Roosting gobblers in the evening

[JMcLeod]

Do's and don't's just wanna hear what other people have found to be successful


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[BB30]

Do's and don't's just wanna hear what other people have found to be successful


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Our birds don't gobble just a whole lot in the evening. Most places I hunt it's pretty tough to roost a bird.

I do have one spot that for some reason you can just hear turkeys fly up really well regardless of where they are roosting on the property. So, generally, on very still calm evenings I will slip in and listen for turkeys flying up.

Later in the season our turkeys will get a touch more vocal or if we have had 3-4 good days of gobbling weather they will occasionally gobble once or twice after flying up.

I'm not a huge fan of doing anything to try and make them gobble on the limb in the afternoon so I generally just let the evening play out and Mother Nature decide on whether or not I hear a turkey gobble on the limb in the evening.


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[deerpoo22]

Anything's possible but I don't even bother anymore. Just two years ago I went up my property owl hooting my head off never heard a single gobble. Went to the same exact spot the next morning and had 4 different Tom's all gobbling within 300 yards of me.

[J.D. Shellnut]

A central location where birds are known to be. And a frosty adult beverage on the tailgate! 

[eggshell]

I agree with others, if you just want to kill time get a good beverage and some snacks and go for it. If I have anything else to do then do it, I can count on my fingers all the gobblers I've roosted and then killed the next day and I've killed my share +. if I do it all I do is owl hoot. If I'm lucky enough to be close to one then I give him a fly up cackle to sleep on and return the next morning. If I'm in a spot that allows it I'm usually hunting in the evening. I've killed quite a few gobblers on evening hunts and had them work just fine.

[Ctrize]

If you are hunting public I think its a must in the evening. If you can pin point a bird the night before its a big jump on guys coming out late in the morn. And even if you don't kill that bird there is a reason he is in the area could be food ,ladies or just a good roost, either way you have a good place to hunt now and for the future.

[Harty]

I have Permission / priveledge to hunt multiple areas and through years of scouting and hunting know where the birds typically roost. If they sound off in the AM and I feel I am too far away I will at times strategically move.  I used to roost at night but found bird responses very inconsistent and non reliable where I hunt.Besides.....currently these ol' bones are turning in by the time birds are flying up. 2:30am wake up you know!!

[appalachianassassin]

Roosting takes a lot of the adventure out of the hunt for me

[fallhnt]

It can rule out a spot.

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[Dtrkyman]

They do not have to gobble to roost em!  Evening scouting has caused the demise of many a gobbler for me and friends over the years.

I love going in the morning when I know exactly where they are, nothing like watching em on the limb!

[shaman]

We've got 200 acres all to ourselves.  I've got a cabin on the property, and it's at the high-point.  I can sit on the back in the evening, sip a cocktail, and listen to the birds as they go to roost.

1)  Birds tend to pick the same roosts year after year.  I hear turkeys flying up to the same place, where I heard them in 2002.

2)  If I hear one gobble from the roost in the evening, I'll hear at least 5 more coming from other roosts.

3)  By proxy, I can assume that if Tree A's gobbler is hot tonight, Tree B's gob out on the back of the property will be pretty hot in the morning.


The general rule that I see is that gobbling from the roost marks a fairly high level of arousal.  It usually comes after several warm days-- for us, it's highs in the 70's.    If the next  morning is warm, then the gobs are going to be hot.

[turkaholic]

Roosting ain't roasting. Words of wisdom right there. I roost once and a while. Especially at the beginning of the season. Once the sleep deprivation sets in after a few weeks, screw that crap. Go to bed!

[aaron]

Surprised to hear so many discounting having a bird roosted.  We religiously roost birds the night before.  I will say I have little luck making a bird gobble.  If he's gonna gobble it's gonna be on his own accord.  Around me they usually do it.  And it's a lot later than most think.  I see guys quitting trying to roost when I am going out.  Usually within ten minutes either side of legal sunset.  And my odds skyrocket once I know where a bird is the night before compared to starting the morning not knowing where one is

[limbhanger777]

When roosting birds, I try to stay back as much as possible. Use binos to see where they are in the evening about an hour before you think they will head to the roost.

I've learned to NEVER try to get close to the birds. I've had times where I tried to sneak in close and have busted them out of the tree. The next morning they could be a half mile across the valley.

As it starts to get dusk and you are almost certain they are roosted try to get to an elevated area at least 100 yards from the turkeys (preferably further). Here I will try just about any sound to get the birds to gobble and sometimes they just wont. I usually have pretty good luck with Owl sounds or a coyote howl but have even used peacock sounds and gotten responses.