Roost Shooting

[Bolandstrutters]

I've killed birds right at 6am before.  And ive actually had them fly down as early as 5:55 on a clear morning towards the end of the season. 

[catman529]

What is 6am? Right now that is after sunrise where I hunt, but at the beginning of season it was barely even shooting light.


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[fallhnt]

IL law states ,illegal to shoot off roost before 7:00 and hunting hours are 1/2 hour before sunrise. So it's easy to tell who's legal and what's legal.


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[beakbuster10]

Not saying it wasn't roost shot but sunrise is 6:15, it's light enough at 5:55 for a bird to pitch into a field at that time.

I ended up directly under a bird a few years back that was roosted right on a logging road adjacent to a field. I heard him drumming, and immediately dropped down to the closest tree. I did a tree yelp, and he flew down. I honestly thought I'd spooked him because it was so "dark" (a few minutes past legal shooting light). He died 15 yards from the gun barrel 5 minutes after legal shooting light which I always believed to be WAYYY to early to kill a turkey on the ground.

Not saying the OP didn't hear roost shooting, but unless you actually see someone shoot a bird out of the tree. You never can know for sure as long as it was past legal shooting time


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[stinkpickle]

True.  I've had toms pitch down even before legal shooting hours.  That's why I always wear a watch with a dead battery. 

[Bill Cooksey]

IL law states ,illegal to shoot off roost before 7:00 and hunting hours are 1/2 hour before sunrise. So it's easy to tell who's legal and what's legal.


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Not sure how that matters in regards to being able to tell if someone else shot a bird off a limb.

[fallhnt]

^^^^your good to go after 7:00

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[Bill Cooksey]

^^^^your good to go after 7:00

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But if legal shooting time is 6:30, you have no idea if that shot in the distance was at a bird on a limb or the ground.

[fallhnt]

^^^^you can lose sleep over it. I won't.

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[chatterbox]

I just don't get it.
First of all, it's illegal in NH to shoot a bird off a limb, irregardless of it being his roost tree, or any other tree for that matter.
I would find no personal satisfaction in killing a bird that way. For me, it's the thrill of knowing I called him in, and he committed to my set, and I did everything right to kill that bird.
I would get no satisfaction if he spooked, and flew in a tree, and I killed him off the limb.
Not for me at all.