How do u hunt at first light?

[yelpy]

Each day is different for me. Sometimes I listen and move in others I just go set up in the dark. If the leaves are wet I like to get in as close to the roost as I can. Its tough to sneek in on them in the am with a heavy cover of oak leaves. Sometimes I end up too close and watch them fly off.  It really depends on the area and if I want to catch a nap in the woods before fly down. I also try to steer clear of where the deer are hanging out when walking in. I have had them blowing and messing things up.

[renegade19]

IF I don't know where one is, I always attempt to locate one before deciding what to do.  If nothing sounds off after a reasonable time, it's time to put some miles on the boots and go looking.  Like someone said earlier, I try to never make a turkey noise without having somewhere to set down nearby.  Being busted one time by two birds running to the hen is enough!

[stinkpickle]

I always try to be set up by the time the first tree gobble sounds off and listen from there.  It costs me some sleep time, but 80-90% of the terrain I hunt isn't conducive to moving around undetected once the sky starts to glow. 

[Strick9]

Every answer here is spot on. If I know where a bird is roosted I set up close. If I don't I hit a vantage point until I find one and go to him after coursing him good.

[supremepredator]

Sounds like I was doing the right thing.

[TRex18]

For the last two PA mornings....I have not roosted...hooted..crow.....I just get to the highest spot and listen.....I wait till here gobbles....have both mornings 2 different birds and its public land.....but didnt move on a bird till 6am...gobbling starts at 530am.......

was trying to call less this year.
Listen More.
Be more patient.....

But....its on....


Friday May 6th Plan:

Roost Bird if possible-
If not.....at 530 when hear first gobble. GO! Dont RUN but beat feet !
Get in with 150yd-
Shoot em in the face with a 10gauge Magblend. <------(prob not gonna happen) hahaha....

[TRex18]

What are you guys roosting birds with .....Owl hoot?  or soft yelp?

[Farmboy27]

What are you guys roosting birds with .....Owl hoot?  or soft yelp?

Preferably nothing. Probably 70% of the birds I roost gobble on their own after fly up. If it gets almost dark and nothing has gobbled then I'll give a few yelps and even a cutts if need be. If I still don't hear a gobble then I go home and cry myself to sleep!

[ilbucksndux]

I like to slip into a known roost area and wait for them to wake up. If I know the direction they head off in the mornings Ill position myself somwhere along there. If going in to an area totally blind,but I know there are birds I'll get to a spot where I can listen and head off in their direction and get as close as I can. 

[GobbleNut]

I am almost totally a pro-active turkey hunter.  In all but the rarest of cases, I will actively search for roosted gobblers at last light in the evening using locator calls.  If I find one (or more), I will choose the one I think is the most likely candidate for an early morning encounter and then try to get set up on him before first light in the morning.

If I don't find a gobbler in the evening, I will again actively search for one with my locator calls starting at the first hint of daylight in the morning,...and keep moving rapidly until I hit on a gobbler.  At that point, I will again quickly move in close and set up on the bird,...and tailor my calling tactics based on my assessment of the situation at hand. 

In either case, while set up on an early-morning gobbler, I will be keying in on any distant gobbling I hear and mentally noting where it is and how I will approach it if the one I am on falls through.  There will even be times where I will abandon a luke-warm bird I am on to head to a distant gobbler that is showing more interest. 

Having said all of the above, I am also well aware that there are times and places where my preferred hunting tactics may not be the optimum ones to use.  In addition, the presence of other hunters in the area can cause me to modify my tactics such that I am not negatively impacting those hunters opportunities.  In worst-case situations, too many hunters in an area will cause me to abandon my preferred hunting style altogether,...or go looking for a place with fewer competitors where I can hunt the way I like to.

[troutfisher13111]

Ditto GobbleNut's response

[kjcamper]

For me it depends on the size of property I am hunting. Small tracts of land require me knowing that turkeys might use an area and then set up in that area. Larger areas I might set up for a while near known roosting sites. Then I go trolling for a few hours. I used to roost birds but since Wisconsin went to all day hunting I actually try and set up near a known roosting site and try and get a bird coming in to the area to roost.