Do You Usually Roost Them?

[BDeal]

I'm curious as to how many roost them vs just showing up and setting up in the morning? I don't have a lot of access to decent hunting areas so I am pretty limited on where I go. I typically watch fields to try and get a general idea of where they are hanging out and may walk in and sit quietly a couple of mornings prior to my hunt to see if I hear gobbling.

Also, for those that are roosting them, can you explain how you are doing it?

Thanks!

[stinkpickle]

I generally don't bother roosting birds once I'm familiar with an area, but that really depends on how far away the property is.

As for roosting technique, I will hunt until sundown where it's legal and lay out assembly yelps in hopes snagging a bird coming to roost, or at least try to anchor the roost location nearby.  If I don't see or hear anything, I will visit a couple of high spots during sunset and fire up some locator calls.  Sometimes they gobble after fly up; sometimes they don't.

[MK M GOBL]

I will usually try to "put them to bed", I am also locating early AM to make sure they are where I left them. I have been able to learn a bird to the tree he's in, flydown time and which way he likes to go in the morning. I put a lot of time in to "scouting" and leads to a lot of success!

MK M GOBL

[Bowguy]

Why would you not wanna know exactly where they are n be set up close., if you have limited property n the birds aren't there, Id go elsewhere. Can't have only one spot because of those limitations

[BDeal]

Why would you not wanna know exactly where they are n be set up close., if you have limited property n the birds aren't there, Id go elsewhere. Can't have only one spot because of those limitations

I have quite a few spots but almost all of them are hunted heavily and a lot of times the birds are coming from private neighboring property and there just aren't a lot of birds around in general.

[BDeal]

I will usually try to "put them to bed", I am also locating early AM to make sure they are where I left them. I have been able to learn a bird to the tree he's in, flydown time and which way he likes to go in the morning. I put a lot of time in to "scouting" and leads to a lot of success!

MK M GOBL

Can you explain how you go about roosting them?

Thanks!!!

[davisd9]

I have been very fortunate with roosted birds. Both I have killed this year I roosted.


Sent from the Strut Zone

[longbeard11]

I don't always roost because here in wv evening gobbling is very hit and miss in my area anyways, but when I can I do try and roost birds. Especially if my time is limited a for im hunting a fairly new area. Putting a bird to roost just ups your odds that much more! If I go out of state to hunt and I can I will definitely roost birds! Time is limited on trips and having an idea of where a bird is sleeping make things that much easier in the morning as a starting point.

As far as roosting birds goes I will go out in the evenings and let things settle down, get to a high point where u can hear a lot of ground and where sound will carry well. After sunset I just listen for birds to fly up. Once birds are up and settled on the limb, if they don't gobble on their own I will hit em with an owl hooter, either natural voice hooting or Harrison hootn stick is what I use. If I can get a bird to respond I will then begin to concentrate on him to figure out exactly where he is and formulate a plan to set up close on him in the dark the following morning.

Roosted ain't roasted, but by golly it sure helps!

[MK M GOBL]

I will usually try to "put them to bed", I am also locating early AM to make sure they are where I left them. I have been able to learn a bird to the tree he's in, flydown time and which way he likes to go in the morning. I put a lot of time in to "scouting" and leads to a lot of success!

MK M GOBL

Can you explain how you go about roosting them?

Thanks!!!

My way of "putting them to bed" consists of some visual, and then I will listen for the sounds of bird moving into the timber. I will wait to see if the tom starts to work his hens to his roost site, I don't want to be so close to where they are going up but with in hearing range. I will use my locator calls once I feel he is up in the tree, I always try to get that last gobble before I'm in the truck... I live in some pretty hilly terrain and have been able to scout this way from a ridge away from their roost site, I have spotted in the tree with the bino's then it's... Back in the morning I am in early and will start with my morning locating. I have used this practice with some great success!

MK M GOBL

[WisTurk]

I've never successfully roosted a bird or put one to bed, but I usually hunt small properties where the birds don't tend to roost at night.  I have access to a larger piece (larger for me anyway) this year so will see if that will change.

[TauntoHawk]

On private: I always try and roost, either by glassing them in the evening if they are using fields to get back to woodlots to roost or by getting where I can listen a long way to see if I hear roost gobbles once they are up in (will use crow or owl calls at dusk but never turkey calls).


On public where I'm hunting wayyyy back in I just try and do lots of scouting preseason and nail down their roost site the best I can and be in those areas very very early when hunting.

