What to Do When a Turkey Hangs-Up
Walk Off When You Call and Circle the Bird
 Editor’s
Note: You won’t take a proud, mature gobbler with
conventional calling tactics. The se
bronze barons have attitudes. They consider themselves
the finest birds any hen ever has seen. They feel so
sure of their masculinity and superiority that they
believe every hen in the woods will come running to
them. They won’t exert any extra energy to go
to a hen. You also can recognize a proud gobbler by
his extreme caution. A proud gobbler will stop about
50 to 60 yards from where you call, gobble, strut and
drum — but not come any closer. When a tom takes
this position, most hunters say he’s hung-up.
But you can take a bird that acts like this.
When a turkey consistently hangs-up on you, you may
bag him, if you’ll take a friend hunting with
you. If you call the bird in and he hangs-up enough
away from you that he can’t see you when he turns
his back, or if a hill or brush separates you and the
turkey, have your partner walk away from you while calling.
Often the gobbler will think the hen wants to leave
him. He’ll drop his strut and come right to you.
A gobbler gets his feelings hurt when he thinks a hen
has heard and seen him and chooses to walk away from
him, mumbling as  she
goes.
Try another variation on this same theme. When you
hunt by yourself and stand on one side of a hill wi th
a gobbler on the other side of the hill, and the bird
refuses to move toward you, begin to walk laterally
either to the right or the left. Your action will cause
the bird to break his strut and come toward you. When
he does, move back to your original calling position,
and wait for the tom to appear.
With a hung-up gobbler, attempt to sneak away from
him when he doesn’t look your way. Circle around
to the back side of the bird. Take a stand 75- to 100-yards
away from the location from where the turkey has come.
Change calls, and call the bird again. Since the gobbler
will think another hen has come to his calling, he’ll
walk back to the place from where he’s started
gobbling to meet his hen — you.
Tomorrow: Give Him Your All
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