How far from the roost......

[Alex T.]

How far from a roost do most setup? How far do most birds fly to get down? Never hunted birds off the roost and will probably give it a try in this spring.

[Plush]

50-100 yards is a common distance a lot of guys like to get at. Just be aware of the terrain and how early you are getting in. Denser terrain allows you to get closer and going in early while they are still sleeping is obviously beneficial for getting close.

[Happy]

In my opinion that is a situational thing. Depending on terrain, foliage and some other factors it could be right underneath or several hundred yards away. For my style of hunting I prefer to be as close as possible but still have to call him in. Even more importantly I want to be in the line if travel from the roost. The one thing I can't really get into is busting one as soon as his feet hit the ground. Not passing judgement on those that do but it just seems like a hollow victory.

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[Alex T.]

Terrain is flat around the roost trees and pasture. I can get as close as needed with just having to walk along the trees in pasture so noise isn't an issue. I have their path of travel after they are down and where they're heading. Never tried hunting turkeys at flydown, always go after them later morning once they break up for the day.  Just thought I'd try a different situation/condition.

[Happy]

For me personally I would position myself around 100 yards from the roost site in the direction of travel. Would be in position well before first light and listen to the tree talk. That's half the fun. There are many different scenarios so how you play it is up to you. If he is alone I would let him do his thing and call to him after he hits the ground. If he has hens all bets are off and I would try and get him on the ground and coming before the hens fly down. However this is a very dicey situation. Call to much and he may very well stay in the tree and gobble his brains out waiting for you to come to him. I would get him to acknowledge me with some light tree yelps and clucks and then quit calling. Then when it was light enough to see I would imitate a fly down and then some scratching with light purs and clucks like a hen feeding. Hopefully that's enough and he flys down and heads your way to start the party early. If not you may well have to try and call the whole flock when they fly down and the hens may very well lead him the other way. Very seldom have I called a Tom off of hens. Its typically all or nothing and several times I have called the dominate hen in only to have the Tom stay back with the rest of the flock. It's a crap shoot and a lot of things can go wrong but it sure is fun.

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[tal]

An old 'saw'.... Every step you can take towards a turkey increases your odds of killing him. Turkeys will barely flap their wings and land at the base of their roost tree to taking wing and flying 200 plus yards to a field or preferred spot. Most common I think is 30 to 50 yards away from the limb they spent the night on.

[g8rvet]

In my opinion that is a situational thing. Depending on terrain, foliage and some other factors it could be right underneath or several hundred yards away. For my style of hunting I prefer to be as close as possible but still have to call him in. Even more importantly I want to be in the line if travel from the roost. The one thing I can't really get into is busting one as soon as his feet hit the ground. Not passing judgement on those that do but it just seems like a hollow victory.

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This!