2nd Gobbling Peak

[ICDEDTURKES]

Fact or Fiction

[drenalinld]

I always notice gobblers responding better to calling as more hens start sitting on their nests. Some years the gobbling really picks back up and some years I do not notice the increase in gobbling activity but definitely find more gobblers willing to work as the hens stay on their nests.

[ccleroy]

Fact, at least here in the South

[Johndoe]

Met a kid who did some post grad work at Ms State who said the research says Fact. He and some other students went and listened for gobbles for a time and found it to be a truth.

[ArkansasDon]

the past 5 yrs here in Arkansas, our turkey numbers have been on the decline. They've (AF&GC) Arkansas Game & Fish Commission shorten our season. We get a lot of gobbling in the later part of March and round youth season which is the 1st week of April. Our main season starts the 2nd week of April and by the time a few days into the main season the turkeys seem to clam up become tight mouth. now for the 2nd Gobbling Peak, yes its towards the back side of our season end of April, but since AG&FC shorten our season yes.

[ICDEDTURKES]

Met a kid who did some post grad work at Ms State who said the research says Fact. He and some other students went and listened for gobbles for a time and found it to be a truth.

And I guess I could have worded this better than a simple fact or fiction..

It seems as if popular turkey hunting media depicts this magical period in late spring where all hens are nesting. This results in a period where still lovesick gobblers are on every other ridge side gobbling at the top of their lungs and as a result any sound resembling that of a female triggers the gobbler to sprint in for the opportunity to breed..

Additionally biologists and state game agencies tend to agree, thus especially in the south there is a move to move hunting dates back in an effort to give hunters the best opportunity during this magical period.

In theory it does all make perfect sense. But I think we hunt in different times than when this whole breeding cycle thing was discovered. Albeit we all like to cry and whine about having better hunting 2-5- 10 years ago, most of the country has alot more turkeys now. Thus more hens, with more hens equals a longer breeding period, thus gobblers have hens for a longer period. With more hens there is more nest predation. At least in my area, coon hunting was a huge sport when I was 5-6, now no one runs hounds, trapping too is not as popular as once was, plus the rise of the Eastern Coyote.

It used to seem towards late May at the end of our season, you would find lone gobblers pecking grasshoppers out in the field with a drab red head and no interest whatsoever in breeding.. But more and more towards the tail end of season you are finding gobblers with not one hen but 5-6-8 hens, not just in the morning, but all throughout the day. Even in June driving down the road breeding flocks are still prevalent with a gobbler in toe.

I am not complaining about the hens, I would rather hunt birds with hens late in the year than the drab red headed gobbler pecking along in a pasture.. I guess I should have worded, "Do you believe the 2nd gobbling peak is as magical as popular media or wildlife agencies portray."

[guesswho]

"Do you believe the 2nd gobbling peak is as magical as popular media or wildlife agencies portray."

Negative. I hear them banging it from mid February on up into June. Granted, some mornings you may not hear a gobble when you heard almost non stop gobbling the day before and the day after. I don't think any lull in gobbling I encounter is due to most hens being bred. I think it has to do with the fact that dead birds don't gobble. And it takes about twelve months to recover from that lull.

[GobbleNut]

I'm sure biologists that have studied this sort of thing would know for sure, and if they say there is a second peak, I guess I will believe them. I don't get to stay in the woods day after day for the duration of the season, so I couldn't say from personal experience that I have noticed a discernable pattern of increased or decreased gobbling at different points of the breeding season.

From my perspective, there seems to be no rhyme or reason, at times, for an abundance or lack of gobbling in the places that I hunt often enough to make an educated guess on the matter. My theory about it is that I go hunting and if they gobble a lot, I am happy,...and if they don't, I am pissed. Other than that, I have found Ronnie's point about dead birds not gobbling much to be true just about 100% of the time.

[Struttinhusker]

I agree that there are lots of hens that wander around all day dragging around a gobbler or two during most of the season. I don't do as well mid-morning when the hens were said to go to their nests as I used to. I used to see groups of two to four gobblers but now they are usually with a flock of hens. As far as gobbling, they usually gobble from the roost all season if the weather is right but not so much once they hit the ground. I think the patterns have changed in the 15 years I've been hunting turkeys, probably because there are so many hens.

