Roosting tips

[outdoors crazy]

Not something i have done regularly but i always try before the opening of Juvenile in hopes of gettting my neice her first turkey. I did manange to roost one last year only because i saw him right before dark as i was walking out and saw him flying up. With that being said if you got any tips on how you roost a turkey send them my way please! lol

 

[RUGER]

Never had much luck at it myself.

Gotta get in without being seen, sit there for a few hours and hope they fly up where you can see or hear them then wait till slam dark and slip out without them seeing you.

Just not my cup of tea.

 

[muddyboots]

Never worked for me.

 

[Roost 1]

Tip .... Don't waste time with it.
It is a proven strategy but I can guarantee "roosted isn't roasted" lol

 

[outdoors crazy]

Haha..i don't feel to bad then. Get up early...listen...then go after em!

 

[deerhunter10]

Tip .... Don't waste time with it.
It is a proven strategy but I can guarantee "roosted isn't roasted" lol

x2 I only try to roost them for the juvi hunt and opening day and I usually don't waste my time with it. I will for the juvi hunt only this year.

 

[RUGER]

Haha..i don't feel to bad then. Get up early...listen...then go after em!

That is how I do it every time.
Only exception was two years ago for the juvy hunt.
Went in almost 2 hours before daylight and set up a ground blind about 50 yards from a tree line where I knew they roosted especially early in the season.

Man killed a 24 pound bird with 1 1/4" spurs a 10" beard and a 6" beard.

So I guess I "kinda" roosted them.

 

[woodsman87]

I don't see a problem with roosting if you got the right situation and know what your doing. Roosted definately aint roasted, but it sure does help me for the next day.

Just go to a high point late in the afternoon, 30-45 minutes before dark. Do not get into where the turkeys would be if you can help it. If it is a still, quiet afternoon you can hear them fly up from a long ways. They also normally gobble a few times in the tree.

It is up to you though, sometimes it aint worth the risk of spooking them. It is hard for me to explain, but sometimes you just have the right peice of ground to roost one.

 

[outdoors crazy]

Thanks guys

 

[Jarred525]

I don't see a problem with roosting if you got the right situation and know what your doing. Roosted definately aint roasted, but it sure does help me for the next day.

Just go to a high point late in the afternoon, 30-45 minutes before dark. Do not get into where the turkeys would be if you can help it. If it is a still, quiet afternoon you can hear them fly up from a long ways. They also normally gobble a few times in the tree. X2

It is up to you though, sometimes it aint worth the risk of spooking them. It is hard for me to explain, but sometimes you just have the right peice of ground to roost one.

 

[Jarred525]

I agree with woodsman. Roosted aint roasted but it does help me a lot for the next days hunt to decide between areas to hunt.

 

[Andy S.]

It is a proven strategy but I can guarantee "roosted isn't roasted"

Very true. With that said, I can assure you myself and many others have burned a fair amount of old birds the morning following putting them to bed, mainly due to the fact I knew the precise area they were in overnight and chose my position accordingly. When I am away from the house, I try to make the most of my day and usually hunt, scout or search for turkeys from daylight to dark, thus the reason I do put in the time to try and roost some in the evenings. I can say that it seems the areas I hunt these days have less gobbling turkeys in the evening when compared to places I once hunted, thus I have less success these days than in the past with roosting them at dark in hopes of it helping me the following morning. These days I find myself starting from a clean slate most mornings and letting the day unfold as it may.

 

[woodsman87]

One of the best things about having one roosted, it you for sure know what tree he is in you can get very close to him before daylight without spooking him. Just try to be quiet.

 

[BHC]

The key is knowing the general area they roost. They only gobble a couple times when goin to roost.. So go a few mornings to get a pretty good idea of the area hes Gunna be in.. Then go the afternoon before get in a place you will be able to hear good, and where you can exit w out getting busted... Put him to bed. The great thing about it is you can slip in 1 hr before daylight get closer than normal when it's breaking light maybe 75 yrds or so. Versus showing up at daylight locating 2-3 birds deciding which one to go after, hiking 1/2 mile to get 100-150 yrds from him in potentially a less than ideal set up.. That's the other advantage you know right where he is so you can come in from the ideal way. You also may hear hens fly up somewhere else.. Get between them.. Etc.
To each his own, but when I have the opportunity I try to roost me one...

 

[Gravey]

I hunt a small piece of property down the road and they normally roost in the same general area. Only time I've tried to roost them was before the juvi hunt so I could set a blind up. I definitely like knowing where they start their day.

 

[Roost 1]

All these are great points...just wondering have any of you roosted a bird the night before only to come back the next morning and he not be there?

 

[Andy S.]

.....just wondering have any of you roosted a bird the night before only to come back the next morning and he not be there?

Yes indeed, more times than once. Some of the times that I can recall were when a storm came through that night and some of the times I had no clue what the cause for jumping trees was.

 

[Roost 1]

Happens more times than not for me, this is why I don't put'em to bed much anymore....

 

[catman529]

I hunt a small piece of property down the road and they normally roost in the same general area. Only time I've tried to roost them was before the juvi hunt so I could set a blind up. I definitely like knowing where they start their day.

Tht can be a benefit if certain small properties, however, in big woods, you can find general roosting areas, but no reliability with specific trees.

on the WMA i hunt there are specific areas they do like to roost and it's pretty predictable if you have seen them fly down a few days before. Especially along water courses, you can guess where they will roost. Last year, I even picked out a spot via satellite image, and when I went there to scout, my guess was right, they were roosting along the creek in that spot. of course as the horde of hunters brings the pressure on, their roosting patterns change a lot and they are harder to locate and hunt. And the most frustrating is the bordering cattle farms where birds will roost on the WMA and fly down onto the safe ground! and taunt you all day...

 

[TENN.BOY]

Majority of the time they roost in the same area daily maybe not the same tree,but if you know the area that your hunting they usually have a routine on a daily bases,they go to the same place everyday and eat when they come off the roost,just head them off or be waiting on them when they get there.