When Turkeys Go Silent

Robert WellerHunting Stories & Adventures, Spring Fling

One of the best things about turkey hunting is when the morning silence is broken by the sound of the first Tom gobbling from his roost. For the next several minutes to a couple of hours, the conversation between toms and hens will continue to echo through the woods and surrounding fields. It’s every turkey hunter’s dream to get a tom to hear and respond to the hunter’s calls. In fact, some might say, a turkey hunter’s true measure of success can be from his or her ability to call the turkey to the hunting setup just as much as being able to make the shot when that moment of truth arrives. Now that is not to discount any hunter’s ability or skill. Some hunters may choose to have a friend or perhaps a guide to do the calling for them, which can be more fun than doing it all yourself and hunting alone. 

I have successfully harvested four toms in my life and the most recent one came on Mother’s Day morning, 2025. After getting a couple of doubles with my good friend Andy in the early 2000’s. I ventured out on my own a few times over the years and was eventually successful on May 17, 2015, when I harvested a nice big old tom with my new Remington Versa Max 12 gauge. I really do enjoy turkey hunting, but it seems my life gets so busy in the spring that I just don’t dedicate the time to go anymore. Last year I bought a tag and had every intention of making it out but as usual, life was just too busy. 

This year was different though, as my friend Gary Morgan extended an invitation for me to join him during the 2025 late hunt. So, we decided on a date which just happened to be Mother’s Day weekend. On Friday May 9th I loaded my gear in the truck and headed for Atlanta, Michigan to meet up with Gary. After grabbing a quick bite for supper, we went out to try and put a tom to bed. We didn’t hear any turkeys talking that evening, but we were still confident in the setup we were going to try the next morning. We hit the road Saturday morning, and it was time once again to hopefully put the Versa Max to work. But as we called and moved from setup to setup that morning, the turkeys were not cooperating. We hunted hard all-day Saturday, only stopping for a quick lunch and then right back at it. We covered a lot of ground, but we were both enjoying ourselves. Late Saturday afternoon we stopped at a new setup that looked to have good potential. As we settled ourselves into the blind for the evening we heard our first gobble of the day. We looked at each other with wide eyes as we both pointed in the direction that we thought the gobble came from. For the next couple hours Gary tried an occasional call now and then but even though they sounded like they were getting closer, we never saw a single bird. Sunday morning, we arose and agreed that we should get right back to the blind where we had heard those toms the night before. So, with a cup of coffee in hand, wesettled back into the blind for the morning. Gary made a change to the decoys and removed the tom from the setup leaving a single hen decoy as the bait for any potential future guests. As the darkness faded and the sun began to illuminate the sky, we heard those toms start sounding off. It was a very welcome sound after getting completely skunked the morning before. Gary played it pretty cool with the calls as you can overdo it in the late season if you aren’t careful.

As the morning hours faded away and the turkeys went silent, I could tell Gary was getting a little frustrated. There was no doubt that he was disappointed not to have seen a bird we could harvest. Little did Gary know, I was thoroughly enjoying myself just being out in the blind and spending time with my friend. Around 10 o’clock, the property owner showed up, started his tractor and then his chain saw. He, like so many others, has a mountain of work to do still trying to clean up the mess made by the recent ice storms in northern Michigan. Gary looked at me and with a sigh said, “well this spot is toast”. I smiled and told Gary, “Maybe, but let’s give it until noon, then we can grab some lunch, regroup and figure out what to do for the evening.” Gary nodded and said, “sounds good”. We sat and talked for the next hour or so swapping hunting stories. Gary was in the middle of telling me a story about a bear camp one year when I looked past him and saw a lonely tom just strolling along across the opening to our left. I interrupted Gary by pointing and saying “Tom”. Gary, in disbelief and acting almost as if I were pulling his chain reluctantly, looked out the window and was surprised to see a lonely tom just strolling along. We were both caught a bit off guard and quickly discussed if we should try and close a few windows in the blind or if we should just stay as still as possible. The decision was to stay still and wait. The tom started to strut for a few seconds and then began to advance toward our hen decoy. He seemed a bit reluctant at first but eventually the thought of love won him over and he continued his path. I had my iPhone setup and had planned to film the hunt but with the bird coming from behind us and then swinging around on our left, it made it hard to figure out which window I would end up needing to shoot out of. The thought crossed our minds to move the phone, but I hesitated because I feared our new friend would see the movement or we might accidentally make a noise. So even though I would have loved to have gotten the footage, I opted to concentrate on the shot rather than making things too complicated. I have a Patternmaster Turkey Choke on my Remington Versa Max 12 ga. It has a very tight pattern and as the bird continued to draw closer and closer, the thought kept popping into my mind, don’t let him get too close. Gary had set the decoy about 20 yards straight out in front of us and the tom was just inside of 50 yards. Knowing my equipment, I opted to take him just as he was close to about 35 yards. I ended up leaning over across in front of Gary (sitting to my left) sticking the end of my barrel just outside the blind window and resting on a pair of shooting sticks.

I was rock solid and very confident in my ability to make the shot. I was all lined up and glanced at Gary one more time. He covered his ears as I whispered “I’m going to take him” I touched the trigger and felt the Versa Max shove into my right shoulder as the shot rang out.

WGD hunter Bob Weller w/a successful turkey harvest

I dropped that turkey right in his tracks. I immediately returned the firearm to safety as Gary started to laugh and reached out to shake my hand. “That was awesome!” Gary exclaimed. I felt my nerves let down and began soaking it all in. I had done it, almost 10 years exactly since my last turkey harvest and I had put another tom down. We gathered things as I unloaded my shotgun, and we crawled out of the blind to go have a look. As we approached him, the turkey gave one last flap of his wings and then expired. Gary did a short video interview with me as we continued to laugh and relive the previous couple of minutes. We took some pictures then Gary went for the truck as I finished packing up. Our hunt was over, and I still had enough time to get home and see my wife and our mothers for Mother’s Day. 

WGD guide Gary Morgan along w/hunter Bob Weller

This adventure reminded me of two things. The first of which is, I can’t think of many better ways to spend time with a friend than out in the field hunting or fishing. And second, just because those Toms aren’t talking, doesn’t mean they aren’t out moving. So, if you find yourself in the blind and the turkeys go silent, be patient, be persistent and keep a sharp eye out because a big ol’ Tom could be just around the corner and show up at any moment. 

As always, happy hunting, good luck in the woods, and God Bless!!

Robert Weller
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