I heard 2 gobbles way off in the distance last friday morning, and that's all I haver heard all turkey season. No response to a single call with a call back. But I have more guys hunting them this season, so that could be it too.

Patience. Patience has killed more gobblers than any turkey call ever thought about. If you really want to know how to hunt silent gobblers there are two main methods.

1. Slip around edges, cutovers, greenfields, pastures, etc, and see them before they see you. Use terrain and land features to get in front of them and wait them out. This is pretty much a straight bushwhack scenario but you can still be proud of him because you put in the work. Walk all day and put in your miles and you will find birds.

2. Go sit in an area that you know turkeys frequent and listen. I don't mean just sit there playing on your phone or trying not to doze off, but really listen. Listen for drumming, or a loudmouth hen clucking. I've killed a lot of turkeys because his loudmouthed girlfriend wouldn't keep her mouth shut while he was smart enough to keep that beak closed. My eyesight isn't much anymore, but I can hear one if he makes the slightest noise and is under 50 yards. If you can move on him without getting busted then do what you gotta do. A lot of people equate this to "deer hunting" them but I call it being a woodsman. Anyone can call one in on any given day and I've seen 5 year olds with box calls call the right gobbler in on a morning when he just wanted to commit suicide. If you can kill them when they aren't gobbling by using your skills and woodmanship then you are a complete turkey hunter. I can already hear the "If they don't fly down and come right to me I'm not interested" guys scoffing right now and so be it. While you are sitting on the couch watching Cops or cutting your grass or whatever, I'm killing turkeys. For the record every turkey I killed this year was called in so I didn't have to resort to those methods..... but I would have if it was necessary. I'm there to kill turkeys not just hear them gobble.

Good thing I haven't taken my boots off yet. Getting thick in here!

Thank you all for the great information and I'm not throwing, in the towel.

Thank you all for the great information and I'm not throwing, in the towel.

get Tom Kelly’s book & read his story on killing that 5 year old bird - his technique is how you win against the tough ones
personally i love killing silent gobblers - it’s quite satisfying to see the “oh 💩” look on his face when he realizes he’s lost the battle

get Tom Kelly’s book & read his story on killing that 5 year old bird - his technique is how you win against the tough ones
personally i love killing silent gobblers - it’s quite satisfying to see the “oh 💩” look on his face when he realizes he’s lost the battle

Those were always my favorites back when I really got after them. I’ve often said I’ve killed almost as many that don’t gobble as did. They usually would wither cluck or yelp once no more than twice “if” they made any sounds.

The best always took a lot of going out of my way so they didn’t know I was there.
Another thing was to find fresh sign and just listen. Don’t try and strike bird just listen. Listen for walking, soft purrs and clucks etc…. The drumming for sure is a good one. The first time I heard it I had no clue whet was happening. I was sitting on a log smoking a cig after coming back out of a deep hollow at wolf creek. Not knowing I turned to here all heck break loose and they were gone. I’ve not forgotten that sound though.

4 years in and I've yet to hear drumming. I've seen several Toms now but have yet to hear one drum. Wondering if I can hear that frequency.