Roosted Gobbler Attack Plan

[Tom007]

I wanted to get some insight as to how everyone sets up on a roosted Tom. Most of the birds I have taken in my life have been between 7:30 and 9:00 am. Yes, I have had some roost to ground, "come right in" encounters, but not as many as most hunters. The ones that I've experienced went like this. I hear a bird gobbling in the dark. I try and get in around 125 yards or so away to set up. I wait and feel him out, no call while dark. If he seems like he's a player, I'll give him a soft tree Yelp as it gets lighter, (not light enough for fly down). If he hammers back, game on. No more calling till I think he's ready to glide down. Once that time hits, I'll do a soft cackle, wing beat, then a landing scratch in the leaves. The times that this played out has worked for out for me. Do you all use different tactics, set closer, call more, call less, etc? Love to get your thoughts on this....

[GobbleNut]

Tom, your approach and routine are similar to mine,...with some variations,...and the results are also pretty consistent.  Just enough gobblers come in right off the roost to keep me trying to call them at that time, but more often than not, they have something else in mind.  I would say my "killing time" generally runs from about an hour after sunrise to about three hours after sunrise.

Personally, I think those that kill birds consistently right off the roost do so more due to patterning rather than having some magical calling ability or calling routine.  More often than not, I am hunting birds that I have either never hunted before or are birds that are not roosting in reliable, traditional roosting sites.  In my opinion, in hunting turkeys under those conditions, success rates are going to naturally be lower than hunting birds that someone has patterned and knows pretty well what they normally do when coming off the roost.

I think the main thing to remember about hunting birds on the roost is to try to stick to what is "natural" in the turkey world.  Don't do things that are not normal for roosted turkeys and, conversely, stick to things that are normal. Understanding that concept usually takes a bit of experience hunting roosted birds to begin to differentiate between the two extremes.

Of course, there are exceptions.  There are no doubt folks who have taken the exact opposite approach to the above who have had success doing so.  I would say with a bit of confidence that those exceptions are, indeed, "exceptions rather than the rule".

[Greg Massey]

I'm going to do like you Tom and let him know, hey buddy i'm this sweet hen over here with some soft calling. After he hits the ground and if he continues to go away or acts like  he moving away i'm going to hit him with more excited hen calling and then add some Jake and gobbler yelps to the program in hopes this will change his mine and bring him my way .... I agree without knowing his pattern, trying to convince him to change what he's used to doing is usually very unlikely. One thing i don't do is all that Owl screaming and hooting etc just to try and get him to gobble, i want him to do all of that on his own. I feel doing all that usually hooting and screaming is something he usually doesn't hear in his area. I just don't want to give my location away or attract the attention of that kind of nature. I agree the roost kill ratio has very low odds in killing him... 

[roosterstraw]

I hunt a farm that turkeys roost on. They actually roost right on the property line. I've set up everywhere from 100+ yards away to 20 yards away (on accident). The turkeys usually take the same path every time which is just on the other side of the line. I will set up on my side and sometimes they come over and sometimes they don't. It's not consistent. The biggest problem I have is there are a ton of hens, so they will usually get in between me and the Tom taking them in the other direction.

[Kylongspur88]

In the mountains I'll try and get within about 60-70 yards above him. If you bust him off the roost he'll sail off into the next county and that's it. If I can sneak in on him I'll give a little tree yelp to let him know I'm there. 9 out of 10 times he'll pitch into the hillside right off the branch so at that point he's already facing me. I'll mimic a fly down and it's leaf scratching and soft clucks from there. If he's already got hens that complicates things but doesn't make it impossible.

[Tom007]

Great info, I love learning this from all of you......we won't get this info anywhere else, thank you...

[RutnNStrutn]

If I happen to roost one, which is not often because I don't hang out in the woods late to try, here's what I do. I get in the woods super early, so that I am in my spot, set up and letting the woods calm back down at least a half hour before it starts breaking light on the eastern sky.
I try to get 75 to 125 yards away, and put out a DSD hen. That way when I start doing some tree talking to get his attention, there is also a visual lure IF he can see the decoy from where he's roosted.
Then I soft call just enough to get his attention. Unless there are real hens in the vicinity. Then I try to outcall them, which gets the gobbler fired up and sometimes brings the hens in as well.
With all that said, roost hunts rarely work out in my favor, that's why I don't often bother to try roosting.
In the words of Will Primos, "Roosted ain't roasted."

