If either of those tactics works, you can set up and try to tempt the bird with regular hen talk. Even if the tom won't come in right then, at least you'll know where he lives, so you can try him another day.

Persistence is, of course, a big part of turkey-hunting success, and so is intimate knowledge of the landscape where the turkeys are living. Even when the toms are mostly silent, you can sometimes put yourself in the right place at the right time -- if you know where the birds are apt to be on a daily basis.

SILENT SURPRISE
A couple of years ago, I heard no turkey sounds at daybreak, so headed for a grassy bench where I knew, from past experience, that the turkeys traveled often. After placing a decoy where it could be seen from a distance in two directions, I sat down in a group of oak trees and made a few yelps with a favorite box call.

At first, all I heard was the sound of a nearby creek. But then there was something else, so faint at first that it seemed imaginary. Straining to listen, I heard the muffled sound again. It sounded like a car starting up far away -- but where I was, it couldn't be. Finally, the light bulb went off, and I came to full alert. Somewhere nearby, a gobbler was strutting without gobbling.

I put down my box call and picked up my shotgun, just in time to notice movement to my right. The tom was spitting and drumming, rapidly closing in on the decoy. He was only 10 paces away when I fired my 12-gauge pump shotgun and anchored him with a 3-inch magnum load of copper-plated No. 5 shot.

Why didn't the tom gobble at least a couple of times while coming to the imitation hen?

There are several possibilities -- the most likely being that it wasn't necessary. After all, the tom could see the decoy, and any real hen could have heard him strutting from 100 yards away.

Gobbling is what turkey hunters live for come spring. But in that case, the spit-and-drum sounds were the only turkey sounds I needed to hear.

Sometimes, an otherwise vocal tom will go silent because of something that happens unexpectedly, even while you're calling to him. Quite often, a hen intercepts the tom before he gets to you and leads him away from what she thinks is another hen, simply because she doesn't want competition.

However, you could be the culprit. If a tom sees you move ever so slightly or hears an odd sound, he might simply make a few alarm putts and depart in haste with his beak closed. The same is true if he encounters another type of predator, like a coyote or bobcat.

A PAUSE FOR A PREDATOR
A friend of mine once watched in awe as a mountain lion came between him and a tom, effectively shutting up both him and the gobbler.

Ten years ago, an eager tom I was working decided to depart, after a hefty black bear came between us. That turkey flew across a canyon and, as far as I know, it never came back.