Fist some background. Here in North Dakota turkey hunting is a fairly recent (12-15 years?) event and populations are nowhere near that of some states and maybe 1/4 of the state has huntable populations. We have to draw for a tag which on average you get once every 3 or 4 years so none of us natives have a lot of turkey hunting experience. The Unit I am currently hunting issued 150 permits for an area of roughly 7000 square miles of mostly flat farmland. needles to say you don't have a lot of competition at hunting spots. The week prior to the opener (which I missed) the birds were bunched up and not responsive to calling. Many people filled on the opener and reports are the birds would come a running without much effort. Weekend two take my son out. birds are still responsive but most are with 2-3 hens but still come in well. Weekend 3 birds are starting to get quiet really have to work to get a response and most birds are alone or with 1 hen. Given I have seen no other hunters in the area am I correct in assuming that most of the birds are bred and the breeding is tapering off?? One thing I did find out is it pays to have more than one call . I was starting with a pushbutton call and switching to the box call with which I could get more volume and definately got more responses. I'm also hunting with a pistol and will not shoot at strutting birds any more. Hard to tell where the body is with all those feathers. Any advice from anyone will be appreciated.
