Do You Usually Roost Them?

[Tennessee Lead]

I've never roosted one.
Always show up in the morning locate one and try to make a move on him.

[Marc]

From a different but related thread:

For roosting I usually just listen at a likely spot until I know the birds should be in the trees. If I don't hear any fly up then I do the unthinkable, I call with a turkey call!  I give some yelps and cutts and if there is a bird within earshot he'll typically respond.

The evening before, I have no issue using a turkey call to roost birds...  A gobble call, or a hen call.  I try to get to a high area and listen, and if I do not hear them fly up or gobble on their own, I give a call or two on the turkey call... 

Roosting a bird in the morning, I will not use a turkey call if possible.  Owl call is my favorite (bit I have had minimal success).  There are a lot of real crows and ravens in the area, and never heard a bird respond to one.

Now, if I set up in the morning, and have not heard a gobble, I am not afraid to move closer to that bird after doing my normal early morning tree yelp...

[mikejd]

When I turkey hunt I go away to my camp for 10 days at a time. While I am there I go out every nite. Honestly I have not had a bird gobble at night in at least 10 years. Years ago I would hear them every night. Cant really say what the change is but whatver it is I will keep at it.

[WildTigerTrout]

I have not roosted a bird in years. I hunt the same areas and know them very well.

[Cutt]

I might try to roost them a couple times a Season, just for the sake of doing something. But for the most part, I don't waste my time trying to roost them, I'd rather just get out early and listen and go from there.

[trkehunr93]

Roosted doesn't always mean roasted but it sure can't hurt anything.  I have had success in roosting turkeys but I don't always have time to put one to bed so I'm 50/50 on it.  Knowing an area you hunt is just as advantageous IMO.

[Bowguy]

Why would you not wanna know exactly where they are n be set up close., if you have limited property n the birds aren't there, Id go elsewhere. Can't have only one spot because of those limitations

I have quite a few spots but almost all of them are hunted heavily and a lot of times the birds are coming from private neighboring property and there just aren't a lot of birds around in general.

Even more reason to roost them. It'd give you a giant advantage to the competition to be very close first light. And if you do it right you can often roost more than one bird in a dif area, not counties mind you but maybe another piece of the property. First light you'd be instantly in the game, if that didn't pan out you would know exactly where another bird was and that'd double your adds. Rest of the guys would wander around hoping to get close to one n you may have already taken em

[OldSchool]

I do quite a bit of roosting. I like to hunt individual birds and in one of my spots, they may be on either side of a road quite a ways apart on any given morning, depending on where his hens want to be. Making sure where a bird is the night before has saved me a long walk and some wasted time more than once.

Bob

[GobbleNut]

Why would you not wanna know exactly where they are n be set up close., if you have limited property n the birds aren't there, Id go elsewhere. Can't have only one spot because of those limitations

I have quite a few spots but almost all of them are hunted heavily and a lot of times the birds are coming from private neighboring property and there just aren't a lot of birds around in general.

Even more reason to roost them. It'd give you a giant advantage to the competition to be very close first light. And if you do it right you can often roost more than one bird in a dif area, not counties mind you but maybe another piece of the property. First light you'd be instantly in the game, if that didn't pan out you would know exactly where another bird was and that'd double your adds. Rest of the guys would wander around hoping to get close to one n you may have already taken em

Right on the money.  There have been more than a few times when I had a bird dead on the ground while some other hunters were just beginning to work in on him after hearing him for the first time right before he met his demise.  And by the same token, there have been an equal number of times that I have been the one to get on a bird too late (someone else got there first) and had to move on to another bird I had roosted in another location. 

[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

Roost them 80% of the time. 

You're behind the power curve when you're waiting for a bird to gobble and then have to devise a killing approach.

[Happy]

Seldom roost them. It's nice when I have the chance. Generally just wait for one to sound off and go from there.

[Cottonmouth]

Generally they don't gobble real good on the roost in the evening here in MS,  but I always try when I can. I want every advantage I can get. Most every bird I have roosted here has died the next morning.  The crazy Midwest birds.....they might fly a mile away sometime during the night. Dangdest thing I've ever seen.

[TauntoHawk]

You want to consistently kill birds, roost em. Kill a majority of my bird early because I knew exactly where they were from the evening before 

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[CMBOSTC]

I hunt public exclusively. The problem with roosting a bird is that everyone and their brother is set-up where the bird is roosted. I know because the owl population goes out the roof during turkey season. Lol! My thought is if you set-up on the roost, you have one shot. If the bird flies off on the other side of the tree you are now chasing him, along with everyone else. My strategy is knowing where they are roosting and waiting for them in a strategic location that I know that they will be coming to and be waiting for them. I will adjust accordingly. I rarely set-up until I know that they are heading my way.

[Farmboy27]

I hunt public exclusively. The problem with roosting a bird is that everyone and their brother is set-up where the bird is roosted. I know because the owl population goes out the roof during turkey season. Lol! My thought is if you set-up on the roost, you have one shot. If the bird flies off on the other side of the tree you are now chasing him, along with everyone else. My strategy is knowing where they are roosting and waiting for them in a strategic location that I know that they will be coming to and be waiting for them. I will adjust accordingly. I rarely set-up until I know that they are heading my way.

I always try to roost birds and get in tight. But in this situation the best and smartest thing to do is exactly what you said (IMO). Wading into the crowd and hoping for the best is not a high percentage strategy. We all have different situations and hunting grounds and we all adapt to them. I was trying to figure out why anyone wouldn't want to roost a bird and get in tight in the morning. This situation is a great reason.