Hunting a bowl?

[Marc]

Been a tough season for me...  No birds in the easier areas to hunt, and I have a large property with only two active birds I have heard, and every time I get one coming, a hen steals it away...

Called in coyotes and bobcats on just about every trip now, and called in angry hens most times as well...  Been an interesting but fruitless season for me...

I just got access on a small property, and it is in the form of a large bowl.  It is open on the bottom, and surrounded by very thick vegetation. The birds roost on the south end, but there is nowhere I can get in without being seen (or heard), and the birds are only there for a short period before dispersing...

Due to the proximity of the owners house, I cannot drive in too early either...  I will probably be able to arrive about 20 minutes before shoot time...

No idea what to do...  It is a 40 acre bowl, and the birds usually traverse over a large open area and disperse on the adjoining property into the rolling oaks.

There is a road leading down to the bowl on the north side, and I can get about half way down without being seen by roosting birds...  I cannot imagine calling a bird up that road, as it does not look like turkey friendly habitat, but I am thinking about getting as far down as I can, wait for the birds to get on the ground, and trying to call one of em' back...

[stinkpickle]

...
Due to the proximity of the owners house, I cannot drive in too early either...  I will probably be able to arrive about 20 minutes before shoot time...
...

Park farther away, and walk in while it's dark.

[Getdrove101]

Hunt them coming into roost


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[dejake]

you can get as close as you want two hours before sunrise.

[Marc]

No way to get to the property without driving past the owner's house.  He is a bit older and a bit senile, and his care givers know I am coming, but requested I do not drive in too early (they gave me the time to come in).

I am only allowed to hunt till 400 pm in California...  An evening hunt would be a no-brainer, but I cannot do it legally...

Guess my best bet is too walk down the road as far as possible, wait for the birds to get off the roost, and decide what to do from there...

[stinkpickle]

Don't drive...go in on horseback. 

[Marc]

I hunted it...  Was able to use a ridge to go in unnoticed...  5 or 6 birds gobbling, and still henned up (which is late here). 

The birds were gobbling like crazy right off the bat, and I did a quiet tree-yelp to let them know I was there...  Multiple hens immediately started calling, and flew down off the roost (opposite my direction and off the property), and the gobblers followed.

As soon as they hit the ground, the gobblers nor the hens never made another sound.

[gobblerman87]

Crazy just the way it is sometimes bro