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Had one ON the roost this morning...gobbling his head off. Could see him 50-60 yards away. Leaning my way and HAMMERING. Beautiful young, tender, willing hen dek ready for the taking. He's looking at her...about to pitch down. What does he do? Turns around on the limb and FLYS (not pitches) the other way for 1/2 mile or more. Hunt was over at 6:30. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!

Did I mention today was hunt #40 this season????


I'm hunting TX, KY, FL, AL, Neb, KS, SD, OK, MT,,, SOMEWHERE else next year!!

sounds like my luck. I had a two year old burning it up yesterday morning. I got in the food plot I knew he was feeding and breeding in and that joker flew a mile across the creek on to another piece of land. Looks like I will be birdless this year but I've enjoyed my time in the woods and had a couple of decent hunts so far.

Found out my neighbor has about 600 pounds of corn spread down his roads. The dumb @ss dropped half a bag on the road through our property that he has an easement on. I guess he has all our birds henned up.

Yall need to quit trying to use those decoys after about the first couple of weekends. Soft tree yelps, let him know your there and shut up.

Should've ended at shooting hours. Who cares if he's a little banged up from hitting the limbs and ground on the way down.

deltadukman wrote:Yall need to quit trying to use those decoys after about the first couple of weekends. Soft tree yelps, let him know your there and shut up.

You're the first guy I have heard on here say to call at a roosted bird. I bet I have read 100+ comments say to NEVER call at a bird on the roost. I have seen it work doing both techniques because I have killed them both ways. There are no concrete rights and wrongs for turkey hunting. You are at their mercy in the spring.

Thought ab shooting him off the limb, but I don't hunt that way. Not till the last week anyway! But he needs killing!!

cockandlock25 wrote:

deltadukman wrote:Yall need to quit trying to use those decoys after about the first couple of weekends. Soft tree yelps, let him know your there and shut up.

You're the first guy I have heard on here say to call at a roosted bird. I bet I have read 100+ comments say to NEVER call at a bird on the roost. I have seen it work doing both techniques because I have killed them both ways. There are no concrete rights and wrongs for turkey hunting. You are at their mercy in the spring.

I do it and I will continue to do it, but I try and let it get good enough daylight before I do, and I usually take my hat and do a fly down before I call. Especially with a bird i've been hunting for a few days. Less is more in my opinion. I am not one for decoys, but your right, nothing is set in stone with these birds...but I've killed more and had less spook without a decoy, then with them...especially older smarter birds.

THE BUCKMAN wrote:Had one ON the roost this morning...gobbling his head off. Could see him 50-60 yards away.

this distance, the decoy, and any calling would concern me in your described situation. MAYBE you can get 50-60 yards on a turkey that has never been hunted and there is a sand road leading into a lot of cover and you got there wayyy before dark. But still...if you can see him - then he can see you. and then you definitely cant call or blink and you still probably couldnt have gotten that close without alerting him to "something strange".

and seeing how he flew the other direction - he was probably spooked by you or the decoy. All it takes is a little "something strange" for a lot of turkeys to go the other way without blinking an eye.

hearing a gobble and seeing a turkey will bring you back though.

aweyerman wrote:Should've ended at shooting hours. Who cares if he's a little banged up from hitting the limbs and ground on the way down.

I like your style

all i really know bout turkey hunting is when its the birds time to die it'll happen.

example took a buddy last monday bird wasn't all that hot, but he was gobbling better'n any i been on this season, could see him 70 or so yrds out, we were between he and his hens, it was pretty good daylight by the time we got there, bird pitched down after 7 when he touched down so did a coupla jakes across the field, the longbeard headed to the hills never saw him again, LEFT HIS HENS TO A COUPLA JAKES. went back wednesday for a quick look see on way to work. i went in sneaky and silent, set up within 30 yrds of were he was roosted 2 days prior, he was close (gobbling non stop), but couldn't see him, he pitched down at 615 with 5 hens, never called till he was on the ground, and only enough for him to know i was there, hunt was over at 630, after i watched him for fifteen minutes, that made my full limit for the year, incedentally, he was the smallest bird of the season and i hunted over no decoys, the previous birds were called at on the roost, and decoys were deployed, differant tactics for differant birds and pressure situations, the hunters that are the most sucessful know how to deploy the right tactics and when, and they are also some genuinely lucky SOB's


just my $.02 if they were easy would we like huntn'm so much

Perfect Solution--

Shut down the 24 hour text/email hotline that you run through your blackberry for a morning...bet you'll get one.

jus' sayin

when you get finished toten the number two mans musket around for him holler and we will try again.

JCOOLEY wrote:when you get finished toten the number two mans musket around for him holler and we will try again.

Baaaah! I think we're done already...wasn't about anything. Next week looks good.

I have found when you manage to get REAL close they can get spooky. I personally use decoys, but NOT when I am that close to a bird on the roost. WHen he is up there and he can see her and it's not fly down time, and then he starts gobbling and everything and your decoy doesn't move at all much less go twoards him like she's supposed too I think that spooks them.

As far as calling, I don't hesitate to call when they are in the tree, however I primarily use clucks and tree yelps to call to them mainly stuff I hear other hens do when they are in the tree. Again though if you are that close the gobbler may expect to see what is calling in the tree. When I get close and have called in the past it has sometimes caused them to stay in the tree for an extended period of time. So I just play it from bird to bird, but I am never afraid to tree yelp why he is still in the tree, and then I always do a flydown with my wing after scratching it against some pine bark first to make it more realistic.