I'm curious as to how many roost them vs just showing up and setting up in the morning? I don't have a lot of access to decent hunting areas so I am pretty limited on where I go. I typically watch fields to try and get a general idea of where they are hanging out and may walk in and sit quietly a couple of mornings prior to my hunt to see if I hear gobbling.
Also, for those that are roosting them, can you explain how you are doing it?
Thanks!
I generally don't bother roosting birds once I'm familiar with an area, but that really depends on how far away the property is.
As for roosting technique, I will hunt until sundown where it's legal and lay out assembly yelps in hopes snagging a bird coming to roost, or at least try to anchor the roost location nearby. If I don't see or hear anything, I will visit a couple of high spots during sunset and fire up some locator calls. Sometimes they gobble after fly up; sometimes they don't.
I will usually try to "put them to bed", I am also locating early AM to make sure they are where I left them. I have been able to learn a bird to the tree he's in, flydown time and which way he likes to go in the morning. I put a lot of time in to "scouting" and leads to a lot of success!
MK M GOBL
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
Quote from: Bowguy on March 31, 2016, 10:49:57 AM
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.
Quote from: MK M GOBL on March 31, 2016, 10:29:18 AM
I will usually try to "put them to bed", I am also locating early AM to make sure they are where I left them. I have been able to learn a bird to the tree he's in, flydown time and which way he likes to go in the morning. I put a lot of time in to "scouting" and leads to a lot of success!
MK M GOBL
Can you explain how you go about roosting them?
Thanks!!!
I have been very fortunate with roosted birds. Both I have killed this year I roosted.
Sent from the Strut Zone
I don't always roost because here in wv evening gobbling is very hit and miss in my area anyways, but when I can I do try and roost birds. Especially if my time is limited a for im hunting a fairly new area. Putting a bird to roost just ups your odds that much more! If I go out of state to hunt and I can I will definitely roost birds! Time is limited on trips and having an idea of where a bird is sleeping make things that much easier in the morning as a starting point.
As far as roosting birds goes I will go out in the evenings and let things settle down, get to a high point where u can hear a lot of ground and where sound will carry well. After sunset I just listen for birds to fly up. Once birds are up and settled on the limb, if they don't gobble on their own I will hit em with an owl hooter, either natural voice hooting or Harrison hootn stick is what I use. If I can get a bird to respond I will then begin to concentrate on him to figure out exactly where he is and formulate a plan to set up close on him in the dark the following morning.
Roosted ain't roasted, but by golly it sure helps!
Quote from: BDeal on March 31, 2016, 11:05:42 AM
Quote from: MK M GOBL on March 31, 2016, 10:29:18 AM
I will usually try to "put them to bed", I am also locating early AM to make sure they are where I left them. I have been able to learn a bird to the tree he's in, flydown time and which way he likes to go in the morning. I put a lot of time in to "scouting" and leads to a lot of success!
MK M GOBL
Can you explain how you go about roosting them?
Thanks!!!
My way of "putting them to bed" consists of some visual, and then I will listen for the sounds of bird moving into the timber. I will wait to see if the tom starts to work his hens to his roost site, I don't want to be so close to where they are going up but with in hearing range. I will use my locator calls once I feel he is up in the tree, I always try to get that last gobble before I'm in the truck... I live in some pretty hilly terrain and have been able to scout this way from a ridge away from their roost site, I have spotted in the tree with the bino's then it's... Back in the morning I am in early and will start with my morning locating. I have used this practice with some great success!
MK M GOBL
I've never successfully roosted a bird or put one to bed, but I usually hunt small properties where the birds don't tend to roost at night. I have access to a larger piece (larger for me anyway) this year so will see if that will change.
On private: I always try and roost, either by glassing them in the evening if they are using fields to get back to woodlots to roost or by getting where I can listen a long way to see if I hear roost gobbles once they are up in (will use crow or owl calls at dusk but never turkey calls).
On public where I'm hunting wayyyy back in I just try and do lots of scouting preseason and nail down their roost site the best I can and be in those areas very very early when hunting.
Like i said in another post I do try and roost if I am able to, if I have properties close, or on the properties I go and hunt before work I definitely try to so that I can try a quick off the roost hunt before work, which has been successful for me several times.
But I also have several properties that are further drives for me that I have hunted for years. I know their roost areas very very well! And on these properties I rarely ever roost birds, but I can guarantee the locations they will be year after year and where I need to be setup. Lots of time scouting and listening really starts to pay off and bring the puzzle together in time.
