I wanted to get some insight as to how everyone sets up on a roosted Tom. Most of the birds I have taken in my life have been between 7:30 and 9:00 am. Yes, I have had some roost to ground, "come right in" encounters, but not as many as most hunters. The ones that I've experienced went like this. I hear a bird gobbling in the dark. I try and get in around 125 yards or so away to set up. I wait and feel him out, no call while dark. If he seems like he's a player, I'll give him a soft tree Yelp as it gets lighter, (not light enough for fly down). If he hammers back, game on. No more calling till I think he's ready to glide down. Once that time hits, I'll do a soft cackle, wing beat, then a landing scratch in the leaves. The times that this played out has worked for out for me. Do you all use different tactics, set closer, call more, call less, etc? Love to get your thoughts on this....
Tom, your approach and routine are similar to mine,...with some variations,...and the results are also pretty consistent. Just enough gobblers come in right off the roost to keep me trying to call them at that time, but more often than not, they have something else in mind. I would say my "killing time" generally runs from about an hour after sunrise to about three hours after sunrise.
Personally, I think those that kill birds consistently right off the roost do so more due to patterning rather than having some magical calling ability or calling routine. More often than not, I am hunting birds that I have either never hunted before or are birds that are not roosting in reliable, traditional roosting sites. In my opinion, in hunting turkeys under those conditions, success rates are going to naturally be lower than hunting birds that someone has patterned and knows pretty well what they normally do when coming off the roost.
I think the main thing to remember about hunting birds on the roost is to try to stick to what is "natural" in the turkey world. Don't do things that are not normal for roosted turkeys and, conversely, stick to things that are normal. Understanding that concept usually takes a bit of experience hunting roosted birds to begin to differentiate between the two extremes.
Of course, there are exceptions. There are no doubt folks who have taken the exact opposite approach to the above who have had success doing so. I would say with a bit of confidence that those exceptions are, indeed, "exceptions rather than the rule".
I'm going to do like you Tom and let him know, hey buddy i'm this sweet hen over here with some soft calling. After he hits the ground and if he continues to go away or acts like he moving away i'm going to hit him with more excited hen calling and then add some Jake and gobbler yelps to the program in hopes this will change his mine and bring him my way .... I agree without knowing his pattern, trying to convince him to change what he's used to doing is usually very unlikely. One thing i don't do is all that Owl screaming and hooting etc just to try and get him to gobble, i want him to do all of that on his own. I feel doing all that usually hooting and screaming is something he usually doesn't hear in his area. I just don't want to give my location away or attract the attention of that kind of nature. I agree the roost kill ratio has very low odds in killing him...
I hunt a farm that turkeys roost on. They actually roost right on the property line. I've set up everywhere from 100+ yards away to 20 yards away (on accident). The turkeys usually take the same path every time which is just on the other side of the line. I will set up on my side and sometimes they come over and sometimes they don't. It's not consistent. The biggest problem I have is there are a ton of hens, so they will usually get in between me and the Tom taking them in the other direction.
In the mountains I'll try and get within about 60-70 yards above him. If you bust him off the roost he'll sail off into the next county and that's it. If I can sneak in on him I'll give a little tree yelp to let him know I'm there. 9 out of 10 times he'll pitch into the hillside right off the branch so at that point he's already facing me. I'll mimic a fly down and it's leaf scratching and soft clucks from there. If he's already got hens that complicates things but doesn't make it impossible.
Great info, I love learning this from all of you......we won't get this info anywhere else, thank you...
If I happen to roost one, which is not often because I don't hang out in the woods late to try, here's what I do. I get in the woods super early, so that I am in my spot, set up and letting the woods calm back down at least a half hour before it starts breaking light on the eastern sky.
I try to get 75 to 125 yards away, and put out a DSD hen. That way when I start doing some tree talking to get his attention, there is also a visual lure IF he can see the decoy from where he's roosted.
Then I soft call just enough to get his attention. Unless there are real hens in the vicinity. Then I try to outcall them, which gets the gobbler fired up and sometimes brings the hens in as well.
With all that said, roost hunts rarely work out in my favor, that's why I don't often bother to try roosting.
In the words of Will Primos, "Roosted ain't roasted."
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Quote from: GobbleNut on January 29, 2023, 09:26:52 AM
I would say my "killing time" generally runs from about an hour after sunrise to about three hours after sunrise.
