gobble in the tree but not on the ground-why?

[beyondmyken]

Well, I am hearing birds in the trees.  I have set up within 100 yards of where I think they are roosted (not seeing them).  They seem to gobble alot while up in the tree but I am not hearing any gobbles on the ground.  I have not been calling when I thought they were still in the tree.  Any thoughts on why they seem tight lipped,..er, I mean tight beaked?

[LJOHNS]

Hens! When he hit the ground he probably has hens all around him.  No need to gobble when the girls are in hand.

[alligatordond]

They must have imported some of our Osceolas to the midwest!!! Those tight lipped &6%$#d&* !!

Here I would try a hunt later in the day . Our gobblers seem to move about more and make more noise after they have left their "hens of the evening"

[Bobby Castello]

As mentioned he has hens with him. You might want to try to get a bit closer to where the birds are roosted. Call to the gobbler before he flys down and then hold tight for a few hours. If that gobbler knows there are other hens in the area he will return to them after he gets done with the hens he is with. This has worked for me in the past. You could also try to call the hens he is with to you. They will come to other hens and he will follow. Good Luck!
                       Bobby

[Dave2old]

Yep, good advice up there. I hunt Merriam's mountain birds but believe it's much the same for all breeds. In the evening the toms gobble from the roost and so do the hens, who roost separately. Thus both genders know where the other is. Shortly after dawn the hens fly down first and walk to the tom's tree, as he calls 'em in. So, he flies down to waiting hens and the boss hen leads them all off to breakfast and morning sex. That can take a couple of hours or longer, at which point the hens return to their nest to lay the daily egg, and the toms, like insatiable teenager boys, go looking for more love. While once in a while you find the exception -- a tom who will come off the roost and straight to you -- for sleep lovers with warm wives like me, it's not worth it. Unless your state doesn't allow afternoon hunting, I say sleep in and go about about 8 to 1 or so. I've killed most of my birds midday. If you do go early and talk to a roosted tom, just give a couple of soft yelps. If he answers you, shut up, as it's not natoral for hens to raise hell while the tom is on the tree and it will make him suspicious. If it was easy, it wouldn't be fun! Dave

[Harmless]

Like Dave said, a couple soft yelp while their still on the roost, then quit. I did have some luck calling in the hens after they flew down with some feeding purr's, they brought the tom's with them !

[BigRonHuntAlot]

Hunting pressure also causes the tight-beaked syndrome, not only from humans but from predators as well, especially the coyote around here.