possible to pull Tom from hen?

[mazzgolf]

OK, someone school me.

I found the roost 2 days ago. First day it was a surprise. I had 2 hen decoys out. They flew off the roost, and the hens and Toms meandered about but never came in close to check out the decoys. One Tom did give them a little look, but turned when left with the real thing. They all walked onto private property onto a field and some woods. I can't set up to where they fly down or go to - no access. I need to call them in.

This morning, I didn't put decoys out, figuring they might be decoy-shy. And I did not call hardly at all. I just put out a few clucks and purrs while they were still on the roost - once I got an answer back, I shut up. They left the roost, but the pattern was the same. Flew down, and walked away to a field that is about 100 yards away (again, on private property - no access for me). There is one nice Tom, 3 jakes, and at least 2 hens in the group - I think more. I did start calling later in the morning, and they ended up coming back later in the morning so I was able to watch them from afar for a good hour. It was interesting - the 3 jakes (Huey, Duey, and Luey) hung out together, slightly away from Big Tom the whole time. Jakes never strutted, even with a hen hanging around. Big Tom would strut every now and again in between feeding.

OK, now the problem I did not know how to solve. Neither the triplets nor Big Tom crossed the property line - it was almost like there was an invisible fence  Big Tom would actually stand in the same spot for like 5 or 10 minutes, walk 10 feet, do the same, strutted every now and then but not alot. Now, I think the reason why they didn't come close is because there was a live hen walking around. But, no matter what I did (gave them the silent treatment, clucked, yelped) they stood their ground and never came in. They eventually walked away with the hen.

How do you get a Tom(s) to come in when there is a live hen around? How do you get the hen to come? I don't think the boys will leave a live hen, so I figured try to call the hen over, but that wasn't working either. I even tried gobble calls, too. I was at a loss. I didn't have any decoys with me - not sure if that hurt me or not (it seemed to hurt me two days ago when the Tom seemed to shy away from coming into decoys that I had put out pre-dawn).

 

[Cousin Brown]

yes but odds are against ya

[vdep217]

Remember when we are calling turkeys we are trying to fight nature.  The hens are supposed to go to the tom

[electricstart]

That Tom with hen might come back after breeding takes place. Got to be patient. 

[Eyesofthewoods]

Just keep at it.  Sometimes they come sometimes they don’t.  If you get out enough there will be a morning where the Tom isn’t right with the hens and he will go looking.

 Another option not a sure solution but worth a shot is to try a Jake decoy with the hen.  Maybe try a breeding hen decoy even.  I’d think that might piss off the big gobbler enough to come check out why this little boy is trying to breed a hen when he’s the king of that area.

 

I think you’re already on a good start by waiting and being patient as well.  

[hendryhill]

Ask the person who owns the private property if you can hunt there?

[mazzgolf]

This is actually the first time I can remember where I had toms and hens together, out of range but with clean line of sight - usually, I don't see them (and they don't see my position) OR I see them but they waltzed into range and I have a shot pretty quickly (or its just Toms without hens, and they are looking for some).

So, the big issue I think I am trying to overcome is there is clean line of sight between me and the birds so they can see my position. I can call, but I just envision the birds looking over and saying, "I hear something, but I don't see any birds over there - IT'S A TRAP!" I dunno - but if a bird can see my position and where the calls are coming from, and they don't see any birds (decoy or otherwise), I have a feeling they will be apprehensive about coming in to investigate.

[Rjtfd]

Get a strutting Jake decoy and use your hen decoy. Try and piss off the hen when they fly down. Once on ground get a little aggressive with some cuts and purrs. Keep those decoys about 25 yards out of line of sight of you. 
Other option is be patient and keep quiet until 10 ish and when he’s done with his hen. Then see if you can pull him away at that point. Still use the strutting or 3/4 strut Jake. You want them both to think there is competition in the neighborhood. 
Good luck and be patient. 

[gobblergetter]

Piss the hen off.

Don't try to  call the tom away from her.....call her in.

Edited May 6, 2023 by gobblergetter

[Russ 11]

What GG said . Piss her off and challenge her and when she comes the Tom will follow .  

[Shug]

You’ll be better off trying to call the hen in and he’ll follow

[VFL]

Whenever she starts calling, I like to cut her off with the same calls she makes

[mazzgolf]

What if the hen is silent? I'm watching this hen today and she's just casually walking and pecking the ground and really not giving the Tom the time of day (the Tom is thinking he's getting lucky, so he's hanging back following her at a distance, but she isn't making any loud sounds). Now, today they were about 100 yards away so maybe I couldn't hear it if she was making low-volume clucks/purrs. But no yelps or things that I heard. Do you still put out yelps and cuts? I purposefully did NOT do that because, again, I was afraid they would look over and not see any birds and think to themselves, "That was a loud sound - but I don't see any birds over there so...HEY! OVER THERE! NICE TRY, MAZZ! WE KNOW YOU ARE OVER THERE! CAN'T FOOL US!"  I'm paraphrasing  

[Rjtfd]

I’d cut and purr and see if you could get her fired up. I’d still put out a strutting Jake and see if it gets him fired up as well. 
I’m sure she may have been soft clucks and purr but 100 yards away you may not hear her. 

[overtimehunter]

If she is vocal mimic her especially on the roost if She tree calls cut her off make her come look for you !   Just know that tree calling can back fire as the Tom may hang in the tree longer.   If she is silent i would try to call from a Hump or Knob they can’t see past without comeing over the hill into range to see the new girl