Quote from: BDeal on March 31, 2016, 09:59:48 AM
I'm curious as to how many roost them vs just showing up and setting up in the morning? I don't have a lot of access to decent hunting areas so I am pretty limited on where I go. I typically watch fields to try and get a general idea of where they are hanging out and may walk in and sit quietly a couple of mornings prior to my hunt to see if I hear gobbling.
Also, for those that are roosting them, can you explain how you are doing it?
Thanks!
I think you are asking about how and when to use a locator call to get birds to gobble on the roost. Use of locator calls to find gobblers is an art unto itself. You have to do it at the right time,...usually fifteen or so minutes after sundown until full darkness sets in, and in the morning from the time you first start seeing light on the eastern horizon until flydown. However, the "right time" can vary with where you are hunting, as can the effectiveness of using locator calls, in general.
As for the type of locator to be used, there are all sorts of opinions as to what works best. Owl calls, crow calls, coyote howlers, gobble tubes, car horns, etc. all have their proponents. Some of those work better in some places than in others. My personal opinion is that it is the volume of the call, and the "abruptness" you present it with, that makes a gobbler shock-gobble at whatever sound you make. A loud, abrupt noise is what spurs most turkeys into gobbling, not any sort of realism you put into the call.
Here's what I recommend you do if you want to determine how effective locator call tactics will work where you hunt: Go out to the area you hunt about sunset; listen for a few minutes quietly to see if any birds gobble on their own; 10-15 minutes after sunset (just about the time the light begins to fade), using whatever sound you can make very loudly and abruptly, just make a quick loud sound,...then listen; wait five more minutes and repeat; wait five more minutes and repeat,...until it is full darkness (from my experiences, most birds gradually will stop responding to locators when it gets totally dark).
You should do this on more than one evening, and in more than one location where you know there are birds roosting. Evening roosting is generally "hit or miss" depending on where you hunt. There are some regions of the country where evening roosting is very effective in locating gobblers,...and there are some regions where it almost never works. You have to find out for yourself.
Morning roosting with locators: I have never hunted anywhere that gobblers would not gobble to locator calls used at the right time in the morning. Starting at the first hint of daylight, again go out to where you want to locate gobblers; sit for a few minutes and listen to see if any birds start up on their own; about the time you can start making out objects (a little bit light, but still pretty dark), start doing the same thing as with evening roosting.
Again, if at all possible, do this where you know there are some birds roosting, regardless of if it is where you hunt or not. Your first attempts at morning roosting are basically to determine when the optimum times for gobblers to start gobbling are. Some birds will start gobbling in response to locators very early (as in the dark),...and some won't gobble until a bit later than that. You have to determine which type you are dealing with so that you know when you need to be using your locators.
You should try using different sounds for locating, but whatever you use, get the loudest call of that type you can find. The loudness of the call is extremely important. A locator has to elicit that "shock response" from a gobbler,...and if the call is not loud enough, it will not shock them into gobbling at it.
Other points to be made: Don't use locators when you don't need to,...or when the circumstances don't call for it. People that hunt small properties and especially ones that they are familiar with, usually don't need locator calls.
Don't overdo your locator call use: gobblers will "adjust" to shock gobbler use. Most will gobble on your first or second "sequence" on the call if you are using it during "prime time". Using a locator over and over again on a bird can cause him to stop responding to it, both in the short term and long term. Don't make a habit of blasting away on your locators just to make a bird gobble so you can listen to it. It's fun to do, but can eventually can get to be counter-productive as to what you are trying to accomplish in locating birds.
I always try to put birds to bed. I know my hunting areas very well but that doesn't mean the birds are always roosted at the same spot. When I have a bird roosted it makes the choice of where to go in the morning a lot easier. Plus, it's good excuse to get out of the house and maybe hear a gobble or two!
I hunt public land in 4 states and know it well. The birds use the same areas year after year so I don't roost to know what tree they are in. I roost to know if a spot is worth hunting. As my buddy says," We can rule something out or we are ready to go."
I've never roosted one.
Always show up in the morning locate one and try to make a move on him.
From a different but related thread:
Quote from: Farmboy27 on March 31, 2016, 03:53:32 PM
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...
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.
I have not roosted a bird in years. I hunt the same areas and know them very well.
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.
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.
Quote from: BDeal on March 31, 2016, 11:04:07 AM
Quote from: Bowguy on March 31, 2016, 10:49:57 AM
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
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
Quote from: Bowguy on April 01, 2016, 11:47:20 AM
Quote from: BDeal on March 31, 2016, 11:04:07 AM
Quote from: Bowguy on March 31, 2016, 10:49:57 AM
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.
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.
Seldom roost them. It's nice when I have the chance. Generally just wait for one to sound off and go from there.
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.
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
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
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.