Agreed
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Quote from: Greg Massey on January 29, 2023, 09:31:55 AM
One thing i don't do is all that Owl screaming and hooting etc just to try and get him to gobble, i want him to do all of that on his own. I feel doing all that usually hooting and screaming is something he usually doesn't hear in his area. I just don't want to give my location away or attract the attention of that kind of nature.
Depends on where you hunt. When I hunted in Florida, and where I hunt in SC and Tennessee, owls are very vocal. I often call owls in with my owl calling, then let them take over. I've found that owl and crow calling is a great way to keep track of a gobbler on the ground as you move towards him.
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Quote from: RutnNStrutn on January 29, 2023, 12:26:19 PM
Quote from: Greg Massey on January 29, 2023, 09:31:55 AM
One thing i don't do is all that Owl screaming and hooting etc just to try and get him to gobble, i want him to do all of that on his own. I feel doing all that usually hooting and screaming is something he usually doesn't hear in his area. I just don't want to give my location away or attract the attention of that kind of nature.
Depends on where you hunt. When I hunted in Florida, and where I hunt in SC and Tennessee, owls are very vocal. I often call owls in with my owl calling, then let them take over. I've found that owl and crow calling is a great way to keep track of a gobbler on the ground as you move towards him.
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I'm talking about of a morning while they are still on the roost ... On up in the day I might use a crow call, but most of the time i use a box call or pot call to try and strike one ... Tactic's change as morning becomes mid - day ....
Play the wind!
Also early season when it's cold their headed for the sun, easy to call em where their already going!
I actually prefer to keep my distance if I'm not familiar with the area, easier to make a move that way.
I used to crowd em and it was either kill em when they hit the ground or your stuck for a while, their pretty ignorant right after fly down!
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I work hard to roost birds the evening before so I have a lot of "off the roost" opportunities each season. As others have indicated, my kill ratio on those opportunities is much lower than one might expect.
If he's largely silent, I'll use an owl call to help get within 100 yards of him. Once in a setup, a single series of soft tree yelps to let him know I'm there. Regardless of his reaction to the tree yelps, I won't call again until I know he's on the ground. I generally don't like hen calling to roosted birds.
If he's gobbling, that will be enough to get me within 100 yards without a locator. In that situation, I stay silent until he hits the ground. How aggressive I call after that is dependent on his reactions.
Another issue to consider is if he's alone or not. If I think he's by himself I try to get close, like within 100 yards as in the scenarios above. But if I think he has hens with him, I'll set up where I have the cover and/or distance to safely get up and move on him.
My hearing has been getting worse for years. I struggle to tell when a gobbler has flown down or if he's still in the tree. That complicates this otherwise solid game plan. :help:
I called to one that I didn't realize was still in the tree. Had my grandson with me and this bird gobbled his head off. Not knowing he was still in the tree I poured the calling on and he liked it. Finally, he came soaring out of a tree right over my grandson's head. I think he saw the boy's tonsils as his mouth was wide open looking up at the bird gliding 15 feet over his head.
I've only had a handful of "off the roost" hunts. Was with my brother on one last season, opening morning. The majority 9 to 1pm.
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A great topic and interesting read.
I've done it multiple ways and I've killed them off the roost by doing different techniques. I judge the bird and if any hens are carrying on.
If I'm hunting property I'm familiar with...I'll get as close as possible..within 100 yards but I know the lay of the land and I'll also know where the roost is. Almost to the exact tree sometimes. If I'm on unfamiliar property I won't attempt to get that close.
I've killed them off the roost with just a few tree yelps, then some clucks and yelps when they flew down. And I've been know to cut loose with some ferocious cutts at them prior to them flying down and keeping that going until they strut on in. Again, I base off it their mood and what else is going on around me. Sometimes if hens are around is just as important to piss them off and watch the lead hen come in looking for a fight. She will bring the gobbler to you.
As most everyone has said tho, killing one right off the roost is rare. It's fun but rare. I've had it happen quite a few times but more often than not...it doesn't. Either way, it's just fun to be out there hearing him gobble. And to me...that's the best part.
I won't ever pass up an opportunity to be out at daylight listening. However, I very seldom roost turkeys, so if I am with 200 yards of him by flydown time, I am good with it. In my neck of the woods, he is gonna have hens almost every time, so I have to play the patient game and get inside his wheelhouse before I can do much. I have killed a few back in the day right off the roost, but unless you are really tight to him, it probably ain't gonna happen. And not to be a better-than-you elitist, something about sneaking in under a roosted gobbler and shooting him as soon as his feet hit the ground doesn't excite me. I want to play the game, and if I am successful, I typically will kill him between 9 and noon.