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[RutnNStrutn]

I would say my "killing time" generally runs from about an hour after sunrise to about three hours after sunrise.

Agreed

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[RutnNStrutn]

One thing i don't do is all that Owl screaming and hooting etc just to try and get him to gobble, i want him to do all of that on his own. I feel doing all that usually hooting and screaming is something he usually doesn't hear in his area. I just don't want to give my location away or attract the attention of that kind of nature.

Depends on where you hunt. When I hunted in Florida, and where I hunt in SC and Tennessee, owls are very vocal. I often call owls in with my owl calling, then let them take over. I've found that owl and crow calling is a great way to keep track of a gobbler on the ground as you move towards him.

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[Greg Massey]

One thing i don't do is all that Owl screaming and hooting etc just to try and get him to gobble, i want him to do all of that on his own. I feel doing all that usually hooting and screaming is something he usually doesn't hear in his area. I just don't want to give my location away or attract the attention of that kind of nature.

Depends on where you hunt. When I hunted in Florida, and where I hunt in SC and Tennessee, owls are very vocal. I often call owls in with my owl calling, then let them take over. I've found that owl and crow calling is a great way to keep track of a gobbler on the ground as you move towards him.

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I'm talking about of a morning while they are still on the roost ... On up in the day I might use a crow call, but most of the time i  use a box call or pot call to try and strike one ... Tactic's change as morning becomes mid - day ....

[Dtrkyman]

Play the wind!

Also early season when it's cold their headed for the sun, easy to call em where their already going!

I actually prefer to keep my distance if I'm not familiar with the area, easier to make a move that way.

I used to crowd em and it was either kill em when they hit the ground or your stuck for a while, their pretty ignorant right after fly down!


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[mcw3734]

I work hard to roost birds the evening before so I have a lot of "off the roost" opportunities each season. As others have indicated, my kill ratio on those opportunities is much lower than one might expect.

If he's largely silent, I'll use an owl call to help get within 100 yards of him. Once in a setup, a single series of soft tree yelps to let him know I'm there. Regardless of his reaction to the tree yelps, I won't call again until I know he's on the ground. I generally don't like hen calling to roosted birds.

If he's gobbling, that will be enough to get me within 100 yards without a locator. In that situation, I stay silent until he hits the ground. How aggressive I call after that is dependent on his reactions.

Another issue to consider is if he's alone or not. If I think he's by himself I try to get close, like within 100 yards as in the scenarios above. But if I think he has hens with him, I'll set up where I have the cover and/or distance to safely get up and move on him.

[Tail Feathers]

My hearing has been getting worse for years.  I struggle to tell when a gobbler has flown down or if he's still in the tree.  That complicates this otherwise solid game plan.

I called to one that I didn't realize was still in the tree.  Had my grandson with me and this bird gobbled his head off.  Not knowing he was still in the tree I poured the calling on and he liked it.   Finally, he came soaring out of a tree right over my grandson's head.  I think he saw the boy's tonsils as his mouth was wide open looking up at the bird gliding 15 feet over his head.

[Cowboy]

I've only had a handful of "off the roost" hunts. Was with my brother on one last season, opening morning.  The majority 9 to 1pm.

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[deathfoot]

A great topic and interesting read.

I've done it multiple ways and I've killed them off the roost by doing different techniques. I judge the bird and if any hens are carrying on.

If I'm hunting property I'm familiar with...I'll get as close as possible..within 100 yards but I know the lay of the land and I'll also know where the roost is. Almost to the exact tree sometimes. If I'm on unfamiliar property I won't attempt to get that close.

I've killed them off the roost with just a few tree yelps, then some clucks and yelps when they flew down. And I've been know to cut loose with some ferocious cutts at them prior to them flying down and keeping that going until they strut on in. Again, I base off it their mood and what else is going on around me. Sometimes if hens are around is just as important to piss them off and watch the lead hen come in looking for a fight. She will bring the gobbler to you.

As most everyone has said tho, killing one right off the roost is rare. It's fun but rare. I've had it happen quite a few times but more often than not...it doesn't. Either way, it's just fun to be out there hearing him gobble. And to me...that's the best part.