Roost Steps

[phade]

Roosting is a lost art form these days as property sizes shrink and blind hunting them rises in popularity.

 

Lay down your roosting steps from start to finish...interested in picking up some new tricks to the trade.

[TeeBugg]

I would like to know as well....

[HectorBuckBuster]

All I did if the wind was calm was pull up the farm driveway and park about a hour before dark and just kick back and listen. I also just drive around on the roads in the National Forest find a nice spot and just pull over and park and listen. On a calm evening when those birds gobble up on the ridge you can hear them from a 1/2 mile away.Sometime, I do get out and walk alittle, but I have spooked birds before that where alittle late going to bed.

[TeeBugg]

Hoping to roost one tomorow nite. Huntint an area i dont have alot of scouting time on. Know the general area and landowner has told me where he has seen tracks. But basically going in blind. Figure tomorow nite ill try a crow or owl call shortly before dark.

[verminater71]

I always did as a kid, then I learned a couple things

 

1. they talk @night less than 10% of the time

2. it gets dark late this time off year, which means you get home late, and risk over sleeping

 

however if you really want to give it a go, my favorites

 

red or grey fox bark, is killer, pilleated woodpecker is good

 

I don't use a coyote howler, it will work, however I don't like to alarm them to much

[genesee_mohican]

I like to get in the woods by 5:20am a day or 2 before the season and listen and determine where they are roosting. If you can sit for an hour or 2 you can also determine where they head from there. And this week, with the dry leaves underfoot and can be very dicey trying to get close to roosted birds.

[G-Man]

Always listen to the residents where they see birds , especially early am/late evening. On unscouted ground look at a topo if in hill country look for east and south facing slopes with benches on them, especially if the wind is out of the west / northwest. Gullies inside corners of field edges are also prime spots. in rainy weather the same locations with large pine/hemlock/spruce are prefered. high winds will push turkeys further down the hills 100-300 yards. Now to locate owl calls at sunset 100-300 yards from locations. or other locator calls can be used (silent dog whistles get them going good) if its a ridge line you can travel easily move down and back calling every 100 yards or so. don't just call pause and listen for a few moments sometimes you can here tehm fly up. i like to go with a second person staying 10-20 yards apart, a lot of time a bird will only gobble 1x or cut off your call and you cant hear it well yourself a second set of ears comes in handy. When u find a roost area it will be used again and again and again year after year.(makes scouting much easier the following year.) You may also just have a good point to listen from (i have a treestand on the edge of a drop off that lets me look and listen 1-2 miles up the valley) after some time i can pinpoint birds 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile to within a 100 yards or so usuing knowledge i have accuried hunting the same area for years. Keep in mind a bird lookinf away from you will sound further than it is a bird the repeatadly gobbles and turns on a limb while doing so is the easiest to locate.  Get up and in the woods early, and with out a light get as close as you can, as the sun rises a gobble may tip you off to its finial location. i try to get myself between the hens and the gobbler(they usually roost in different trees within 50-100 yards of each other) i have even flushed hens out of the tree on  purpose in the dark and when they are walking to the gobbler in the tree, so the gobble wonders where his harem has gone and comes to investigate. Again make mental note of where hens roost, as even if you don't hear a tom the next time you go out you can move on a hen roost and know that a silent gobbler is close by.  When you find 3-5 of these roost areas you can move in and be on a bird before the guy standing out in a field at daylight hooting his head off as you know the birds use the same areas again and again, and have back up places to head if someone else is on your bird before you get there.

[Early]

Oh man, roosting a turkey is neither art nor science.  You simply get near a suspected roost area...make a loud noise to elicit a shock gobble, and if one gobbles, you know where he is...and where you can find him in the morning.  Let's not make this something it is not!

[meatmuzzy]

Roosting a bird is a lot more than just making a turkey gobble before dark.  Sure you know he's there, but what tree EXACTLY?  Which side did he fly up on?  I like to get so close that I can see where he flies up the night before and what limb he is on.  Armed with that info you know exactly where he will pitch off the roost.  This tactic is deadly during the mating phase when those henned up gobblers wont glance in the direction of your calls.  Get in early and quiet, wait for first light and do some tree calling.  Flap your hat against your leg to immitate a hen flying down.  Get ready.

[Early]

Wow....No need to wonder where all the Zombie stuff came from!

[WNY Bowhunter]

Having hunted many of the the same areas for nearly 20 years now, I have a good understanding of the habits of the local turkeys. I don't like to be too overly aggresive by getting in the woods with them when they are headed to roost.  Besides, they just don't gobble much in the afternoon anyways. So, my primary method of roosting involves driving around and spotting birds from the truck in the evenings.  If you spot a gobbler a hour before flyup time he won't be too far away in the morning.  This method has filled many tags for my father and I over the past decade.  Another benefit is that you get to cover alot more ground in search of a lonely longbeard for an early morning date.  If I feel confident in where he is going to be in the morning I'll set-up and wait for him to show up.  Other times, I like to hit him with a crowcall just as it's getting light and then move in on him while he's still in the tree and close the distance before commiting to a set-up.

 

 

But as they say, even if you know exactly what limb he his sitting on...roosted ain't roosted!!!

Edited April 30, 2013 by WNY Bowhunter