3 of the 5 birds I saw die last year, were killed within 15 minutes of fly down, 2 of them under 5 minutes of fly down. All 3 of them we setup within 60 yards of them on the limb and got to watch them strut, gobble and drum, right at fly down time hit them with soft tree yelps and shut up. The 2 pitched down and came strutting in, the other actually pitched down and went 100 yards to our right to where a hen was roosted, she got talkative, we got talkative back and her and another hen brought him to 15 yards of the barrel. All 3 hunts were in the woods. The other 2 birds I saw die one was 3:00 in the afternoon in a cut corn field, the other was at 10:00 in the morning after his hens left. I heard him on the limb early and never heard another gobble out of him after fly down until 9:50, he gobbled 200ish yards down the ridge, I moved about 100 yards, yelped couple times and he was in sight strutting in just a minute, watched him for 4-5 minutes before he was in shotgun range.
I wish all hunts were quick off the limb hunts, they sure are exciting! But if I have to spend the day with um I will. Really learned over the last couple years, patience is best way to kill a gobbler.
Fantastic info, thank you.......
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on January 29, 2023, 12:19:45 PM
Quote from: GobbleNut on January 29, 2023, 09:26:52 AM
I would say my "killing time" generally runs from about an hour after sunrise to about three hours after sunrise.
Agreed
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Me too, 90% of mine taken in this time period
I get a bunch closer. I can almost always see them. This video is how I often set. It's filmed with a zoom but I don't often kill em within 15-20 mins daylight. At times they're feet hit the ground and the gun cracks. I don't get much time in the morning with work. Tom I pm you
https://youtu.be/kng-mapqNfA
Quote from: Bowguy on January 30, 2023, 01:42:47 AM
I get a bunch closer. I can almost always see them. This video is how I often set. It's filmed with a zoom but I don't often kill em within 15-20 mins daylight. At times they're feet hit the ground and the gun cracks. I don't get much time in the morning with work. Tom I pm you
https://youtu.be/kng-mapqNfA
Great video Mike, thx for sharing.....
Personally, when I hear a gobbler on the roost, I'll slip in to about 80 to 100 yards of them. I hunt a lot of mountains and like to get up above them on the top. They're typically on the side, down a piece. I wait until it's legal shooting light and throw a few of my regular yelps his way. If he gobbles back at me, I'll typically give a series of 3 or 4 cutts and a couple yelps. If that fires him up, I'll cut him off mid gobble with a couple more cutts, 4 or 5 yelps and I'm done. That typically does the work for me, after fly down if he's coming, I'll cock my head to opposite side of the mountain that he's on and cast a couple yelps over there, sort of over my shoulder, and when he comes looking for that hen he gets some 5's.
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If I can roost a bird and know his flydown pattern, its pretty much like what you have read above. I like to get in close and very early, 75 yards and an hour before flydown. I actually use a goose call to get a shock gobble. Too many people squawking with owl calls and crow calls. I usually put out a hen and jake and try to get at a 45 degree angle from my decoy. Soft tree yelps when he fires up, then go quiet till flydown and give him a flydown cackle and wing beats. Once he flies down, I let him know where I am and then shut up. From there, he dictates the conversation. Roosted aint roasted. Z
Here's another point to make. If for some reason you don't kill him early off the roost hang out in that area or maybe go to another spot and come back to where you were at fly down. It's no guarantee but by mid morning he's probably bred hens and will be by himself and he might come back to where he heard a hen earlier. The biggest issue with this for me is being able to stay put when I could possibly move and strike up another bird. But in a lot of cases he'll come back when his hens leave. Just another approach to roosted birds
Very good points here, thank you
There are several factors that play into my approach in calling too/at a roosted turkey and killing him quick.
What time of the breeding season is it?
Is this 2-3-more roosted 2 year old Tom's?
Is there a couple/flock of hens with this tom?
Jake with the Tom?
Jake's adjacent too the tom?
Best case scenario is 2-3 two year olds first part of season without hens. "Light it up none stop calling" make them holler
2nd, third week of season lone Tom, be adaptable to the tolerance of the Tom and previous pressure. But I will call often and aggressive at this point early to a tom.
3rd if a tom and hens first part of season I will play it light and wait a little, maybe half an hour after fly down start playing rough
Jake's.....if with a tom not a problem, give them the treatment. Adjacent too the tom by a distance over calling "ME" will bring the Jake's in a hurry. You'll be lucky to get the tom dead first before they run him off.
