Decision A or B

[DeafGobbler]

First I would go where you know a tom is, second I would hunt in the woods if there is woods on your property. You seem to want a good visual over an open field, but the birds are hanging up on you. Good luck!


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I'm with catman, hunt the woods. Do these birds gobble on the roost? If so, get to 100 yards or less if possible between them and where you KNOW they are going to go, no decoys. Just one tree yelp to let them know where you are and no more calling 'til they're on the ground. Then take their temperature by seeing what they like....aggressive or plaintive, and kill one of those birds.

I want to roost one something bad just to see how it's done... but I've yet to produce one single gobble while on the roost over 4 days of hunting and scouting.

Everything from not saying a peep all morning and the night before to owl, coyote, soft tree yelps, and everything in between. Nothing on the roost.

Yesterday as soon as it hit roughly 745ish... I started to hear gobblers all over the place.

I have no idea what any of this means... lol

[rockymtngobblers]

If that was am it means they are not roosted  close to your location  but are roosted within a mile most likely, if that was pm they were gathered  strutting,  fighting,  etc. Just before fly up and they are roosted  very close.

[DeafGobbler]

If that was am it means they are not roosted  close to your location  but are roosted within a mile most likely, if that was pm they were gathered  strutting,  fighting,  etc. Just before fly up and they are roosted  very close.

Am

There's 2 hens I think may be rooster close because they literally fly into the field each morning. But yes that makes sense, I guess the gobblers are pretty far if I'm not hearing them. I just signed it off as public land and the pressure has made them keen to attempts at locating them on the roost, idk?

[catman529]

If you're hearing em on the ground that is a good thing. Nothing is tougher than quiet birds. But you need to get to the birds instead of camping on the field. And don't walk around too much, only when you need to try a new spot after it's been quiet a while. When you hear birds gobble in the morning, decide which one is hottest or easiest to set up on, and try to cut the distance without getting close enough to be seen. Better to set up and call in the woods than in a field. Field hunting can be productive but it can also be aggravating. If you call to a hot gobbler in the woods he is much more likely to close the distance. Don't call too much...and don't blame it on public land, it only takes one hot bird to change it all...good luck


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[catman529]

If you're hearing em on the ground that is a good thing. Nothing is tougher than quiet birds. But you need to get to the birds instead of camping on the field. And don't walk around too much, only when you need to try a new spot after it's been quiet a while. When you hear birds gobble in the morning, decide which one is hottest or easiest to set up on, and try to cut the distance without getting close enough to be seen. Better to set up and call in the woods than in a field. Field hunting can be productive but it can also be aggravating. If you call to a hot gobbler in the woods he is much more likely to close the distance. Don't call too much...and don't blame it on public land, it only takes one hot bird to change it all...good luck


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[Marc]

You need to move when needed, but not to much...
You need to be patient in a good spot, but move if it does not work...

Very confusing...  But I actually believe both statements are true.

If I can hunt several days in a row, and I have birds I know about, I try to figure out where they are, and set up as close as possible without scaring them...  See what they do, and be where they go the next hunt.

If I see a bird in a certain spot at 8 am, but could not figure out where he roosted, I might be loosely set up in that spot at daybreak (and move to a better location if events of the morning give me some indication as to the location of the birds)...  I will be anchored at that spot at 7:30 Am if things did not work out.

[GobbleNut]

Honestly, there are many factors that are unknown to those of us that might give you advice.  Such things as the topography where you are hunting, openness of the woods, presence of other hunters and amount of pressure put on the birds, and even the subspecies you are hunting, among other things, would dictate how you should be approaching your hunt. 

Everyone has given you good advice based on the "assumed" conditions.  Unfortunately, your specific circumstances may or may not fit our assumptions as to what is going on there.

It sounds as if you are getting to hunt this area on a regular basis.  If so, you should be learning a little bit more about what the birds are doing on each hunt.  That is, you should be "patterning" those birds such that you can make sound judgements as to where to be at any particular time of day.  You should also be getting some idea, based on how you have hunted so far, as to what is obviously not going to work for you. 

The "fly in the ointment" in your situation is really that unknown factor of hunting pressure from other hunters.  If those birds get harassed enough that they start changing their behavior, then all bets are off. 

[Bowguy]

Buddy for a new hunter you gotta learn to hunt. Enjoy the process n don't expect instant reward. It seldom happens especially w beginners. 3 days is short to be expecting to have one in the bag.
Roosting birds is almost an art. They won't gobble if they can't hear you. As stated they could be further away. Roosting is a time thing, they need to be on a limb but awake n almost too dark to see you. In fact make sure they don't see you, no walking across fields to where you expect them to be. Find an edge, farm road, etc n call forward into it. If locators don't work try a fly up cackle or gobble.
Once roosted get in an area early n w no light set up nearby. Even if you guess wrong you'll learn something. Learning Hunting is simple, if it ain't workin try something dif. What you're doing isn't yielding results or close calls, try something dif.
How big is your piece?


To clarify I'd roost them the night before n be there early the next day. Not early for you but early enough to beat everyone else n allow the woods to settle n allow a slow quiet approach. So early early