How close do you setup?

[Laloom83]

If you roost a bird the night before and I mean you know about exactly where he is, how close do you setup the next morning?

Also, how early do you get to a spot if you think you may be walking under roosted turkeys?  I've been at spots an hour or even earlier before daylight when hunting state land.   

Just wanted to get your thoughts?


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[Marc]

It depends on several things?

1) How close does the terrain allow me to get?  All too often birds like to roost on the edges, and fly down into open areas where I hunt.  I far prefer to have some barrier of cover between myself and a roosted bird if possible.
2) Do I know which way they go after flying down?  If I am fairly confident of the direction they fly down, or the direction they go after the fly-down, I might be a bit more likely to back off, and set up where they are going.

Currently, I have two sets of birds roosted, and the closest I can get (without setting up in the open right in front of them) is about 100-150 yards.  I can get within 100 yards, but not where they are flying down to.  I can get within about 150 yards, and be set up in the general direction they have been traveling after hitting the ground.

What I am going to do on my next hunt, is set up several hundred yards from two sets of birds that both seem to be taking the same path and crossing the same area...  The birds are roosted next to hens, and I will avoid getting busted...  Do a couple of fly-downs (as soon as I hear birds leaving the roost), and hope to either cross paths with some birds, or call a lonely bird from the pack in.

[TauntoHawk]

If I know where's he at I'm getting tight, often close enough to see him on the limb.

That's if you can move stealthy in the dark.

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[StruttinGobbler3]

Get in early. I mean early, pitch black dark. Definitely wear your snake boots or chaps if you're in snake country, priority number one is your safety. Walk like an animal, not a man. Deer, hogs, etc don't walk like we do with a steady, unchanging rhythm of "thump, thump, thump, thump". That sounds unnatural and does not fit in with the normal predawn sounds of nature. Go slow. Take a few steps and stop. Couple more steps and stop. Wait a minute. Start again. Make it irregular with several pauses, just as an animal would. Also, make those footsteps as quietly as possible. Next I'm looking at terrain and foliage. In very open woods or heavy ag land with lots of open fields, 200 yards may be the best you can safely do. In heavily wooded areas with good foliage and some rolling land, you can get within sight of that bird if you do it right. To be realistic, if you can get inside 100 yards you're doing alright. Set up slowly and quietly, minimize unnatural sounds. If there is any Velcro on your vest pockets, get rid of it and replace it with a quieter fastening alternative. This is the ONLY time I will make use of a light, since I'm amongst plenty of rattlesnakes, copperheads and moccasins. Find a dim red light, wrap your hands around it to prevent any light shining outward, turn your back to the turkey and hide the light with your body; then do a quick scan to make sure you're not about to sit on a coiled up surprise. Settle in, and do not move nor make a sound. This should all be completed at a minimum of thirty minutes prior to any hint of daylight. You need time to allow the woods to settle down from your entry. The only sound he should hear from your direction after setup is possibly a quiet tree yelp if you are so inclined.


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[Bowguy]

Imo 60 yards is about where I'd set. As far as roosted birds they're easy to walk under. I don't go in an hour early though. That's way too late imo.
I've posted before about my daughters being little. The younger one 10 the older 13 but this went on for years whenever we hunted it. We'd walk down the cow path a step or two at a time. Once we got to the creaky cow fence we'd climb it at the hinges.
If anyone broke a branch we'd stop n wait. If a bird popped its head, and we could see them cause 30 yards would be far away most days, they roosted right over that fence, again if he untucked we'd stop n wait.
When crossing the gate, each n every time a creak happened we'd stop n wait.
Not once did I ever bust birds and this is towing two little girls under them. Climbing a gate in the dark.
Another day my youngest was 11 or 12 I forget. The moon was insanely bright. We kept to the shadows as we approached where we'd know they were at.
Scanning the trees we realized we were l20 yards from a bird and started seeing a bunch. I pointed to her the silhouettes.
We got to our knees, eased back dropping a deke at 35 yards. Just a tiny bit more we started opening a blind. One step n wait. Another, wait.
Once open we tilted it up and climbed under. It was too close.
Come daylight I told my daughter we were too close. She could see the birds and I told her once down to tell me. She pointed a finger at the ground. I yelped real slight. A longbeard left in the tree pitched right into the set. At 20 yards she shot n whiffed. Ugh!!!!!!!
You can see why 1 hr isn't enough time. Walk like a deer, coon, fox, skunk, anything but like yourself. All night long things travel near them. They don't spook. Go early, be careful and leave your light at home

[DMTJAGER]

If I see the Tom or Toms go to roost and know the actual tree or trees they are in I will get as close to 50 yards as I feel I can without spooking them. But I won't try to get any closer than 50 yards unless conditions are perfect like a moonless night and the wind is blowing hard and I can approach on a path that hides me I know won't take me past roosted birds but such situations are few in my past experiences. 

For example last year I put four Toms to roost in huge cotton woods on a field edge and new the actual trees they were in. Because a small narrow but bushy hedge row with short trees ran perpendicular to their tree line I was able to easily get within and set up 50 yards from them. It required I use my beloved Fiskers pruning shears to silently cut a path through the brush to get to my spot, but it worked.

On the flip side of the coin I put a HUGE old paint brush Tom to roost for my son during youth season but didn't know the actual tree but knew I could get us within 100 yards. My friend my son and I set up the next morning and as it turned out we were set up about 75 yards from him and he flew down and would strut display and gobble to our calls but never came closer than 70 yards. Had I known the actual tree he was in we could have easily set up within 50 yards of him and he would've flown down in range. He just was a old wise public land Tom and not being able to set up in his red zone cost us tagging him. 

I always try to set up no farther than 75 yards from roosted Toms and if I know their most likely direction of travel once down I set up there. I have set up farther than I like but only if I have absolutely no other options. In experience I can almost always kill a Tom that fly's down already in range or only needs to come less than 30 yards to be in range VS one that must come 75-100 yards let alone further.

[fallhnt]

I have 3 spots that I can hunt the roost. Some spots I hunt turkeys don't roost on but I can call them to me. Any more I'd say I'm 100+ and still successful.

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[DMTJAGER]

If I have roosted him or them and know what tree of group of trees I get up early enough that I will be in position two full hours before shooting light. If I know the tree or group of trees he/they are in if conditions/situation permits it I will try to get within 50 yards of them if at all possible and set up.

If I can I want that Tom to fly down already in range so if he has hens I can still kill him. This is of absolute importance to me if hunting public land.