Roosting turkeys

What's your best method? I've never had much luck. Hunted this morning and had several in different areas, but couldn't pin point exact locations. Want to get right in their wheel house tomorrow morning, so trying to find them.

Listen for their gobbles at dusk. So I guess you should be there now. Slip in within 200 yards before daybreak the next day

Get as close as you can to the roost sights at sundown. and sit and listen for them.

I wait near suspected roosting sites and owl hoot just as it is getting dark. This sometimes gets a gobble in response. Sometimes they will just gobble without the owl hoot. If you are close enough you can sometimes hear their wing beats as they fly up. It has been my experience that turkeys will often move sometime during the night. I have seen them fly up and know exactly which tree they were in at dark and then the next morning find out they were 50 to 100 yards away in a different tree. Nothing for certain with turkeys..

Coyote howler will get them to bust off.

I was coyote hunting once and a a tom gobble ten times in a rows when my call started.

Spooking birds off the roost can ruin your hunt.

Locate them later in the day a see where they head to near dark!

I rarely had time to roost them before the next day's hunt and the few times I tried I only found them once. I always tried to find them in the morning with crow calls or a predator call. Funny but owl calls never worked in California for me even though we have lots of owls.

I found that coyote howls would sometimes make them shut up so I stopped using them.

Later in the morning a hawk scream would get them going.

Good luck.

Pete

I like a peacock during the day, but turkeys will still gobble on the roost for a few hours after dark too. I like to go out right at dark and owl hoot Until I locate them, but I seldom roost birds. I like to run and gun better.

It can be hit or miss. Sometimes they just won’t gobble in the evening. One time years ago I sat in a spot listening until it was nearly dark and heard nothing. The next morning they were roosted where I had been sitting. I still don’t know how they got there.

I’ve never had much luck with roosting. Plus, too much of a chance of spooking them

Turkey's will usually roost close to water. The first thing they do in the morning when coming off the roost is get a drink.

Bingo!!

I've had the best success roosting birds with an owl call, no need to get too close of an evening. 200+++ yards away is plenty close, especially if you know the terrain you'll be hunting the next morning.

One tip, I've shared with many new turkey hunters, you're FAR better off being 30 minutes EARLY, than 5 minutes TOO late in the am. You bump them off the roost or screw up getting in too late.......this can make for a very looooong morning in the turkey woods. Been there done that enough, LOL. The cover of darkness is your FRIEND!!

Well, found the bird last night, dumb luck as he wasn't replying to anything, but spotted him late. Snuck in this morning and had a bunch gobbling, but he was the only one close. He slowly worked his way in, but hung up at 45 yards because he was scared of my avian x strutter. Would have left that in the truck, cause I know they're hit and miss, especially this early, but male interaction is the most fun part of turkey hunting imo.

Hang ups suck, they aren't dumb birds.You'llget a shot yet!

There Isn't any water around here where I hunt so I wouldn't count on water. And the birds around here will not respond to any owl hoot. They just seemed to have stopped responding.

Find a food source that the hens are using and wait them out. The gobblers will not be far behind.
I gave up hunting the roost areas a long time ago. I would rather run and gun and call.

age of the turkey population is a big factor on the shear amount of gobbling! In my area the old boss gobblers might only gobble once or twice on the roost, then pitch down and silently hunt down hens. they seam to spend a lot of time cruising clearings just looking close lipped! If you want tons of gobbling find two year olds they Are bucket mouths! When I take someone that's never hunted turkeys. I seek out those birds they put on a academy award performance. For a challenge find a boss gobbler that's surrounded by 5-6 big mouthed jakes. But be prepared to sit along time! And be well hidden the jakes will come in multiple times before big boy will commit! But I guarantee you will get your fix on gobbling

They love steep hillsides also I know a place in WY where they roost about every year in a 300 yard radius on a hillside.

ours roost beside rivers on steep hillsides and ravines or wooded areas around ponds and water holes

I have never observed this in Missouri - killed over 30+ gobblers and guided at least another 20+ - never have I seen roosted birds go get a drink before assembling in the morning. Not going to say they won't, but I have never thought a water source was more important than an initial assembly area or strutting zone.

im sure u will see different opinions on this in varying country,same as differences in terrains habits varying to some degree etc. Always seems to be the way it works.

45 yards is good for me I will kill them at 55 if i have to. What are you shooting.

I'm shooting a bow, and he was out the wrong side. I could only peak out a crack in the closed blind window at him as he stood their gobbling and quarter strutting. I'd prefer to kill em inside 20. Part of the fun for me is getting em in close, committed, and spitting mad. I like hearing the drumming 10 yards away. Just killing a turkey isn't good enough for me, the rest is all part of the experience.

And that's what It's all about.

I've notched one tag so far... Called one in for a buddy he notched one.. Called one in for my Son and Nephew yesterday and He went on the Backside of the blind in the brush and wouldnt come out for us.. He was a nice Tom.. I'm gonna pursue him the next couple days. Seems to be a good amount of Birds around my hunting area this year. Sometimes those decoys dont help and sometimes they come running for them.. Depends on their mood that day. Saturday they Came running in to calls, This morning they hen up quick and was tight lipped.

Tough year here for me... either the cold spring has got them late getting started or our bird numbers are down for some reason... not just my observation, everyone local has pretty much the same story... 3 weeks left though, there's a dumb one somewhere...

Roosting turkeys >>>> I set up blind (bow hunt) each year in one of two places. Turkeys seem to change up some from where they roost from year to year. Where I set up though I'm about 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile from where they roost usually. I don't get all hung up on being close to a roost because these birds travel a long ways each day any way. I very seldom hunt early and if I get there by 8 am that is early. I let them do their thing then hunt them into late morning and evenings. I'm not saying this is the right way to hunt them but it works for me and evenings are the best IMO.

On Sunday I missed one at 10 am because I ranged the wrong distance. I must of picked up on the tall grass 23 yards bird was at 30 yards.

we start locating birds early april in mornings , they will be close to that area every day unless pushed off we dont call to them at all pre season , our season just opened yesterday . i am blessed to be in woods every morning and have alot of birds located for season, run trail cams on our food plots . we called birds in on 3 set ups yesterday we try to shoot our older birds my son shot a 4 year old yesterday 1 1/2 spurs 21.5 lb. gone after a double beard in am he was in food plot tonight with hens.

How do you tell the difference in age once they're mature toms? Seems to me birds in my area are 6-8" beards at 2, but I've never understood how to tell past 3. Seems every Tom around here is 9-10".

Beard length Is Not An Accurate Gauge of A Turkey's Age.

Spur Length Is The Way To Judge Age.

w

^ >>>> might be the best way but here the rocks and tough country wear those spurs right down to dull stubs. Not sure it would be the way to age them here because birds can be older but spurs are wore right down.

You can't, beyond a WAG.