Roosting Turkeys

[Squirrelhunter91]

Does anyone have a good way to put a Tom to sleep? We have a good idea where the birds are and we are going out this weekend to listen for gobbles. We plan on roosting them the night before the youth hunt and coming back the next morning and getting r done. We have never roosted birds before so I am asking for suggestions.

[buckbuster11]

Roosting a bird is really just going out and using your ears to find where some birds are roosting. I usually dont do any calling unless the birds are dead silent and I need to know where one is at. In that case I'll try an owl hoot or a crow call first, then I'll try a hen call to see if I can get a response.

[Covehnter]

If you know the general area that the birds are going to be and especially if you have more that one person going to listen, just spread out around the roost areas and see if you can hear them flyup, if no luck ease out and start owling just after they flyup and try to cover lots of ground. . . more ground you cover the more likely you'll bump into a bird that'll let you know where he is.

[RatherBowHunt]

I agree with buckbuster....i never call when i am roosting the turkeys as long as the wind is fairly calm to where i am able to hear the bird fly up...if it is too windy to hear that i will entice a gobble with an owl hoot just before dark!!!! Good Luck!

[slughunter]

what i do is spook them into the woods then they sleep in the trees that you scare them into.

[6sixpoint_nobrows]

talk to the best i know! ratherbowhunt! he is the best! his names matt, give him a message. i think he speaks to the turkeys so talk to him hes awesome!

[Leo]

If you don't hear them fly up an owl hoot works best for me at roosting time. The birds will only shock gobble for fifteen to twenty minutes after roosting. 9 out 10 birds will sneak in on the ground and not gobble at all in the afternoon. Using a hen call when you aren't actually hunting is a huge mistake. Areas with lots of wild dogs and coyotes produce the quietest birds.

[hookedonhunting]

owl hooter

[Strut10]

Well.............I'll go against the grain here.

I always use turkey calls to roost birds. I will approach an area I suspect thy're roosting in. When I'm about 150 yards out.......and just before dark......I'll start clucking on a mouthcall. One cluck at a time with a bit of "lost urgency". Slowly, I'll walk my way in......just like a real hen looking for company. More often than not, if there's a gobbler in the area, he'll gobble. When he does, I'll find a place that will be good for a setup in the morning and I'll do a flyup from right there somewhere. Now that old boy's got all night to sit on that limb and think about that "hen" he's got waiting for him in the morning.

[James7xChamp3]

One thing I learned about roosting, is if you don't strike a gobble or hear them fly up, doesn't mean they are not there or close by. I go more by scouting and patterning and always have few areas to hunt in case one area isn't producing action. But then again, the last two gobblers I've taken never made a sound from dawn until my gun went off!

[Strut10]

[ QUOTE ]
if you don't strike a gobble or hear them fly up, doesn't mean they are not there or close by.

[/ QUOTE ]

I know you're right!!

I forgot to mention that, as I'm walking in toward where I suspect the tom to be roosting, I never go close enough for him to bust me. I'll stop and leave before I get too close.............even if I got no response.

[ronin]

In my experience, the other thing to do is look for a good tree that stands out from the rest. In a pinch or if it is late, a turkey will take any tree. If they have time, they have a tendency to go to one of several trees already roosted in.

There seems to be some heirarchy involved, too. The old gobbler is often the last bird in the tree and I have watched them literally bully the other birds up first so he is the last. Consequently, he also seems to be the last one down so it pays not to be impatient when watching the roost during the evening scout and the morning hunt.

Now about the trees. My only experience is with Rios but this is what they do in my area: It seems the birds alway pick what we call bull or digger pines. These trees are different from other pines because they have very long curving main beams that go out and turn up like bull horns. There are very few smaller branches and the pine needles are not thick at all. These trees stand out from the oaks because they are much taller and they are not as thickly covered. These trees also have a tendency to be alone or on hill tops and knolls.

Why do the birds pick these trees? I think it is because they offer a great vantage point for viewing the ground before coming off the roost. They also have a tendency to allow room for more birds and allow these birds to see each other and the ground better.

Hope this helps.