My point, there is not one way. And, "I" do not like to call much at all to a bird on the limb. When he hits the ground I start working .
I have killed some right off the limb, usually third week of season or two, two year olds together and they are racing each other to see who can be the first place loser. When you can make three or four soft clucks and have one land in range you've done well.
I don't like getting within my eyesight of them. This varies, could be three hundred yards, could be 100 yards. But, seldom am I within 100 yards of a roosted turkey. If I can see them, they already seen me most likely. Very few of the turkeys I hunt gobble in the dark, some do, but I haven't been blessed many times with that turkey.
Good luck and write down what the birds teach you.
Great info.....
I will add.....my calling to much is by my perception. I think I call a lot. You hear me and might think I don't call enough, or, am just plan wearing a call out.
That's left up to individual interpretation I guess. I like to call, I'll leave it at that. If not I would just carry a 22-250 and shoot him off the limb and be done with it. There's a pile of them killed in WV ever year like that
I come at this from a different perspective from most who have replied to this post.
For the last 15+ years we have spent a considerable amount of time roosting turkeys the evening before.
In scenarios where I have a roosted gobbler, that turkey dies 70% of the time.
The biggest key in my opinion is being extremely tight. Although terrain and habitat will always make "tight" a relative thing, generally speaking 125 yards isn't even in the right universe. 100 yards is in the wrong area code. 80 and closer is when things start to shift in your favor.
The obvious key to success is leveraging darkness as your primary asset to move in tight. I prefer to be sitting 60-80 yards from the roosted gobbler for at least an hour before light is up especially when I'm moving in on a gobbler on a new piece of ground or area I'm totally unfamiliar with. You want to give yourself plenty of time to move under the cover of darkness which means your alarm needs to go off 2 hours before most turkey hunters are even considering getting out of bed.
The next consideration when you're that tight to a turkey is whether you can see him in the roost or not. Most of the time, especially in the early/mid season, you're going to be looking at the gobbler in the tree. Calling at that point is not an option (if you hunt without decoys) If youve executed your set up correctly, there's a good chance the gobbler flies down inside gun range. If he doesn't fly down within gun range, you're often so tight to him that calling him the final few yards after he flies down is a relatively simple task. Lastly, if for some reason the set up isn't conducive to calling him inside gun range at that point, you're in a superior position to crawl/move to a new location and kill him from there.
There is a large contingent of turkey hunters who will tell you killing turkeys consistently off the roost is a low percentage thing. I'm here to tell you it isn't and I can give you names of a handful of guys who execute with scalpel like precision to carry gobblers out within seconds/minutes of those turkeys hitting the ground.
Quote from: Kyle_Ott on February 03, 2023, 03:21:48 PM
I come at this from a different perspective from most who have replied to this post.
For the last 15+ years we have spent a considerable amount of time roosting turkeys the evening before.
In scenarios where I have a roosted gobbler, that turkey dies 70% of the time.
The biggest key in my opinion is being extremely tight and tight can be relative to terrain and habitat but generally speaking 125 yards isn't even in the right universe. 100 yards is in the wrong area code. 80 and closer is when things start to shift in your favor.
The obvious key to success is leveraging darkness as your primary asset to move in tight. I prefer to be sitting 60-80 yards from the roosted gobbler for at least an hour before light is up especially when I'm moving in on a gobbler on a piece of ground or area I'm totally unfamiliar with. You want to give yourself plenty of time to move under the cover of darkness which means your alarm needs to go off 2 hours before most turkey hunters are even considering getting out of bed.
The next consideration when you're that tight to a turkey is whether you can see him in the roost or not. Most of the time, especially in the early/mid season, you're going to be looking at the gobbler in the tree. Calling at that point is not an option (if you hunt without decoys) If youve executed your set up correctly, there's a good chance the gobbler flies down inside gun range. If he doesn't fly down within gun range, you're often so tight to him that calling him the final few yards after he flies down is a relatively simple task. Lastly, if for some reason the set up isn't conducive to calling him inside gun range at that point, you're often in superior position to crawl/move to a new location and kill him from there.
There is a large contingent of turkey hunters who will tell you killing turkeys consistently off the roost is a low percentage thing. I'm here to tell you it isn't and I can give you names of a handful of guys who execute with scalpel like precision to carry gobblers out within seconds/minutes of those turkeys hitting the ground.