[longbeard11]

Like i said in another post I do try and roost if I am able to, if I have properties close, or on the properties I go and hunt before work I definitely try to so that I can try a quick off the roost hunt before work, which has been successful for me several times.

But I also have several properties that are further drives for me that I have hunted for years. I know their roost areas very very well! And on these properties I rarely ever roost birds, but I can guarantee the locations they will be year after year and where I need to be setup. Lots of time scouting and listening really starts to pay off and bring the puzzle together in time.

[GobbleNut]

I'm curious as to how many roost them vs just showing up and setting up in the morning? I don't have a lot of access to decent hunting areas so I am pretty limited on where I go. I typically watch fields to try and get a general idea of where they are hanging out and may walk in and sit quietly a couple of mornings prior to my hunt to see if I hear gobbling.

Also, for those that are roosting them, can you explain how you are doing it?

Thanks!

I think you are asking about how and when to use a locator call to get birds to gobble on the roost.  Use of locator calls to find gobblers is an art unto itself.  You have to do it at the right time,...usually fifteen or so minutes after sundown until full darkness sets in, and in the morning from the time you first start seeing light on the eastern horizon until flydown.  However, the "right time" can vary with where you are hunting, as can the effectiveness of using locator calls, in general.

As for the type of locator to be used, there are all sorts of opinions as to what works best.  Owl calls, crow calls, coyote howlers, gobble tubes, car horns, etc. all have their proponents.  Some of those work better in some places than in others.  My personal opinion is that it is the volume of the call, and the "abruptness" you present it with, that makes a gobbler shock-gobble at whatever sound you make.  A loud, abrupt noise is what spurs most turkeys into gobbling, not any sort of realism you put into the call.

Here's what I recommend you do if you want to determine how effective locator call tactics will work where you hunt:  Go out to the area you hunt about sunset;  listen for a few minutes quietly to see if any birds gobble on their own; 10-15 minutes after sunset (just about the time the light begins to fade), using whatever sound you can make very loudly and abruptly, just make a quick loud sound,...then listen;  wait five more minutes and repeat;  wait five more minutes and repeat,...until it is full darkness (from my experiences, most birds gradually will stop responding to locators when it gets totally dark).

You should do this on more than one evening, and in more than one location where you know there are birds roosting.  Evening roosting is generally "hit or miss" depending on where you hunt.  There are some regions of the country where evening roosting is very effective in locating gobblers,...and there are some regions where it almost never works.  You have to find out for yourself.

Morning roosting with locators:  I have never hunted anywhere that gobblers would not gobble to locator calls used at the right time in the morning.  Starting at the first hint of daylight, again go out to where you want to locate gobblers;  sit for a few minutes and listen to see if any birds start up on their own; about the time you can start making out objects (a little bit light, but still pretty dark), start doing the same thing as with evening roosting. 

Again, if at all possible, do this where you know there are some birds roosting, regardless of if it is where you hunt or not.  Your first attempts at morning roosting are basically to determine when the optimum times for gobblers to start gobbling are.  Some birds will start gobbling in response to locators very early (as in the dark),...and some won't gobble until a bit later than that.  You have to determine which type you are dealing with so that you know when you need to be using your locators. 

You should try using different sounds for locating, but whatever you use, get the loudest call of that type you can find.  The loudness of the call is extremely important.  A locator has to elicit that "shock response" from a gobbler,...and if the call is not loud enough, it will not shock them into gobbling at it.

Other points to be made:  Don't use locators when you don't need to,...or when the circumstances don't call for it.  People that hunt small properties and especially ones that they are familiar with, usually don't need locator calls. 
Don't overdo your locator call use:  gobblers will "adjust" to shock gobbler use.  Most will gobble on your first or second "sequence" on the call if you are using it during "prime time".  Using a locator over and over again on a bird can cause him to stop responding to it, both in the short term and long term.  Don't make a habit of blasting away on your locators just to make a bird gobble so you can listen to it.  It's fun to do, but can eventually can get to be counter-productive as to what you are trying to accomplish in locating birds.

[Farmboy27]

I always try to put birds to bed. I know my hunting areas very well but that doesn't mean the birds are always roosted at the same spot. When I have a bird roosted it makes the choice of where to go in the morning a lot easier. Plus, it's good excuse to get out of the house and maybe hear a gobble or two!

[fallhnt]

I hunt public land in 4 states and know it well. The birds use the same areas year after year so I don't roost to know what tree they are in. I roost to know if a spot is worth hunting. As my buddy says," We can rule something out or we are ready to go."