This Turkey Tuesday is about gobbling activity and how hunting pressure can influence it. As us turkey hunters head afield, we all hope our hunts are full of hard gobbling toms – all things being equal, hearing gobbling is the primary determinant of hunter satisfaction. All turkey hunters know that gobbling activity varies from day to day – some of this is weather driven, whereas some is simply driven by testosterone levels ebbing and flowing in toms from day to day. But ongoing research continues to show that 2 primary factors most influence gobbling activity – hen behaviors and hunting pressure. As hens approach the laying and incubation stages of nesting season, competition increases and toms really increase gobbling activity in response. You can see this relationship in the 2nd image, which shows 10 years of gobbling activity on a nonhunted site – that spike in early April is the peak in laying activity – but as much gobbling occurs after the spike as before it. The 3rd image shows gobbling activity on a lightly hunted site – notice that gobbling persists throughout the hunting season after initially declining as hunting begins. However, the 4th image shows gobbling activity on a heavily hunted site – gobbling activity is lower and steadily decreases after the season opens. The 5th image shows all sites scaled to show average gobbles detected weekly at a single sampling location on each site. On heavily pressured sites, research has shown that not surprisingly, gobbling increases as you escape the crowds and move farther away from access points. The take home is hunting pressure clearly influences gobbling activity, but the degree of influence certainly varies.
Photo of tom Matt Addington
