Early bird gets the Turkey-calling them from the roost

[upnorth]

Do any of you try to get them coming right from the trees in the morning and is this very effective. Do you actually call almost before legal shooting time to get them thinking of coming your way so they do come at daylight?

How important is that first hour to you?

Have you logged what the average time of day you shot most of your birds?

[MickT]

It's a good a time as any to kill one, especially if you can grab his attention before he gets to his hens. Every bird I have called up this season has been within an hour of fly down, which is not typical for me.

Get in early! I walked into the roost of the best bird I killed this year at 5:15. Sunrise was a little after 6. I ran a pile of deer all under them but it was so early it didn't matter. He started gobbling in the moonlight at 5:35. He flew down around 6, strutted down the woods road, and was dead by 6:10. Being in the woods at fly down generally gives you the most gobbling you will hear all day and the most information as to the gobbler's location, even if you don't kill him straight off the limb.


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[Cottonmouth]

5 out of my 6 birds this year were 15 or less after flydown. After you locate him, get set up early and quietly.  Then do a few tree yelps and clucks.  When it gets light enough, I do a couple fly downs with a wing or my cap. Then cluck and purr and shut up and start looking for him.

[upnorth]

It's a good a time as any to kill one, especially if you can grab his attention before he gets to his hens. Every bird I have called up this season has been within an hour of fly down, which is not typical for me.

Get in early! I walked into the roost of the best bird I killed this year at 5:15. Sunrise was a little after 6. I ran a pile of deer all under them but it was so early it didn't matter. He started gobbling in the moonlight at 5:35. He flew down around 6, strutted down the woods road, and was dead by 6:10. Being in the woods at fly down generally gives you the most gobbling you will hear all day and the most information as to the gobbler's location, even if you don't kill him straight off the limb.


Is it normal for Tom's to start gobbling when it is still dark out. I could see how you could get them all excited for the day?

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[LaLongbeard]

Getting close to the roost before the gobbler wakes up and then convincing him there's a hen near his tree and getting him to come close enough for a shot is Spring turkey hunting IMO.I've killed quite a few late morning a few in late afternoon but right off the roost is the most satisfying hunt especially on hard hunted public land easterns were one mistake will end the hunt.

[Bowguy]

You'll normally hear more gobbling in that 20 mins than you will the rest of the day. Roosting birds is so you can be close enough to see em wake up, hit the ground and relatively often fall over. It's very successful and may be one of the more successful/highest percentage shots imo. There's no guarantees but the odds are higher than normal imo

[fallhnt]

When you hunt in a state that hunting hours close at 1:00 it's important to me to get tight and call em in. Also I hunt public so between the idiots and the mushroom hunters it's important to get er done fast. I've heard hens that were roosted near me call so aggressive it was fun to listen to. So I call as my mood dictates.

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[Scout24]

It can be very effective when it all comes together. Sunday my 15 yr old son shot his bird that flew down right into the decoys after we set up 70 yards away from his roost in green field 1/2 hr before daylight. Monday I had another fly down from 80 yds away into a single decoy to 40 yds out but it was so dark I couldn't be sure it wasn't a jake. A minute later a hen flew down and led him away and it was a good bird. The key is too get in real early and be as quiet as a mouse. That first 45 minutes of daylight can be wild but after that they hook up and it's 3 hours of dead time that I dread. These are known roosting white pines with lots of droppings beneath them that they use year after year but not every day.

[TauntoHawk]

I have tipped a bunch maybe half my birds first thing in the morning in the roost zone.. I have probably 8 that have died less than 1min after being on the ground by being in gun range of where he lands

Sometimes the gobblers wont roost right with the hens later in the season and you can get in tight and be between them, other times the gobbler is the first bird on the ground and being the first (hen) on the ground can be advantageous. I do try to not over call the bird on the limb, mostly sit back and observe listen. I often will only seek 1-3 gobbles to my calls while they are in the tree but will call to him the moment he hits the ground or even is still in the air.

This year its 50/50 I have 8am, 10am, 6:08am, and 6:04am kills and a 5:55am miss.

[Farmboy27]

I love getting in close to a bird on the roost. It's the "classic" turkey hunt. But, I've killed a much better percentage of my birds after 7 am. I've killed most of longbeards after 8 am. Most birds will gobble on the roost even if they have hens. Hear one gobbling after 8 and there's a good chance he's lonely

[Mount Sweetness]

If I'm close enough to the roost, I won't call at all.
If you put them to bed the night before, you will see from which direction they will fly up, they more often than not will fly down towards that same spot.  Be there and be quiet, be reading for him to hit the ground and run.

[BrowningGuy88]

I've killed over a 100 and probably 85 of those have died within 10 minutes of flying down. Heck, probably 50 have died when they hit the ground and stretched their head out.

[RemingtonRules]

I've killed over a 100 and probably 85 of those have died within 10 minutes of flying down. Heck, probably 50 have died when they hit the ground and stretched their head out.

Are you hunting farm country with lots of fields?

[BTH]

Have killed a few as they were coming off the roost right to me. I like to be the first hen that he hears as well. If he answers me with preliminary soft calling I will go quiet until flydown time. One unorthodox thing I like to do sometimes is a flydown either with or without a cackle late in the season. Have killed several just imitating wing beats after tree calling. I wonder sometime if the dominant bird sometimes thinks that is a sub trying to get his hen.

[BrowningGuy88]

I've killed over a 100 and probably 85 of those have died within 10 minutes of flying down. Heck, probably 50 have died when they hit the ground and stretched their head out.

Are you hunting farm country with lots of fields?

Some fields, some pine plantations, some creek bottoms.