Quote from: C. Brumfiel on April 20, 2016, 06:44:10 PM
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.
I live in MD now, but when I lived and hunted in NC there was less hunting pressure where I hunted which would allow you to get closer to the roost. In MD, the hunting pressure is higher which is why I have adapted my hunting strategy to trying to catch them on their travels. The guys that I've talked to this week who were hunting the roost tree said that the birds always went away from them off the roost. I haven't shot anything this year yet, but I have gotten very close. I have noticed that each gobbler that I was on was with a hen and every time that I called she led him away from me even though they were heading my direction before I started calling. I may have to adapt my strategy even further.
Work on challenging the hen so that she wants to kick the interloper hen's rear
and he just may follow.
Quote from: C. Brumfiel on April 20, 2016, 09:43:43 PM
I live in MD now, but when I lived and hunted in NC there was less hunting pressure where I hunted which would allow you to get closer to the roost. In MD, the hunting pressure is higher which is why I have adapted my hunting strategy to trying to catch them on their travels. The guys that I've talked to this week who were hunting the roost tree said that the birds always went away from them off the roost. I haven't shot anything this year yet, but I have gotten very close. I have noticed that each gobbler that I was on was with a hen and every time that I called she led him away from me even though they were heading my direction before I started calling. I may have to adapt my strategy even further.
Roost hunting doesn't always mean calling. It sometimes means being so tight to them in the tree that they fly down in gun range and you shoot them within 5 seconds of being on the ground.
Being tight on the roost is NEVER a position of strategic disadvantage. If you kill right at fly down, you've beaten everyone else to the bird and you're on your way to breakfast before 630, if you don't and the bird flies in a different direction, he has now told you where to go to kill him.
In the last week, my brother and I have only killed 5 gobblers (several on public out west, KY and VA). The reason I say this is because you say you haven't converted since Maryland opened on Monday and the hens are taking them away from you.
It's not the roost that is your problem. The issue is you're not tight enough to it to put yourself in the game. Now, I'm not sure if you're hunting western Maryland, the eastern shore around talbot/chestertown or down towards Cambridge or Salisbury but I've hunted all of those areas and still do. 100 yards is 50 yards too far right now and you should strongly be considering gobbling at the gobblers and jake yelping.
Flocks with multiple gobblers and lots of hens are abundant throughout Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky at the moment and you aren't going to call flocks like that long distances under most circumstances.
Either get in tight and be in their back pocket at fly down or wait for them to flydown and then crawl within 55-60 yards and present them with a situation that they can't refuse to investigate.
Thanks for the advice. I've tried challenging the hens and that didn't work either. I haven't tried gobbling at them yet, I'll see if that makes them come in.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 20, 2016, 10:45:47 PM
Quote from: C. Brumfiel on April 20, 2016, 09:43:43 PM
I live in MD now, but when I lived and hunted in NC there was less hunting pressure where I hunted which would allow you to get closer to the roost. In MD, the hunting pressure is higher which is why I have adapted my hunting strategy to trying to catch them on their travels. The guys that I've talked to this week who were hunting the roost tree said that the birds always went away from them off the roost. I haven't shot anything this year yet, but I have gotten very close. I have noticed that each gobbler that I was on was with a hen and every time that I called she led him away from me even though they were heading my direction before I started calling. I may have to adapt my strategy even further.
Roost hunting doesn't always mean calling. It sometimes means being so tight to them in the tree that they fly down in gun range and you shoot them within 5 seconds of being on the ground.
Being tight on the roost is NEVER a position of strategic disadvantage. If you kill right at fly down, you've beaten everyone else to the bird and you're on your way to breakfast before 630, if you don't and the bird flies in a different direction, he has now told you where to go to kill him.
In the last week, my brother and I have only killed 5 gobblers (several on public out west, KY and VA). The reason I say this is because you say you haven't converted since Maryland opened on Monday and the hens are taking them away from you.
It's not the roost that is your problem. The issue is you're not tight enough to it to put yourself in the game. Now, I'm not sure if you're hunting western Maryland, the eastern shore around talbot/chestertown or down towards Cambridge or Salisbury but I've hunted all of those areas and still do. 100 yards is 50 yards too far right now and you should strongly be considering gobbling at the gobblers and jake yelping.
Flocks with multiple gobblers and lots of hens are abundant throughout Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky at the moment and you aren't going to call flocks like that long distances under most circumstances.
Either get in tight and be in their back pocket at fly down or wait for them to flydown and then crawl within 55-60 yards and present them with a situation that they can't refuse to investigate.
