Tight-mouthed gobblers frustrate turkey hunters each spring, and countless magazine articles have discussed ways to confront them. However, as confounding as silent toms can be, too often it's the real talkative ones that hurt the most.

When it comes to mature gobblers, loud doesn't mean easy. To the contrary, some hunters find that the most vocal turkeys can be the toughest to kill. My friend Ed Rinehart would agree with me on this. He and I spent three days pursuing such a turkey last spring.

We encountered the verbal bird late in the season after hunting pressure silenced other birds in the area. It was midmorning when we first heard him. We stopped the vehicle and intended to hit a crow call but didn't need to. The bird was already gobbling repeatedly.

It took us about 20 minutes to get within calling distance of the talkative gobbler. We hurriedly set up only 150 yards from the bird and sent him a string of the loveliest yelps a turkey would ever want to hear. He gobbled and we sat patiently waiting for his next response. A short time later, he gobbled again from the same location. We called again. This ordeal continued for the next two hours, until legal shooting time ended at noon.

As long as you can stay concealed, don't hesitate to move on a stubborn gobbler. Hearing your calls coming from different locations might give him enough confidence to approach. John Trout, Jr.

Ed went after the bird solo the next day, and it was the same old story. There was no problem with hearing the turkey, no problem with setting up on him and no problem conversing with him. The only problem Ed had was getting the bird within gun range. The turkey came in close but not quite close enough on one occasion, and that's as dramatic as it got.

The following day was the last chance Ed and I could hunt the gobbler. Morning broke in a stiff wind, and we didn't locate the tom right away. An hour after dawn, though, the bird showed up--gobbling at every sound in the woods.

I won't go into all the disheartening details, but we stayed on the gobbler for several hours. We took a coffee break when the bird got bored and left us, but we found him again a short time later and started working him. Twice he came into view, but on both occasions we failed to coax him in those final few yards.

Now that you've heard a sad story about a hunter and a gabby gobbler--and have probably recalled a couple of your own similar tales--you might want to pause and consider what's really going on out there.

OVERCONFIDENCE
It's a fact. Hearing a gobbling turkey instills the confidence that you're on a bird that wants to die. Don't be fooled. I have no idea just how many times Ed's and my turkey gobbled, but I would guess it numbered 300 to 500 times each day. And of course that doesn't include the gobbling he did when we weren't there.

Even when a turkey gobbles back at every type of call you use, try to determine which one he prefers. The right call can make all the difference. John Trout, Jr.

So what does all this gobbling do to the turkey hunter? It usually forces him into calling too much to a turkey that responds to every call--bad ones included. It's great when a bird gobbles each time you yelp, cutt, cluck or even hit a few autumn calls--such as lost hen yelps or the kee-kee. Unfortunately, though, the more calling you do, the more this turkey waits on you to come to him.

A couple of years ago, I bumped into a gabby gobbler and worked him for more than two hours. He never shut up. The ordeal finally ended when I made a move and spooked the gobbler, but I returned a couple of days later and ran into the same turkey. We exchanged conversation for about an hour, then I finally saw his shiny white head behind a logjam 75 yards in front of me. I vowed then not to make another call. Forty-five minutes later, after he gobbled another hundred times, he couldn't take it any more. He came out from behind the fallen timber and walked to within easy gun range.

Calling too much is often the cause of not killing a gabby gobbler, but there is another side of the story. Although the turkey might gobble to nearly every call, you should also determine which calls crank his handle.

David Hale of Knight & Hale Game Calls once told me that you have to take a gobbler's temperature. In other words, you should find out what he likes and dislikes. David wasn't speaking of gabby gobblers per se, but the same theory applies to them. Although they might gobble to every call you give them, they do like some calls better than others.

For instance, consider the nature of a gabby gobbler. He not only gobbles to nearly every call, but he feels compelled to sound off at other sounds as well. He might gobble to the cries of a crow or a blue jay, and he may gobble at thunder or a tree limb falling to the ground. He might even gobble to a distant gunshot.

