What would you have done?

[Layne]

Thanks for the replies guys. I like the idea of moving into "his" spot after he left and trying to call him back. That's pretty much basic turkey hunting 101 and it never crossed my mind. I'm going to say it's because it was my first hunt of the year and I'm not in the swing of things yet. Getting on his level would've been awesome, but without crossing property lines it would've been difficult. Maybe not impossible though. As far as getting really aggressive and risking bumping him, I had 2 more days to hunt, there's not a ton of birds around, and I was on a small parcel. We have a couple large parcels in the area but most of the land we can hunt is 80 acres here, 45 acres there, etc.

Moving into his spot can work but from my personal experience it's something that's more likely to work later in the season. If he had hens and I'm sure he did, he's most likely not going to leave them and come back to the skank hollering at him after the fact... With that said, he might come back after the hens he's with have left him but you need more patients than me for that wait.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Thanks for the replies guys. I like the idea of moving into "his" spot after he left and trying to call him back. That's pretty much basic turkey hunting 101 and it never crossed my mind. I'm going to say it's because it was my first hunt of the year and I'm not in the swing of things yet. Getting on his level would've been awesome, but without crossing property lines it would've been difficult. Maybe not impossible though. As far as getting really aggressive and risking bumping him, I had 2 more days to hunt, there's not a ton of birds around, and I was on a small parcel. We have a couple large parcels in the area but most of the land we can hunt is 80 acres here, 45 acres there, etc.

Best of luck. If there were full green forage, that certainly would have been a factor in my aggressiveness also, which I failed to mention above. I love sneaking around in full forage on slightly windy days

 

[Bgoodman30]

2 things happened IMO. You either didn't wait him out long enough to get him curious and frustrated. Honestly when a bird is strutting and gobbling periodically on a hillside I find it usually takes at least an hour for him to give in and come looking. I have waited 2-3 hours for him to finally move. Second he could of had a hang up like an old fence, creek etc.

Everyone always says move but bumping the bird which happens frequently especially if he has the high ground would be the worst outcome here.. Try a new position another day.. Good luck.

 

[Spurhunter]

Second he could of had a hang up like an old fence, creek etc.

I have since checked out the top of that ridge. It's pretty flat on top, and there's a series of steep ravines that were between him and me. Plus, he could see the new cutover from his position. I'm guessing he gobbled up a hen, or maybe saw one in the cutover. Or he might've just been hell bent on going that way. You never know, but it's fun to speculate.

Knowing the terrain better always helps, and would've been huge here. It's a disadvantage when you hunt different places for a few days here, and a few days there. I wish I had been hunting the same farm for years and years and knew every mudhole on it, but that's a thing of the past it seems.