Anytime a horny Tom is willing to come dragging his wings towards me, gobbling his head off and believes the BS I'm yelping at him then it's game on.
Right off the roost, 10-2, or the very random chance I'm in the woods the last couple hours of daylight…if he is willing to bark I'm willing to give him a bite, 90% of the time I tuck my tail and head home.
Those late afternoon birds seem to have a purpose, "headed straight toward the roosting woods". They usually get fired up but don't stray too far…when they do it can be epic. When they don't, it's a leg up for the next day.
I don't like to ambush them, which seems to be the most opportunistic style that day of day. Ive found if I can get in the "zone", whatever that is, then every once in a while it's a great hunt. More times than not, I've just let a silent slick Tom walk by, fly into a tree and gobble until it's time to go home. Hoping the next morning we can play a little more fair.