I hunted this morning on a new piece of land and didn't know where to setup and chose the wrong side of a field. I'm going to try the 2 birds again this evening. I know within 50 yards or so which tree they were roosting in. Should I go in and setup about an hour before sundown and just slow call, or what is the best strategy? They actually flew down and crossed a highway about 100 yards from their roost.
I occasionally hunt a roost site if a gobbler has irritated me enough that I have just decided I am going to kill him to put him out of my misery so I can move on with life. ;D
The one common factor I have found with birds using regular roost sites is that when they come to the roost they are aware of every little change in that area. They are usually very wary about anything out of the ordinary. My advice is conceal yourself well and be as inconspicuous as possible.
I don't like hunting a roost site. In my experience if you shoot one or scare them they won't be roosting there anymore.
Quote from: Clydetaylor1 on March 30, 2019, 12:50:31 PM
I don't like hunting a roost site. In my experience if you shoot one or scare them they won't be roosting there anymore.
Maybe very late in the season, but I'm with you, I'd be afraid that they'd leave the property if I scared them roosting near a property line.
The problem is that all too often the gobblers are vagabonds who may be roosting far away the next night. I ran into one a couple of days who failed to come "home" for my next surprise. It happens all too often.
I was listening to a meateater podcast the other day, and Rinella mentioned that he was reading a study that was done in Colorado on Merriams, the percentage of time that a gobbler will roost in the same tree is lower than 20%. On average a gobbler will roost 1000 yards away from where they roosted the night before. I'm sure that would vary depending on the bird or birds, just thought that was an interesting statistic.
In my experience, seeing that your plan is to be about 50 yards from the roost, I'd be there at least 2 hours before sundown. They could be fairly close to where they will be roosting within that last hour of daylight feeding right before they go up. Couple calls here and there to see if one responds and see what happens. Good luck
I wouldn't get too close, as others have said, if you spook them away from a roost it's done for that area for the season. Our birds roost in a general area, but not the same tree nightly. I have watched birds going to roost and they usually hang around within 200-400 yards of the roost within 2-3 hrs of fly up then move to the roost pretty quickly when ready to go up. I usually set up in that 200-300 yard circle and soft call. I have had several bird just show up with no gobbling and others come just raising caine. if you know which way he went in the morning he'll often return that way. Hens will often call more and give their location away in the early season. if you hear hens set up on them....he's with them, but not talking because he has other things on his mind. Call them in and he'll come. One last thing, if your in hill country then be higher than the roost, they often work up hill to fly up.