Gobbling....

hawglips

Old Mossy Horns
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'This Turkey Tuesday is about latitudinal variation, or lack thereof, in gobbling activity from one portion of a state to another. With breeding season about to be upon us in many areas, toms are starting to gobble in earnest. Over the upcoming weeks, gobbling activity will ramp up in southern areas which leaves us turkey hunters thinking that birds in one part of a state start gobbling earlier than in other parts. This belief is why some of us suggest that having zones within states open seasons earlier than others is warranted, so that birds don’t “gobble out” before the season opens. The reality is, across the spatial extent of a state the size of Alabama, there is little variation in gobbling activity from north to south. The second image shows weekly gobbling activity collected as part of an ongoing statewide collaborative study where gobbling data are collected from sites distributed throughout the state. As you can see, initial peaks in gobbling activity are identical from the northern and southern sites. After that initial peak, the data track similarly but there are no clear trends based simply on latitude. Rather, gobbling and breeding activities initially ramp up primarily because of changes in photoperiod, and after that initial peak, other factors such as density of toms, hunting pressure, harvest, and hen breeding efforts drive how much gobbling we hear. The take home is, what’s occurring with gobbling and other breeding activities are consistent across hours north or south of a particular location. In other words, how toms are behaving in one area is largely consistent with areas hours away, which is also why we see other aspects of turkey reproduction such as laying and incubation dates be similarly consistent across spaces as large at the state of Alabama. '

-Chamberlain
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Don't know how much gobbling we gonna hear come May. Down here in Florida the best freshwater fishing was 2 weeks ago from what i am hearing. Heard some hens yelping in the morning but no gobbles and no gobblers seen. I always see turkeys down here this week but not a one this time. Very early SPRING. Azaleas are just about done blooming here in Central Florida.
Barely caught any fish so far at Tomoka State Park and here at Fort Wilderness,
Disney World
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
They gonna gobble in May, same as they always do. Weather don’t drive it…
No the weather doesn’t matter because the gobbling gene has been killed out. The ones left know if they gobble either a coyote or a hunter will come and eat them.
 
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Lucky Clucker

Old Mossy Horns
I've seen 17 gobblers this week. One lone gobbler,6 were in a mixed flock of jakes and hens and gobbled good. The others were feeding and couldn't get a.peep out of them. But in years past the 17 th.of March is best gobbling day I've witnessed.
 
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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
This is what lovette williams said about gobbling in 1997- He was a pretty well respected turkey bio.
"It is quite clear to me that gobbling is caused by temperature rather than light. In fact, I dont think light has anything to do with it."
I've learned that any time the weather gets warm for a prolonged period of time turkeys do a lot of gobbling, On more than one occassion I have seen this occur in Early February." He lived in FL.

He is only talking about gobbling not the whole reproductive process.
This is from one of those old school 100 page turkey mags- This one was called Turkey Hunting Strategies. An annual Harris Publication printing.

I learned this am that warm mornings are no given. No roost gobbling for me but one ground gobble at 8:am was all I needed.
I found just enough gobblers to give me fits trying to deal with their henned up silence.
I also found that I never ever want another spring this warm this soon in the Low Country- I forgot IR and actually thought the cold would have kept the mosquitoes from being a factor. I can only hope to find a gobbler as well built as these dinosaur skeeters.
 

30/06

Twelve Pointer
The weather has been a little rough on weekends lately. Heard one gobble 2x last Saturday before the winds started to howl. Ready to head out this morning but doubt I’ll hear much with the rain that blew thru last night
 

SM270

Ten Pointer
Went last Saturday after having multiple toms on camera for several days in a row. Not a peep. Went to a second place about a mile apart. Not a peep, but did see some scratching so it’s a start.
 

GUP

Eight Pointer
Heard nothing this morning. Overcast chilly and rained most of the night. About what I expected. Plenty of sign and a picture from my nephew about a week ago of 20+ birds in a field on the back side of the farm. So I know they’re there. Lockjaw this morning though.
 

Ol Copper

Twelve Pointer
Headed down to the club in SC tomorrow morning. Its been cold every trip so far and roost gobbling has been very sparse.

Gotta figure it out either way, youth season starts Saturday morning and they are not using the property like they were last year at this exact same time. They are there but are across the road on our other property.
Last year was a slam dunk, gonna work for it next week I believe, could be wrong....
 

TurkeyTaco

Four Pointer
Had two shock gobbling to every every nearby crow, and one that was a little more reserved but a very long choppy gobble. Heard the first one at 7:00 am on the dot
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
Headed down to the club in SC tomorrow morning. Its been cold every trip so far and roost gobbling has been very sparse.

Gotta figure it out either way, youth season starts Saturday morning and they are not using the property like they were last year at this exact same time. They are there but are across the road on our other property.
Last year was a slam dunk, gonna work for it next week I believe, could be wrong....
Hopefully wind be calm and we'll be pleasantly surprised in AM
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Headed down to the club in SC tomorrow morning. Its been cold every trip so far and roost gobbling has been very sparse.

Gotta figure it out either way, youth season starts Saturday morning and they are not using the property like they were last year at this exact same time. They are there but are across the road on our other property.
Last year was a slam dunk, gonna work for it next week I believe, could be wrong....
it'll be a breeze next weekend. It may be a tad cool for them in the am. Good Luck..
 

JW1987

Button Buck
I heard one gobble this morning and one about 3:30 this afternoon, only one gobble each time. Way off and with the wind whipping in the hollers it’s hard to pinpoint them. Still have 3 weeks to wait, it’s killing me.
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
The weather has been a little rough on weekends lately. Heard one gobble 2x last Saturday before the winds started to howl. Ready to head out this morning but doubt I’ll hear much with the rain that blew thru last night
@cloningerba and I heard nothing at Lick creek this morning
 

Lucky Clucker

Old Mossy Horns
Going to listen local in the morning as it going to be one of the last day for.me before SC.and youth season in nc. I'm.ready for.some.warmer days and less.rain.
 

JW1987

Button Buck
listening from the porch, I heard nothing. Central NC here. 7 hens in my yard Thursday afternoon though, and the woods are tore up with scratching.
 

Banjognar

Button Buck
23 degrees in WNC this morning...

Haven't heard a gobble yet... Been to my listening spots by 6:15am last two weeks. I found a ton of scratching, scat, and watched a group of 8 or 9 hens feeding about 9:45-10:30 this morning. Not a Jake or Gobbler with them but a good sign.
 

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rodman

Ten Pointer
Went to a place where they have never been other than passing thru. They are not back. Owls and crows all I heard
 

Lucky Clucker

Old Mossy Horns
Not heard or found any sign of a.turkey around my place. I know.they not far away according to.my sons.friend who has.picture of them. Been baiting since deer season ,hopefully they will begin to.disperse soon,seems.like they about 2 weeks behind normal so far.
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
Heard 1 this AM that was so ready he'd flew a big river to come in if I'd just teased him little. Buddybheard another seen couple more in diff area. I ain't where I need be locating but working on it
 
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