My point is this: Pay close attention to the calls he likes best. He may gobble once when you yelp three or four times, but he may triple gobble when you purr or, perhaps, send him a string of eight or nine yelps. If you try something that really fires him up, try the same call again if the bird still doesn't come in.

It could also be that the turkey becomes most excited if you call at certain intervals. For example, if you call every five minutes, he may answer each time. If you call every 15 minutes, he may become even more ecstatic. However, if you take his temperature and discover what he likes, only to see it fail, then you can try another tactic.

THE NECESSARY MOVE
Along with the other things it can do to you, consistent gobbling can lull you into thinking you should just sit tight. When a gobbler's overly responsive, a hunter feels inclined to hold tight until the bird comes within view. Keep in mind, though, that the gobbler wants you to come to him.

Just because a turkey is talkative doesn't mean he can be easily coaxed within gun range. Hunters often have to excite the birds before they'll come any closer. John Trout, Jr.

If it's at all possible to maneuver on the bird, try moving to a new location and calling from there. Just as it excites a hunter to hear a gobbler responding from different locations, it probably builds a gobbler's sense of security to converse with a hen that's calling from more than a single location. He knows a hen won't stay in one place for hours.

As for the bird Ed and I worked, I can honestly say that whenever we moved to a new location, we were closest to killing the bird. Each time the turkey came into view, it occurred shortly after we had moved. He seemed seduced by the moves we made, but late on the last day one move cost us. We'd moved about 50 yards, and the bird apparently spotted us. We'd moved because he stayed hung up for nearly an hour, and it had seemed we were at a dead-end road. We'd hoped the move would make the difference, as it almost had on the previous days whenever the bird came into view--but he saw us and was gone.

It was a painful reminder never to move on any turkey that can see you.

As a turkey hunter, one maxim I've come to trust is, "A wise man listens more often than he speaks." There's the constant debate as to whether it's better to call often or call seldom, but I've found that either tactic can work on the right turkey. Some gobblers are attracted to a talkative session, others aren't. When it comes to a gabby gobbler, I use reverse psychology to make the bird sweat.

When you are silent, you make a gabby gobbler confused. He won't know exactly where you are, and he will probably wonder if you are about to leave him. The first time you stop communicating with him probably won't bring him in running, but it will start the ball rolling.

LAST-MINUTE STRATEGY A gabby gobbler will often hang up and refuse to come into gun range. He may gobble consistently as he did previously, or he may gobble less because he has moved closer to you. After hanging up, the bird will often turn and walk away deliberately, sometimes gobbling with every breath. Veteran hunters believe he becomes frustrated because you didn't come to him. However, this sets the stage for you to try one last strategy. Once you know the bird is leaving and cannot see you, stop calling and move away from your setup. Listen closely to the directional travel of the bird (this is often easy because the bird usually talks consistently as he moves away) and circle him quickly. The sooner you get in front of him the better, but make sure you remain hidden while making your move. Once you get in front of him, find a suitable location, get to the ground and call once. Surprisingly, a gabby gobbler may not hesitate to come directly to your call once you are in front of him. The circle you made will boost his confidence, and he will no longer expect you to come to him.

One gabby gobbler I faced in Tennessee many years ago fell victim to just such a tactic. I went silent on him for about 30 minutes, but nothing happened. Then when I finally broke down and called, he gobbled from the same place I'd left him.

I went silent for a second time, and it paid off. About 20 minutes after I shut up, the gobbler couldn't take it any longer and sneaked in looking for me. I dropped the bird to the ground when he was only 17 yards away.

When you stop calling and make a bird sweat, don't expect him to do much talking either. When the woods fall silent, start watching for the bird to sneak in on you. Of course, the gobbler could lose interest when you stop calling and then leave the area. That's the tough part--deciding how long to wait out a suddenly silent gobbler that may or may not still be there.

As hard as it can be to deal with tight-lipped gobblers, vocal birds can present almost as many challenges. The secret is to know that you can in fact work these loudmouths, and it's this confidence that will make all the difference.