Great info, thx
Quote from: Kyle_Ott on February 03, 2023, 03:21:48 PM
For the last 15+ years we have spent a considerable amount of time roosting turkeys the evening before.
The biggest key in my opinion is being extremely tight. Although terrain and habitat will always make "tight" a relative thing, generally speaking 125 yards isn't even in the right universe. 100 yards is in the wrong area code. 80 and closer is when things start to shift in your favor.
The obvious key to success is leveraging darkness as your primary asset to move in tight. I prefer to be sitting 60-80 yards from the roosted gobbler for at least an hour before light is up especially when I'm moving in on a gobbler on a new piece of ground or area I'm totally unfamiliar with. You want to give yourself plenty of time to move under the cover of darkness which means your alarm needs to go off 2 hours before most turkey hunters are even considering getting out of bed.
The next consideration when you're that tight to a turkey is whether you can see him in the roost or not. Most of the time, especially in the early/mid season, you're going to be looking at the gobbler in the tree. Calling at that point is not an option (if you hunt without decoys) If youve executed your set up correctly, there's a good chance the gobbler flies down inside gun range. If he doesn't fly down within gun range, you're often so tight to him that calling him the final few yards after he flies down is a relatively simple task. Lastly, if for some reason the set up isn't conducive to calling him inside gun range at that point, you're in a superior position to crawl/move to a new location and kill him from there.
Totally agree, Kyle. Give me the circumstances necessary to do what you speak of, and my success rate usually is pretty high. Unfortunately, having hunted turkeys exactly the way you outlined since Day One practically,...that is, evening roosting to locate gobblers with the intention of getting in early and tight,...the problems I have found have been 1) identifying the exact roost location in the evening such that I know exactly where the gobbler is and how close to get, and 2) if not knowing that exact tree, identifying it in the morning before it is light enough for the gobbler/turkeys to see my approach (and as you know, I hunt places where I can get gobblers to let me know where they are when it is still pitch black)
Bottom line is,...ya' gotta know pretty much exactly where a gobbler is for that preferred approach and where I typically have hunted, that is much easier said than done. But like you said, give me those circumstances where I know exactly where a gobbler is on the roost of a morning,...and that bird is, quite often, in pretty big trouble. :icon_thumright:
I love watching them on the limb, I agree that killing them immediately off the roost it is a good plan to be within 80 yards or so.
I quit crowding them when hunting private just to leave them alone at the roost site, however I hunt mostly public the past several years and if I roost one I will be trying to look at his toes in the morning!
Even if you do not kill him you get a heck of a show!
In my experience, a younger bird will fly down and come to some soft calling that he hears while on the roost. An older bird will fly down and go to where he wants to gather his hens rather than come to a call. Thats when you have to call the hens with soft calling and dont get very agressive. Just my experience over the years.
If I can get in to 80 yards and within his most likely route of travel, I'll take it.
My favorite is a ridge point where he almost has no option but to walk towards you.
Quote from: GobbleNut on February 04, 2023, 09:09:40 AM
Quote from: Kyle_Ott on February 03, 2023, 03:21:48 PM
For the last 15+ years we have spent a considerable amount of time roosting turkeys the evening before.
The biggest key in my opinion is being extremely tight. Although terrain and habitat will always make "tight" a relative thing, generally speaking 125 yards isn't even in the right universe. 100 yards is in the wrong area code. 80 and closer is when things start to shift in your favor.
The obvious key to success is leveraging darkness as your primary asset to move in tight. I prefer to be sitting 60-80 yards from the roosted gobbler for at least an hour before light is up especially when I'm moving in on a gobbler on a new piece of ground or area I'm totally unfamiliar with. You want to give yourself plenty of time to move under the cover of darkness which means your alarm needs to go off 2 hours before most turkey hunters are even considering getting out of bed.
The next consideration when you're that tight to a turkey is whether you can see him in the roost or not. Most of the time, especially in the early/mid season, you're going to be looking at the gobbler in the tree. Calling at that point is not an option (if you hunt without decoys) If youve executed your set up correctly, there's a good chance the gobbler flies down inside gun range. If he doesn't fly down within gun range, you're often so tight to him that calling him the final few yards after he flies down is a relatively simple task. Lastly, if for some reason the set up isn't conducive to calling him inside gun range at that point, you're in a superior position to crawl/move to a new location and kill him from there.
