How to get close to bird at first light?

[born2hunt]

Go in during the day when the birds aren't around and figure out where you want to set up, then clear a path to that spot so that you can go in quietly before first light.

You can trim a trail and even leaf rake the last hundred yards or so if its that noisy , then go in early and lights out. You cant get much quieter than that. A little work can go a long ways.

[drenalinld]

Don't worry about spooking his hens. That is a bonus.

[Gooserbat]

I don't want to be closer than 75-100 yards bit not over 200 either.  Seems to me if your to close they expect to see hens when there's not any

[Turkeyman62]

Owl hoot set up accordingly 

[Cut N Run]

We had a gobbler at my old lease that was tough to get close to.  He liked to roost on an open mixed hardwood & tall pine ridge with hens where they'd see or hear you before you got close. Whenever we tried calling to him, he'd fly off the other direction.  I waited until one day when I knew it would rain over night and clear up in the morning.  I was able to slip into his wheelhouse undetected an hour before first light because the weeds and leaves made no noise at all. Several weeks before then, I had cleared sticks and briars off the trail during mid day when they weren't in the area, so I could slip in that area as quiet as possible when the time was right.

Jim

[Tomspur]

ok cut n run, did you get the bird?

[born2hunt]

ok cut n run, did you get the bird?

Seriously, he just left us hanging.

[ridgerunner]

Just some random and contrary thoughts:

First off, I would question why you think you need to get really close.  I spent the first 15 years of my turkey career trying to get as close as I could and finally figured out that I could stay well back and wait for them to come to me. The trick was observing which way they tended to go. You've got that down to a 1-3 shot already.


Second, I have a buddy treestand that is frequently used by turkeys as a roost.  I can be almost to the top of the ladder before I find out they're there.  It can be a rather explosive experience, and I would suggest that folks in my situation no have their mouths open, looking up, when it happens.  However, the trick always seems to be coming in before first light.

Third, have you tried actually busting them off the roost deliberately?  If you do a good job of it, the turkeys will scatter every which way.  You then only need to sit down in the middle of it all and  do assembly calls.  That's what happens when I find turkeys roosting on my treestand. They spend the next 2 hours squabbling about who's going to come where, reforming the flock and moving off.

exactly I'd rather be far away that too close..scout and figure where they're going..you may have to sit 4-6hrs, get a blind and observe a couple days, then go kill one.

[GobbleNut]

Perhaps there are some of you out there that are so good at this that you feel confident you can set up 100 or more yards from any roosted bird and call him to you, regardless of how many times he has been through this rodeo.  However, for us "mere mortals" that know there are birds out there that have figured out that it is best not to go towards any turkey sounds they hear, and in fact will fly far away from those sounds, there are times when the only logical course of action to have a chance at killing one of those stubborn birds is to sneak in close, stay quiet, and hope the gobbler flies down within range. 

Although I hate having to hunt a bird that way, there have been a few gobblers in my life that I was so frustrated by, that I decided that, by god, one way or another, I was going to kill the SOB,....if nothing else, just to put him out of my misery. 

In those cases, the best thing to do is get as close as possible to the tree,...do it in the dark,...and do it quietly.  I am no mathematical genius, but I do have enough common sense to know that the further I am away from his tree, the less likely he is to fly down within range so I can unceremoniously sluice his azz. 

[jwhunter]

I have found that moving into place while it is still pitch black dark does not spook a bird. If there is no moon, that much better. No flashlight, just sneak in.

X2

but you got to sneak. some peoples version of sneaking is not sneaking. they still sound like a booger walking slow in the woods..... SNEAK!!!!! try not caliing at all if he has hens. let them be turkeys and you just be in the way

[jwhunter]

Perhaps there are some of you out there that are so good at this that you feel confident you can set up 100 or more yards from any roosted bird and call him to you, regardless of how many times he has been through this rodeo.  However, for us "mere mortals" that know there are birds out there that have figured out that it is best not to go towards any turkey sounds they hear, and in fact will fly far away from those sounds, there are times when the only logical course of action to have a chance at killing one of those stubborn birds is to sneak in close, stay quiet, and hope the gobbler flies down within range.   

[Redfish]

I've done the midday clean and rake tactic before and it can work. Here in Florida if they are roosting in pines there is no telling which way they will go when they hit the ground. I have had success clearing a trail at midday and going in really early(like an hour before sunrise when the sky hasn't even lightened up) and go super slow. I had a smart old gobbler two years ago that gobbled his head off in the tree (a small stand of big pines)every morning and then shut up as soon as he hit the ground with his hens. Took me several tries to get in tight without spooking him and catch him hitting the ground in range. I have no moral issue with killing one this way. I believe he was unkillable any other way. I never saw him without hens and he didn't pay any attention to calling no matter how subtle or aggressive.

[Bowguy]

There's lots of reasons someone needs to be close. Everyone's situation is different. He may have a small family farm he hunt on n can't scatter them, maybe the coyotes run in n scare the turks, (who doesn't have that problem occasionally), maybe it's an hour hunt before work or maybe he just wants to be instantly "in the game". I know for me, nothing is cooler than having em right next to you at first light.
Nothing wrong with a roost n shoot, as I said earlier go very early, very slow, no light,  take a step at a time, sound like a deer. No matter how windy you can get right up to where you hope to be.

[CntrlPA]

I get as close as I can. The less ground they have to cover, the more apt they are to get curious. I hunt all public land as well, so waiting and calling just leaves more time for other hunters to close the gap.

[J Hook Max]

Go in while it is very dark. I have also used a flashlight if that was needed to keep me from making noise. What spooks the birds is waking them up with noise. If the light is on the ground and you make no noise, they will remain asleep. Not the preferred method but I wouldn't totally rule out the light.
I have many times set up right under the roosted birds.