I had put so much preparation (and MONEY!!) into the private property I just couldn't not hunt it. If I had to do this year over again, I would cut my losses and try some public land a morning or two just to see if there was anything going on. I just kept thinking the luck would change as I've had some lean seasons before but ended up doing good. My best example was the year I went the first 10 mornings of the season and didn't hear a gobble. I ended up killing 4 birds in April that year and it was a great season.
I just didn't have the encounters or the opportunity to kill a bird this year. I've had years where I've worked bird every single day I hunted so years like this are almost more frustrating than fun. I worked 2 birds on the roost and both snubbed me and kept on trucking the other way.
I'm so grateful I got to live to see another spring arrive. I got to hear a few gobbling birds. I got a lot of exercise that's for sure! I'm glad this season is over but like the rest of us, I'll be fired up and ready to chase 'em again March 15, 2017.
Dr. B
Similarly, I was hunting a new place this year, and had seen turkeys during deer season, others had seen turkeys, I kept hoping that something would change, in hindsight I would have tried to hunt public land as well. I was on 2000 acres + or -, had spent the $$ on my membership, prime habitat, and was really surprised not to hear ANY gobbling except for one morning out of 12, and those birds were way off. I heard lots of hens just about every time I hunted...Saturday the 30th I was in the woods well before it started to get light, heard about 6 or 8 hens between daylight and about 10:00 a.m. I tried everything I could think of, owling at daybreak, not owling, calling, not calling, walking and yelping, yelping and staying motionless for a LONG time, nothing. Still considering giving up on this place, very frustrating season.
