Calling to a roosted gobbler

[YoungGobbler]

Good point for public land... Don't want to call in the crowd 

[Davyalabama]

g8rvet --- it's not wrong until it is ----- That sums up what you do with turkeys every time you go after them ------

There are so many books and articles on this YoungGobbler.  It is amazing what you will get.  If - If - If - I call, it will be very light, only a few clucks or purrs.  Until, the hens start --- Now, Houston, we have a problem.

Shoot, here is where the books come in, plus are thrown out the window. ---- Try to run the hens off without spooking the gobbler, easier said than done.  ----- Try to get the boss hen fired up and bring her to you, sometimes works, sometimes makes her mad, she goes and takes her boy away ----- Or, fire that boy up --- He Gobbles, cut him off, start cackling, yelping, wait --- He gobbles again, cut him off, yelping, then cackling, basically switch it up.  He gobbles, shut up -- listen for him to fly down, when he does, throw it at him again, cut, cackle, yelp, end with another cackle.  Then, shut up.  If the hens go to him, wait right there until about 9-10, be vigilant, he may come back to that hen later.      Now, you can do this, you can pinpoint where they are going, circle around them, and catch them coming by you.    I told you it's a book, then sometimes you have to throw the book out the window.

YoungGobler, you have me fired up this morning.  I'm gettin itchy fellows!!!!!!!! 

[GobbleNut]

My general theory on roost hunting turkeys in the morning:

Number One: Assess how hard the turkeys you are hunting have been hunted and called to on the roost. Hard-hunted turkeys react entirely differently than lightly-hunted turkeys in most situations. Generally speaking, the more they have been hunted, the less you want to call to them...if at all. Adjust calling tactics accordingly.

Calling excessively...or at all...to turkeys that have been hunted at the roost site often may well result in them leaving the roost in the opposite direction REGARDLESS of what you say to them. With those kinds of turkeys, the best thing to do is to know where they are going to go, get along that path...and SHUT UP. (Or if you are going to call, call just loud enough that they can't hear you but also just loud enough so that you can convince yourself that you called them in when they show up)    

Calling to lightly-hunted turkeys...give 'er a whirl. They may come to about anything you do...as long as it is in the "general realm" of sounding like a turkey. That "general realm" can cover a lot of country. (if you don't believe it, just turn on some YouTube)     
 

[TooTallOutdoorss]

If he doesnt have a direct line of sight to me Ill give a few clucks or soft yelps to get his attention and maybe flip him around on the limb to face me and once he responds to my call Ill usually put the call down until I know hes on the floor. Once youve made that connection with that bird thats all you need. Let his curiosity get the best of him. Play that cat and mouse game with him especially if its a lone bird.


I try to avoid making him gobble on the limb as much as possible for multiple reasons. One being (and this really applies to public only) I dont want other hunters who just walked into the area to hear him and try to put a move on him and ruin my hunt. The same way we hear turkeys gobble and make a move on it to get closer so will they and most guys in my area dont have any respect for you being there first. Theyll set their decoy five yards from you if that means theyll get the bird. So the less he gobbles the better for me.

The other is and this applies to both public and private guys but not to the pro callers haha. I dont want to keep calling to him while on the roost to give him a reason to not pitch down towards me. I like many am not a pro caller by any means so even though I can sound like a hen 98% of the time theres always that chance I did not hold the striker on my pot call correctly or my mouth call wasnt in the right spot and I made a noise that doesnt resemble anything a turkey would make and now hes questioning what heck is that thing making that noise over there. Now he will either go silent and sneak up on you or if hes a smart bird he might do a 180 and go the other way. And down here in SFL we have a lot of predators and they will come check out a hen yelp or any turkey noise to snag a meal and the last thing I want is for him to see a coyote or bobcat coming in my direction going to that noise and stopping him from flying to me.


The way I see it is its like over calling to a bird on the ground. Its a lot easier to mess up the hunt before it starts by not sounding natural or doing too much. I wanna make that connection with him (gobbling back to my calling) and stfu and let him make the mistake not the other way around. My season starts tomorrow down here so Ill keep yall updated on how it goes! Found a couple on public today hammering away on the limbs and got their location so should have some fun tomorrow!

[cwhitfield96]

Some very good info here. IMO if you know they have hens and you aren't certain they are likely to travel your way after fly down, you should at least let him know you are there. High chance you are beat either way, but I'd rather make my presence known.


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[Twowithone]

A couple clucks to get his attention then clam up he,ll come looking.

[TooTallOutdoorss]

If he doesnt have a direct line of sight to me Ill give a few clucks or soft yelps to get his attention and maybe flip him around on the limb to face me and once he responds to my call Ill usually put the call down until I know hes on the floor. Once youve made that connection with that bird thats all you need. Let his curiosity get the best of him. Play that cat and mouse game with him especially if its a lone bird.


I try to avoid making him gobble on the limb as much as possible for multiple reasons. One being (and this really applies to public only) I dont want other hunters who just walked into the area to hear him and try to put a move on him and ruin my hunt. The same way we hear turkeys gobble and make a move on it to get closer so will they and most guys in my area dont have any respect for you being there first. Theyll set their decoy five yards from you if that means theyll get the bird. So the less he gobbles the better for me.

The other is and this applies to both public and private guys but not to the pro callers haha. I dont want to keep calling to him while on the roost to give him a reason to not pitch down towards me. I like many am not a pro caller by any means so even though I can sound like a hen 98% of the time theres always that chance I did not hold the striker on my pot call correctly or my mouth call wasnt in the right spot and I made a noise that doesnt resemble anything a turkey would make and now hes questioning what heck is that thing making that noise over there. Now he will either go silent and sneak up on you or if hes a smart bird he might do a 180 and go the other way. And down here in SFL we have a lot of predators and they will come check out a hen yelp or any turkey noise to snag a meal and the last thing I want is for him to see a coyote or bobcat coming in my direction going to that noise and stopping him from flying to me.


The way I see it is its like over calling to a bird on the ground. Its a lot easier to mess up the hunt before it starts by not sounding natural or doing too much. I wanna make that connection with him (gobbling back to my calling) and stfu and let him make the mistake not the other way around. My season starts tomorrow down here so Ill keep yall updated on how it goes! Found a couple on public today hammering away on the limbs and got their location so should have some fun tomorrow!

Well I am happy to report I was successful within the first 20 mins of legal shooting light down in South Florida on public ground! Roosted two birds that were in two separate trees 40 yds from each other over looking a big field with a dried up slough. Got there well in the dark and setup on the other side of the slough 100 yds away. Watched them both wake up and fly down a long with a hen we did not see the afternoon before when roosting em. The birds were not in a very talkative mood this morning and gobbled maybe three times each on the limb. Being on public I was happy because we knew it would be a matter of time until someone heard em and tried making a move on them.

I soft yelped and clucked at em twice on the limb. First one they didnt respond to and second they responded. Once I got that interaction I put the call down and waited. When both flew down they went in the last direction we expected them to go (as turkey hunting always goes). I yelped at em once or twice with no response. And then from the far left here comes ol white head coming right at us. laid eyes on the jake decoy next to the hen and it was all over. Strutted the entire way in spitting and drumming and the rest was history! Once on the road we saw about four other trucks parked at the gate (we were the first and only ones there in the morning.) and we were relieved that our hunt was not ruined and are certain if they had gobbled more on the limp if I called at em more it would've been a totally different outcome.

[YoungGobbler]

Good job on your hunt