the blue. He answered twice but then shut up. As we drove out, we came across another hen feeding on the new grass.

 

My son was thrilled with the gobbling. He had a blast. But I can't tell if the toms are done with the rut or just beginning.

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Got out yesterday, I Must be crazy cause we parked the truck and we hiked into the canyon the birds roost and pitch down in. i like to park and walk in so you dont bugger the birds, am i crazy?? We sat in the dark listening to gobbles, ready to get some video and more knowledge of their mornings. its not even time to hunt and im already frustrated to the max with other hunters, another hunter scouting drives right to where the birds are roosted and starts clucking, best part is the birds shut up and only gobbled to the sound of his truck starting!! He continued down the canyon driving and calling! I was pretty pissed cause I'm sure ill have to deal with it come Friday. The birds pitched out and went up the canyon and over the top something they have never done in the last two months of scouting. Anyways we climbed up on a glass point and glassed four toms at nine o clock in an area i hope no one will go and they were strutting and gobbling, so I'm calming down and not freaking out about them not being fired up now. Good luck to the juniors and bring on the opener for the adults!!

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I have a tag in 24A for May 3 start and we have been out every weekend and every weekend I am finding them. Gobblers 3 of them weekend of 13th by themselves, on the 20th I found 3 about a mile away from other siting and had my call going and was able to call the Hen into 5 feet as she feed around me but the gobblers would not come out from the thicket pines. They would answer just not come in. Hopefully by the 3rd they will be coming in here in 24a.

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