As the season continues, I'm starting to worry about gobblers being grouped up with hens this weekend and not coming to calls. Just last year this thing happened and the turkeys gobbled but did not come to our set up because they were already with hens. Are there any tactics y'all use to kill these difficult turkeys or do you just wait them out? Thanks!

Do some hen calls and if they are gobblin but staying with the hens, do some hen calls and throw in some gobbles. Make em think jakes are gettin the girl

Try really aggressive cuts and purrs. If there is a dominant hen in there, sometimes she will come investigate and draw the tom with her.

Very seldom does anything work when gobblers are henned up. You can call them off, but it's rare.

Your best bet is to try to work them for a little while, but once you know that it ain't gonna happen, move. Figure out what direction their heading, use the terrain to your advantage and get in front of them. If I can do all of that without spooking them, most of the time I just sit and wait. Calling in that situation can do more harm than good. Plus, if they're coming your way, why mess with a good thing.

My two cents.

Ahhh. The age old question of what to do if the gobblers are henned up (which in our area they are badly right now)….I tend to go back to the cabin and drink heavily but there are some things that you can do.

If you are hunting at sunrise and this is happening then actually going back to the cabin isn’t a bad option. Later in the morning and early afternoon the hens will separate from the gobblers and go to their nest etc. The gobblers will get lonely and start looking for another booty call and they will be much more responsive to calling at this point. I would bet I’ve killed 90% of my birds between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM. After 4:00 PM I’m usually drinking heavily regardless of what the birds are doing.

Another option is if you can hear the hens calling that are with the gobblers then start calling at them. Imitate exactly what they are doing and cut them off aggressively with your calls every time they start calling again. Many times the dominant hen in the group will get so pissed off she will drag the whole group to your set up to kick the Beeach’s arse who is giving her the business. Been successful with this many times. Cut, loud long yelp…whatever they are doing you cut them off and give it right back to them.

You can also try to get in front of the group if you can determine which way they are headed and you know the lay of the land. If successful in getting in front them it is much easier to get them into shotgun range but you will run the risk of bumping them if you don’t know the lay of the land or you are as fat and slow as I am.

Lastly you can sit tight and continue to call and a subordinate bird may work silently into your set up. Just because he’s a subordinate doesn’t necessarily mean he will be a young bird. Many two year old birds are tired of getting their arses kicked trying to score some trim and will often come in silently. I use this tactic quite often as I am usually too hung over to try hump it and get in front of the group.

If all of these fail then fall back to the Drink Heavily suggestion.

Mainly be stubborn and stay out in the field until you find a bird that will play the game.

Good luck.

Hate it when that happens Preston. The older I get the more the "Jakes" seem to win when I go to the local watering hole.

I like the way Smiling Mallard hunts...

And all of this is good advice. Midday is good when the hens lose interest. I have had gobbling work about half the time when they're henned up. It all depends on if you have the dominant tom or group on the line. If so they'll come runnin' a lot of times looking for the intruder. Otherwise you might shut them down. Worth the risk IMO, but it is always the last resort.

Make sure you get covered up good. Those silent toms will bust you if you're not. I like to hunt out of a blind during late morning and afternoon for that exact reason.

This will only last another week or so. The hens will start laying and sitting, then the real fun begins.

Gman

Where do you hunt smiling mallard? Because we hunt in Somerville county. Thanks for the tips! I will be sure to post a picture if I get one. Oh and I can't drive heavily quite yet... This guy is 18 lol

Also do y'all have any tips if I am trying to bag one with my bow? I know of some bow stands on the lease but if we hear them away from those, would you suggest just hiding behind some cover and pull back when they turn around? This is my first year trying to bag one with a bow. Shot them with shotguns plenty of times but not a bow. Thanks

I did this about 10 days ago. That morning a group of Toms flew off the roost and went the opposite direction of me. So, early that evening (about 5:00) I setup about 500 yds from their roost the direction they went in the morning hoping to a) cut then off and get a shot or b) at least know that they are roosting there again. I got them coming back and shot one.

If they have a REAL hen with them I usually call some hoping a subordinate Tom might come in. If that doesn't work, I try another spot or again after lunch.

- thedoveshooter

Just got back from South Texas and the goblers are definitely henned up. Tried aggressive yelping to tick off hens. They came to investigate and Toms were usually 5 yards behind them. Worked out well for me. You may give that a try.

I'm in Brown & Comanche County. And definitely ignore the Drink Heavily suggestion! Truly never a good option

I never pull a gun out during deer season as the bow is weapon of choice but I'm married to the Benelli when it comes to Yard Birds. I have killed several with a bow but it doesn't lend itself to the way I like to hunt. Even though I'm fat and old I like to be highly mobile . When I've hunted with bow I've simply set up a pop up blind in a location I know birds like to hang out, put out a two or three decoy spread with a Jake decoy thrown in and called sparingly until I get a playa. Pretty relaxing way to hunt too if you are worn out. Sit in a comfy chair, play games on your phone, call a little, drink a coke, call a little, Snap chat random chicks, run an arrow thru the big arse gobbler that's suddenly showed up and is breeding his new found foam lover. All fun stuff.

A lot of good advice here. We just got back from youth hunting in Kansas this past weekend. Toms were gobbling but would not leave the hens in the morning. Second day we did exactly what BlakeJ suggested. We found out where they were headed and humped it hard to get around them. It paid off and my nephew got his first Eastern. We did have a Tom come in pretty hot n heavy mid day on Sunday. He knew something was up and my son couldn't quite get a shot on him. We are headed to NM tonight and hoping my son can get his first Merriam.
Good luck all!!

The last 3yrs I have gotten my bird the same way each time they have been hend up . Hunt the roost at fly down if no luck and they walk away. I go to breakfast take a nap about 1 to 2pm I go and call within about a 1/2 hour each time I've had a gobbler slip in quiet and catch a load of sixes. Call me lazy and lucky lol.

This is what I do, in fact I will mimic the hen exactly. Really seems to piss em off and the madder they get the more likely they will come over to see what's up and the gobblers will be behind them. Last weekend I did this and one time last year I got three big birds in close because the hen got so mad she came in and started fighting my decoy. I will also follow birds that won't budge off hens far enough away to not be seen and close enough to be within distance of calling when the hens nest. It may take all day but I don't mind.

Pull out the rifle and shoot him!

@backwoods89 I have done that before but I want to try something new and exciting! Its not that much fun when you have to shoot them with a rifle

Well not only did I get skunked yesterday, but once the turkeys got off the roost they gobbled for probably 30 minutes and then completely stopped and disappeared. It was just weird. Even when they were henned up they would gobble, but I did not find them in fields feeding or anything. Any advice on what happened?

I didn't see but a single hen Saturday. Saw 15 the afternoon before and a few Sunday but Saturday they stayed hidden. Heard gobblers everywhere but no turkeys. They turn on and off.