I usually go after the same bird no more than once every 3 days. For example, if i hunt him on Monday I will not go back after him until Thursday. 4 years ago I wasted a week of primetime on one bird and never saw him UNTIL the second to the last day of the week I pulled out a box call and hit it twice. 5 minutes later he was standing at a 90 degree angle to my right. Right handed shooter...nothing i could do. He saw something he didn't like and let out a few putts and vanished. ever since then I never go after the same bird more than once in 3 days. I heard that from a guy who is one of the best turkey hunters i know. What do you think?

Many years ago you would hunt a gobbling turkey until you killed him. That might be the only turkey gobbling anywhere. The first spring gobbler I ever killed I hunted him 11 mornings in a row.

That being said, if he keeps gobbling I'll keep hunting until he either quits gobbling or I kill him. I take it personal when I've been after one a couple days in a row, so I'm usually pretty stuborn to leave them. I've had to leave a couple for a few days just to keep my sanity.

I hunted one bird several years back for the whole season and I swear the first half of the next. I finaly took him home after I figured how to get between him and his ladies. After I shot him I was looking back the way he was going and could still see a few hen on the roost. Guess this hen was first in line that day.

I agree with Freddy on this one. I typically stay after a bird that I've located and intend to kill. I think the trick is to be willing to vary your tactics and times that you hunt him, but I typically don't leave the bird totally alone. The more you learn, the better your odds.

Until he's dead or I find greener pastures (several other vocal birds on the next ridge or something like that). Usually until he's dead. Each day you learn something that you can use on him tomorrow. Key is smart hunting, not pressuring him or letting him know he's being hunted.

I won't hound the same bird more than two days in a row. I will give him a break or let someone else try him for a day then go back to him. You can hunt a bird the same way you hunted him a few days ago when he wouldn't even look your way and today he will trip trying to get to you. It's just a matter of catching him in the right mood or the right stage of the breeding cycle. Other times you have to change things up and come at him a different way. You just never know what might work.. that is what I love about this sport..

yup as long as he'll gobble and give me his location i'll figure out his pattern or favored strut zone before long might take me a few days but if he keeps sounding off i'll eventually kill him main thing is i dont rush in i just get a little closer each day will do anything not to spook him

this is excellent information....I don't know why, but this is a question I never thought to ask. I assumed everyone did the same thing, and this was an unwritten rule. I wasted a whole season (probably 10 mornings) on one about 3 years ago....saw him one time. Never pulled the trigger. Things became personal, and I was later told not to hunt the same bird more than once every 3 days. I guess this guy was trying to help me with my sanity!

If you can do THAT, you could stick with him every day all season and have a good chance every hunt. I think that's the real key. Typically, I end up doing something stupid and tipping him off. So, giving it a break lessens the risk of boogering him and putting him off his game I guess. If I feel I've pressed my luck one day, I lay off and let the spot rest for a few.

I hunt him until he's dead. Thats why I never killed one last year until May1. That sucker would gobble like crazy but wouldnt leave his hens. On may 1 I got setup directly across from him on the next ridge and he was gobbling hard. I could hear the hens on the ground calling up a storm. I done a fly down cackle with a glass and mouth call. I cutted, yelp, kee kee for about 5 minutes non stop and he was going ballistic. He went quiet so I quit calling. A crow just happened to fly over and when he gobbled at that he was less than 50 yards. I just got my masked pulled down when I seen him at 25 yards and killed him. 10.5" beard and 1 7/16" hooks. It was all worth it. Just had to change my tactics to alot more aggressive than normal.

I guess one thing that could be added is this. If you are going to hunt him every day you can't get in the rut of doing / trying the same or nearly the same tactics every day. You have to try different things, calls, approaches, times, etc. It's a chess game and you can't make the same moves every time. Also, experience will also tell you if you chase them for enough years that there are birds that you won't kill. You also have to know when to leave a bird and hope to find another one. I had one or two over the years that I wasted a lot of time on. I named one Houdini and one Stonewall. I won't elaborate on either name right here but I learned a lot but never killed either. As far as I know both died of old age. I could've wasted several entire seasons on them. I wasted some but not all.

I saw this somewhere and it rings true for this post I think.

"It takes 3 days to pattern a turkey, but every 2 days he changes his pattern"

It really doesn't happen often in the life of a turkey hunter. But there are a few gobblers we will remember forever. If you kill him or not it is the lessons learned. I stay with them. I agree with Freddy. It is personal. I can remember three. One stands out. He came in silent and caught me three times. By the second weekend of the season I had a plan. He only gobbled three times on the roost. Lynch's Fool Proof answered him with soft yelps and a cluck. Then it went behind my back.
I killed that bird about an hour later sneaking in. Let the next one try that trick. I'm one up.