| Author | Message | ||
| Freddy McGuire (Vaturkey)
|
Quick question... What is your thoughts/theories about calling to birds that are still on the roost? Here's mine- I think overcalling to a bird on the roost is a no-no... I keep calling to a minimum using a few tree yelps to get his attention and then when the time is right a fly-down cackle might be in order. In turkey hunting every circumstance is different, such as a gobbler with hens. But what is your general rule? | ||
| GOBBLENOW |
If I have made a tree yelp or light call and I know he heard me and he answered it, I try not to call to him on the roost again...sometimes i have to putthe call out of reach cause it is hard to hold back. When it is light enough I always will use a fly down with a wing..then I get ready. If he is still up there gobbling in a tree a half hour later I might have a hard time holding back one more little peep of some kind. If he is up there in the tree gobbling an hour later I can assume we have a problem, for sure. I think that if you call too much while he is in the tree the gobbler gets convinced you(hen) are coming to him(since you/hen are answering everything he does and vice versa), and then when you do not show up , they get spooked and go other way. Course if here are a bunch of hens calling to him while he is in the tree(and you are not between them and him )you have an entirley different set of problems. If he is by himself, and answers your first call...do not ever touch that call again(other than fly down) until you feel you have to, and that should be a while...2 cents. | ||
| TScottW99
|
i agree.... soft tree yelps, maybe a fly down cackle and wait until he hits the ground... like G.N... i have to put my call far away from my prying hands  | ||
| gobbstopper1946 |
I agree with GN also. I "really try" not to call at all to a roosted gobbler. It makes him stay on the limb longer and you risk attracting other hunters, those gobbles travel a long way coming from a tree. GS... | ||
| Chucky |
I like to hear them gobble. I call a lot to birds in the trees. If they come my way fine. I just want to hear the gobbles. I have not killed one yet. | ||
| shopson |
I call till I know his gobble is directed at me.Then I wait til he is on the ground. If I hear other hens, I will call just as much as they do. Feel like I have nothing to lose then. | ||
| HODY |
I agree with Freddy and GN for sure. Chucky I know it is hard to put the call down when they gobble but trust the fact that the more you call to him in the tree the longer he will stay up there on the limb and wait for you (hen) to come walking under him. After a soft tree yelp or two, I sometimes use a flydown and some wingbeats to entice him. I still remember a hunt from years back when I did not know about overcalling, when a bird answered about every call and it was after 8 and he was still on the limb waiting for me. After I shut up for a while he flew down and I killed him shortly after 9.....That was a lesson well learned. | ||
| Turkey576 |
I agree I have tried to call birds from the roost. If you call to much they usally stay in the tree. One method that has worked in the past is to be the first hen on the ground.. I start with soft yelps the give him a fly down cackle and using a turkey wing that was saved from a previous hunt to beat the air and ground. After on the ground I just scratch leaves and call very little soft clucks and purrs, calling away from him. This makes him think I am on the move and leaving him. Sometimes he will pitch down close and start to strut, sometimes they still stay in the tree. It is fun try this if you get a chance. It works well if he has hens also because they get curious as to who you are. Hody what did you think about using this way? Have you had any luck? | ||
| GN |
Freddy, Hody, 576, GS46, and Shopson and I are on the same page and this could be real good or real bad. It is interesting that these people who really only know each other off this board are using almost precisely the same tactics for a gobbling bird in a tree. I wish I had known this in the 60's...I think the light finally went off for me about the early to mid 70's on this one. I will also bet the bunch that is agreement here could fill a dump truck with turkeys they have taken. | ||
| HODY |
Sounds good, I will try the call away, I usually just call very soft if at all after flydown and wait and see what he does. The scratching usually works good too. You know believe it or not I have not been really successful killing birds right off the roost at like 7. Most of mine have been the 9 o clock kills after the hens have gone to roost or when the gobbler gets lonely. It seems like at the roost the hens usually win out and tke them away. | ||
| GN |
Hody- Like I said, I do better at this now than I used to ...half the birds I took last year were taken this way, right off the tree. It will not work every day because the odds are that the gobbler will have hens really close to him much of the season, and particularly before they go to the nest. But if you get a two year old or sub-dominanat bird out there by himself in a tree they can be very susceptible to this tactic. I refer to this early morning stuff one as "sinking one on the break". It is areal nice way to start your day. | ||
| Gobbler Getter
|
I use the same technique as most on this post. I will do a few tree yelps and then the fly down cackle with wing beats. I try to fool him into thinking I am the first hen on the ground. Then I use some soft purrs and clucks along with scratching the leaves. Then just wait on him to come in for a look. If it works, and I emphasize IF, he will come in pretty quick. I have killed several birds this way and have been on my way out of the woods by 7:30am. More times than not though, I have had birds go the other way. Then I go out of the woods empty handed. Kevin Lee | ||
| Ryan Tucker
|
If I can get away with a single cluck and he knows I am there then that is what I do. Of course, some situations prevent this from happening. | ||
| turkeypicker |
Freddy: I agree with you and GN. But you can bet I'll lay the sweet talkin' on him the instance I hear those wings beat! The "shut-up" tactic also works on the hopelessly "hung up" gobblers that are on the ground (when they are hung up out of sight). I'll call them fairly hard then shut up. Sometimes it may take hours but they will usually come. I do think the amount of roost calling depends alot on how close you are to the bird too. If I'm close, I don't call very much. I think you can get away with a little more calling when you are set up farther away. | ||
| mtnbuk
|
I agree with the majority here. Less is more. And, first on the ground is best. However, if hens are roosted where HE CAN SEE THEM, I'm in for a long morning if I want to stay with that particular bird. Being first on the ground won't matter then. That dominant hen will take over and usually take him away. If I have a chance at that bird at all that day, it will be 9, 10, 11:00am.... at the same location when he comes back to find me. |