Totally agree, Kyle. Give me the circumstances necessary to do what you speak of, and my success rate usually is pretty high. Unfortunately, having hunted turkeys exactly the way you outlined since Day One practically,...that is, evening roosting to locate gobblers with the intention of getting in early and tight,...the problems I have found have been 1) identifying the exact roost location in the evening such that I know exactly where the gobbler is and how close to get, and 2) if not knowing that exact tree, identifying it in the morning before it is light enough for the gobbler/turkeys to see my approach (and as you know, I hunt places where I can get gobblers to let me know where they are when it is still pitch black)
Bottom line is,...ya' gotta know pretty much exactly where a gobbler is for that preferred approach and where I typically have hunted, that is much easier said than done. But like you said, give me those circumstances where I know exactly where a gobbler is on the roost of a morning,...and that bird is, quite often, in pretty big trouble. :icon_thumright:
Good to hear from you, Jim.
I certainly stand by my statement in 99% of scenarios with the exception of your neck of the woods.
Those turkeys were playing by a different set of rules the last time I was out there....
We always told our clients in Nebraska not to get their feelings hurt on a roost hunt, those big flocks have their own agenda and would completely ignore you most of the time.
Same general area around 11am and it's a whole new ball game!
Quote from: Clayback on February 07, 2023, 03:24:03 PM
Get too tight and he sits on the limb waitin to see you. Stay too far and a lot can happen between him and you.
This is the quandary we each have to deal with on roost set-ups. Unless you are hunting a known, traditional roost site, it is often a guess as to what is too far away or what is too close. Many questions go through my mind when deciding what to do in any given roost hunt. Here are a few additional thoughts on the matter....
My first inclination is to get as close as I can to the roost, while still feeling comfortable about not getting busted. Speaking strictly about a situation where I am not familiar with the location a gobbler is roosted, that is generally going to be on the conservative side,...unless I see a clear path to approaching that provides adequate cover. In the country I have mostly hunted, those kinds of circumstances occur pretty rarely.
Although observing turkeys on the roost is an enjoyable experience, I also personally do not really want to be able to see the gobbler (or other turkeys). I want to be as close as possible, but with some obstruction blocking the line of sight between me and the bird. I agree that a direct line-of-sight between me and a gobbler is a recipe for disaster if you are going to call or otherwise imitate turkey roost noises like wing adjustments and such,...sounds that turkeys naturally will make as they begin waking up. Simply stated, I want a gobbler to hear those noises,...but not be able to see the source.
I will admit I'm not much for just shooting a gobbler when he flies out of the tree without doing something that attracts him to my location,...either calling or other "turkey noises". However, I hold no ill will to someone that feels differently about it,...as long as they are not shooting a gobbler off the limb. In addition, I have rarely found myself close enough to a roosted gobbler such that he flew down within shotgun range regardless of how close I managed to get to his roost. Again, in the country I have mostly hunted, I am just not stealthy enough, I suppose, to accomplish that, and quite honestly, I don't really ever try to do that. But again, if others are capable of that on a regular basis, more power to them. :icon_thumright:
If on public land, I'm balls to the walls, full out on-slot. First gobble, I'm running full bore to the tree, limb lift him in the dark, catch him as he falls out, and runn oft back to the truck before other public hunters get there. OK, that's what I feel like doing sometimes on public land. I believe like some others, off the roost is more daily patterns. I've set up where I know he's coming because I've patterned him and don't have to make a call. I've lightly called to some and used my hat to bang against the side of blind to sound like fly down, which works. I've waited for the boss hen to get fired up and go at it with her and she flies to me with him in tow. Don't do much putting to bed, as my scouting weeks before has told me where they usually hang out.
Looking back at the times I set up in the dark on a roosted gobbler, this is my experience. When I got within seeing him fly down, I think I was successful a handful of times. I can remember seeing a good number of them hen up, and walk away. Now, I do not try and "tuck in" too close, what I mean is I stay a couple hundred yards away, give or take. I feel that these boss Tom's know where and what tree their hens roosted in directly around them. Again, this is only my feeling here. When I set up outside their "comfort zone", I can get away with my favorite move, a wing-beat fly down cackle breaking branches. I do this when I feel they see enough to fly down. As I end my "false fly down", I rustle the leaves. I've gotten triple gobbles from this, shortly after, the gobbler, (sometimes with hens) works his way to me within Gun range. This has worked out more than "tucking in" tight for me. Again, I love the fact that everyone has their roosted gobbler move, and from the above responses there is certainly a lot of attack plans that have worked and led to success.....be safe