There are situations where setting up tight to the roost can be a wrong move. What if a bird is roosted on a ridge top and flys straight to a field at the base of the ridge. You just made a long walk up hill in the dark for nothing. How about a bird that flys off the tree and across a creek 75 yards away. By being in tight you just took yourself out of the game. Or a bird that flys from one ridge point to another across a hollow and suddenly he's 300 yards away? The more I think about, there are plenty of times where it pays to not be set up tight. Scouting will help determine whether a tight setup will be to your advantage. But being in his bedroom isn't always the best option!
I've had them fly straight from the roost across the river. I know that most are a big fan of roost hunting and that I maybe going against the grain, but I can think of more reasons not to hunt the roost. That's just me though.
I go roosting most of the time and at times I can not put one to sleep if my life depended on it. However, I can return to same spot the next morning and walah - he fires off. Go figure.
Quote from: Farmboy27 on April 21, 2016, 07:20:33 PM
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 20, 2016, 10:45:47 PM
Quote from: C. Brumfiel on April 20, 2016, 09:43:43 PM
I live in MD now, but when I lived and hunted in NC there was less hunting pressure where I hunted which would allow you to get closer to the roost. In MD, the hunting pressure is higher which is why I have adapted my hunting strategy to trying to catch them on their travels. The guys that I've talked to this week who were hunting the roost tree said that the birds always went away from them off the roost. I haven't shot anything this year yet, but I have gotten very close. I have noticed that each gobbler that I was on was with a hen and every time that I called she led him away from me even though they were heading my direction before I started calling. I may have to adapt my strategy even further.
Roost hunting doesn't always mean calling. It sometimes means being so tight to them in the tree that they fly down in gun range and you shoot them within 5 seconds of being on the ground.
Being tight on the roost is NEVER a position of strategic disadvantage. If you kill right at fly down, you've beaten everyone else to the bird and you're on your way to breakfast before 630, if you don't and the bird flies in a different direction, he has now told you where to go to kill him.
In the last week, my brother and I have only killed 5 gobblers (several on public out west, KY and VA). The reason I say this is because you say you haven't converted since Maryland opened on Monday and the hens are taking them away from you.
It's not the roost that is your problem. The issue is you're not tight enough to it to put yourself in the game. Now, I'm not sure if you're hunting western Maryland, the eastern shore around talbot/chestertown or down towards Cambridge or Salisbury but I've hunted all of those areas and still do. 100 yards is 50 yards too far right now and you should strongly be considering gobbling at the gobblers and jake yelping.
Flocks with multiple gobblers and lots of hens are abundant throughout Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky at the moment and you aren't going to call flocks like that long distances under most circumstances.
Either get in tight and be in their back pocket at fly down or wait for them to flydown and then crawl within 55-60 yards and present them with a situation that they can't refuse to investigate.
There are situations where setting up tight to the roost can be a wrong move. What if a bird is roosted on a ridge top and flys straight to a field at the base of the ridge. You just made a long walk up hill in the dark for nothing. How about a bird that flys off the tree and across a creek 75 yards away. By being in tight you just took yourself out of the game. Or a bird that flys from one ridge point to another across a hollow and suddenly he's 300 yards away? The more I think about, there are plenty of times where it pays to not be set up tight. Scouting will help determine whether a tight setup will be to your advantage. But being in his bedroom isn't always the best option!
Guiding this morning and the gun went off at 634. Gunner was 60 from the roost and I was 45 behind him.
That makes #6 for the week. Being close to the roost is a dynamic thing. If you're ultralight you don't call until after the bird is on the ground and that's only if he didn't pitch down in gun range.
If he flies away at distance, that's fine, reposition. But this time of the year, the birds have lots of hens and long flights off the roost are the anomaly instead of the norm.
There are far more ups than downs to being tight and being tight to henned up gobblers is the most essential element for success.
I'm not disagreeing that roosting is effective because it is. I'm not saying that I haven't done it because I have. I'm not saying that I won't do it again because I will. But, when there are 10 dudes hunting the same roosted bird, I will get creative and find other means. Now that the first week is over and less hunters will be in the field, I'll give it a shot.
From years of bow hunting for deer in the late afternoon when turkeys fly up, I can only hear them if are within a couple of hundred yards of me and often within seeing distance; therefore, I don't try to roost them since my presence might spook them. Instead, if it's an area which I've hunted before, I basically have a good idea where they will be roosted. If it's an area unfamiliar to me, I try to get to a good listening spot and then head for the gobbler when he sounds off, hopefully while it's still plenty dark. I also know that the first to gobble is not necessarily the only one or the closest, so I may wait for a couple of gobbles to see if another one responds. This happened twice to me this spring and saved me from bumping gobblers that I eventually took after fly down.