Gobbling activity - 4/12 AM

[Daver]

I was out scouting Saturday AM and was very encouraged by all of the gobbling we heard and birds that we saw while out driving. Well this morning was a near wipeout, as the timber was virtually silent. We only heard sporadic, distant gobbles on the roost, no more than four total. We did get one tom to gobble about 7:45A and about 15 minutes later I drug him past my partner's position and he did tag him, but it was not easy. It felt like we were playing with call shy toms in the fourth season, not the first season.

Informally, we talked with a few other hunters and it seems like other people had the same experience. We were in southern Iowa, near Douds/Selma.

Did anyone else experience such silence this morning? Do you think it is the cold weather or what?

 

[teeroy]

i had 2-3 gobblers yammering behind my house around 8 this morning...maybe they were quiet early in the morning

 

[lxshooter]

yesterday they were gobbling everywhere. Went to our spot this morning and they hardly made a peep.

 

[poncho72]

Well I have pretty much the same report fellas, I heard the gobbling in the roost and when they flew down it was over with for me, only my hard head didn't realize it until 8 hours later! I had one tom in my 5 acre timber. and heard at least 5 more within a half mile.
I dont know if it is the cold weather, but things seem a little out of sorts. I have hunted this spot for years and I have never gone without seeing a turkey while hunting there. It kind of is my " A " spot, you know the one that never fails! This morning they gobbled in the roost and as soon as they flew down they just shut off and went elsewhere. The reason I stayed so long was because I just knew if I got up and started screwing around they would have been there with me not ready. Guess I should have got out of the blind and ran a few laps around the timber....

 

[gds]

Daver,
I had the same results this morning with quiet birds.I think that it had something to do with the cold.
OA

 

[Daver]

For what it is worth, I now have field reports from experienced hunters that had the same thing happen to them this morning in different areas of the state too. One group was near Urbana and had heard them tearing up yesterday and heard nothing this morning. Another group was near Mt. Vernon and heard a bunch of gobbling Saturday AM and then nothing this morning.

Oh well, we'll see how they are tomorrow AM.

 

[KPM]

It was the same way on the western side of the state too. I heard more gobbles from two toms running together after 10:30 than I did all morning. They would gobble everytime I called but I couldn't compete with those 5 hens.

 

[bjkpharmd]

Funny- I'm half deaf & this AM I heard more gobbles than ever on the roost. They were pretty quiet though once they hit the ground. Another hunter was 400 yards or so north & sounded like he filled his tag while they were still in the air it came so quick. Don't know if that early shot quieted them or what. Tagged one about 40 minutes later that only gobbled once.

 

[Liv4Rut]

I always knew turkey and deer have a built in calendar, to know when hunting season opens. just seems like the big bucks show up every night till hunting season opens, and the turkeys go crazy until you actually hunt them : (

 

[Jethro]

This morning was totally different than yesterday. I hit two different spots on the way to work this morning and there was good gobbling at both.

 

[Gundog]

Yesterday, they were gobbling like crazy in the roost and then shut up when they hit the ground. Today they didn't make a sound in the roost but were gobbling quite a bit on the ground. The big boys have all been henned up so far first thing in the mornings and wont acknowledge a call so I am gonna try to go later this morning when the hens go to nest and see what happens. Good luck to you all.

 

[Two Beards]

I didn't get out until 2:30 yesterday, hunted 'til dark, no gobbles. This morning, first gobbles came at 5:45 and kept up pretty good until 7:00. After that, only heard a couple distant gobbles around noon.

Been working on treestands the last month and we've heard tons of gobbling throughout the day. Days like this make me wish I had my trusty Benelli

instead of my Patriot

...

Heading back out tomorrow pm.