[Turkey Talker]

toms are gonna gobble if they want lovin. When there are no hens left, gobble and find one!

[outlaw]

its a fact here in va in early season they will fire up and then the lull will hit when their with hens .But when they start leaveing them to nest they fire up in later part of season im sure one on here will disagree with that

[hawglips]

I believe the research.

But I also believe increases in human activity does a lot to slow down gobbling.

[drenalinld]

I totally agree gobbling slows down as human activity picks up with hunting season. I also agree a lot of the loud mouthed, gobble-happy birds die first. I think 1/3 of the gobblers are responsible for 2/3 of the gobbling and a good percentage of those don't make it through opening weekend. Dead birds and elevated human activity definitely slow down the gobbling.

That said I have definitely noticed an increase in gobbling from the roost and after fly-down later in the season when many hens are sitting and not just laying. I don't think it is just as simple as a 2nd peak, however. I think hunter activity slows down. Some are tagged out, some give up, and many only get to hunt a few days and the decreased human leads to more gobbling. I also think after some dominant toms have been dead a few days, other subordinate toms start to get more vocal as they move up the chain.

If there are not enough toms in an area compared to hens that second gobbling peak due to hens sitting around the clock may not occur until after season, but I still believe it occurs.

If they would just quit gobbling altogether I could sleep better at night!

[BrentM]

Met a kid who did some post grad work at Ms State who said the research says Fact. He and some other students went and listened for gobbles for a time and found it to be a truth.

And I guess I could have worded this better than a simple fact or fiction..

It seems as if popular turkey hunting media depicts this magical period in late spring where all hens are nesting. This results in a period where still lovesick gobblers are on every other ridge side gobbling at the top of their lungs and as a result any sound resembling that of a female triggers the gobbler to sprint in for the opportunity to breed..

Additionally biologists and state game agencies tend to agree, thus especially in the south there is a move to move hunting dates back in an effort to give hunters the best opportunity during this magical period.

In theory it does all make perfect sense. But I think we hunt in different times than when this whole breeding cycle thing was discovered. Albeit we all like to cry and whine about having better hunting 2-5- 10 years ago, most of the country has alot more turkeys now. Thus more hens, with more hens equals a longer breeding period, thus gobblers have hens for a longer period. With more hens there is more nest predation. At least in my area, coon hunting was a huge sport when I was 5-6, now no one runs hounds, trapping too is not as popular as once was, plus the rise of the Eastern Coyote.

It used to seem towards late May at the end of our season, you would find lone gobblers pecking grasshoppers out in the field with a drab red head and no interest whatsoever in breeding.. But more and more towards the tail end of season you are finding gobblers with not one hen but 5-6-8 hens, not just in the morning, but all throughout the day. Even in June driving down the road breeding flocks are still prevalent with a gobbler in toe.

I am not complaining about the hens, I would rather hunt birds with hens late in the year than the drab red headed gobbler pecking along in a pasture.. I guess I should have worded, "Do you believe the 2nd gobbling peak is as magical as popular media or wildlife agencies portray."

I think you're on to something. Kinda like the "trickle rut" theory with deer. I think it depends alot on the season dates for a particular state too. If the season goes out early, alot of guys are not in the woods to hear the second gobbling peak. Some of the best gobbling I have ever heard here in north Alabama is in the first week of may after the season goes out, and that prettymuch coincides with the time that the majority of hens start becoming unavailable

[gobbler336]

definetly a second peak, without a doubt, infact seems like some of the bigger longer spurred ones are killed late in my book, the thing is though catching it just right, i know here in nc atleast where i hunt that third week can be absolutely dead and then that last week its like someone flipped a switch and birds are firing off in places you never heard one before. found the same thing to be true in fla, sc and pa. and while this is a great thing those, public land birds have heard alot and are not necessarily gonna come running in, but they like to play the game in the late season and it makes for some real fun hunts.