Roost or not to Roost

[ArkansasDon]

I was curious how many roost their birds and how many dont?

I hunt with guys that do, personally it aint my bag, I like going out in the blind not known were the birds are. I like to locate them then do a set up. Some time after the sit 3 hrs or so Sally & I will walk quietly & slowly threw the woods, calling & listen for a gobbler on the move.

[redarrow]

I've only roosted one the night before ,and it worked out well.

[Spuriosity]

My hunting spots at home are usually a considerable drive from my house, so I rarely roost birds. About the only time I do that is when on an extended trip out of state, when saying close to where I am hunting and have nothing better to do in the evening than to roost a bird (no family or driving considerations).

[BrentM]

It's so rare for one of our birds to gobble in the evening that I never make a special trip to the woods to do it.
If I'm hunting in the evening anyway I'll always stand around til dark and try to roost one but it hardly ever works.
I do hear them fly up sometimes

[Shooter]

Well, my case is a little different as Spur well knows.
I live right in the middle, on the border of a big WMA with lots of turkeys.
They have thier regular roosting areas, so you don't really need to roost.
Since I can drive 5 mins, stop the car and get out and hear turkeys, It's fun for me to go out and see how many I can roost in different areas.
You never know when someone is gonna mess you up, and have to just go to the next one.
There is not too many days, I do not know where one is before daylight.

[dirt road ninja]

I hunt them in the afternoons, and will definitely try and roost them. I like knowing right where I need to be in the morning even though I seldom kill one right off the roost. If I don't get to roost or hunt the evening before I don't feel disadvantaged at all.

[guesswho]

I rarely roost one. As long as they let me know in the morning where their at I'm good.

[Stinky J Picklestein]

My hunting spots at home are usually a considerable drive from my house, so I rarely roost birds. About the only time I do that is when on an extended trip out of state, when saying close to where I am hunting and have nothing better to do in the evening than to roost a bird (no family or driving considerations).

x2

[MKW]

The only time I've ever roosted turkeys was when I was on out-of-state hunts and only then cause there was nothing else to do. I recall twice. I generally hunt a good ways from home and don't hunt evenings, so I don't roost turkeys when hunting home turf.

Mike

[pedro]

I have put many birds to bed. I started hunting in the vast woodland called the Shawnee national forest in southern Illinois public land. We would stretch below a ridge and try to roost one. We were very successful over the years by being close to the birds in the morning. You have to stop hunting at one o'clock in Illinois. So what better else to do but try to up you odds in the morning. In Wisconsin I hunt all day. So by dark I try to intercept on way to known roost locations. If that fails then I hope to hear one fly up or sound off for the next morning.

[Shotgun Dave]

I Think Roosting Birds is overated . Just find em before Daylight . Works fine for me .

[GobbleNut]

In some places, trying to roost birds in the evening is a waste of time,...and in some places, it can mean the difference between success and failure of a hunt. Out here in the west, where a person is likely to be hunting vast acreages of public land with few and widely scattered turkeys, it can be a critical tool in finding gobblers to hunt,...if you are aware of whether or not it will work to start with.

I have hunted places where there were lots of gobblers that would gobble like crazy in the evening,...and I have hunted places where there were lots of gobblers, but they would never gobble in the evening. Conversely, I have also hunted places where there were very few gobblers scattered about a large area, but the ones that were there would gobble to a locator in the evening to let you know they were there. Finding those birds in the evening was critical to not wasting time trying to find birds to hunt early in the morning.

Perhaps the most important element in this is that, with hunting public land birds, it gives you the advantage of being able to get on birds early and first in the morning before other hunters claim those birds. Of course, you then have to hope that the rest of the guys that come along are going to respect your set-up....

[savduck]

The only time I've ever roosted turkeys was when I was on out-of-state hunts and only then cause there was nothing else to do. I recall twice. I generally hunt a good ways from home and don't hunt evenings, so I don't roost turkeys when hunting home turf.

Mike

This

[ICDEDTURKES]

Im pretty fortunate to have alot of land within 20 minutes of the house.. Sal and I have little social life so "roosting" is a little different to us.. We cruise roads in the evening looking at AG fields.. We see turkeys close to roost we watch them enter the timber and have a good idea where they are gonna roost.. Cant say we do this every night but, its worth a shot when you have nothing else to do..

As far as hooting and such, I will do it with mixed results.. Our norther MI birds do not gobble much in the evening on the limb, but where I hunt in S MI it works with a great deal of regularity..

I feel if morning is the one time I can essentially walk up to gun range of gobbler and up my odds.. I will use this to my advantage when I can..

Out West: Birds fly up early and hammer on the roost for no reason.. I will sneak in as tight as possible and put the next morning plan in to action that night.

[Turkey Talker]

Roosting in florida can be pointless. Some of these birds roost hop all morning.
Never really had time to roost them.

[3toe]

I rarely roost either, however the ew times I was able to do it I killed the bird I put to bed the next morning. Maybe I should try it more often.

[BrentM]

I've noticed the same thing 3toe. In my experience if you're lucky enough to hear one of our birds gobble after he flies up in the evening it means he is by himself and is on fire. Unless you mess something up really bad he'll be the closest thing you can get to an "easy turkey" the next morning.

[TRKYHTR]

When I am hunting at home I usually don't roost because I know where the turkeys roost. When I am out of state and don't know where they roost I usually try to roost. If I know where they are the night before I don't have to wait for them to gobble the next morning. I can sneak in and get close before anything wakes up.

TRKYHTR

[davisd9]

I like to roost a bird. Makes it easier to come up with a plan and a back up plan. During the season I hunt the afternoons until dark so I am usually already out there. It is fun to put one to bed and be there when he wakes up. I have killed a few birds right off the roost. Nothing like getting a cup of coffee 45 minutes after waking up, but I walk from the house to the woods.

[ICDEDTURKES]

I've noticed the same thing 3toe. In my experience if you're lucky enough to hear one of our birds gobble after he flies up in the evening it means he is by himself and is on fire. Unless you mess something up really bad he'll be the closest thing you can get to an "easy turkey" the next morning.

I think a good portion of the time your right..

[hawglips]

I always try to roost one if I'm there the evening before. It's a fun part of the hunt on an out-of-state hunt, or any hunt when I'm stringing days together. I look forward to it. If gives an advantage going into the next morning. I've noticed that southern easterns seem to be the least likely to gobble on the roost (compared to osceolas, rios or merriams). But it adds an element of excitement and anticipation for the next day's hunt if you can roost one.

Here's a few that have been roosted and roasted on some of these out-of-state hunts...

[blade]

If I'm hunting big open woods, it's a big advantage to me to roost one. Otherwise, I will if Its convienient, but won't go out my way to roost one.

[Jaybird]

My hunting spots at home are usually a considerable drive from my house, so I rarely roost birds. About the only time I do that is when on an extended trip out of state, when saying close to where I am hunting and have nothing better to do in the evening than to roost a bird (no family or driving considerations).

Same with me on driving distances from home on the areas I hunt. I really don't seem to have the opportunity to roost birds, but have roosted them on land I can't hunt more than once.

[customcutter]

I've only roosted birds a few times, but was successful the next morning. The farm where I hunt now is split by a highway. If I don't see any birds working in the North pastures before sunset, I'll head to the South the next morning and try an owl hoot before sunup, there also more property and I can move around quite a bit. If I see birds in the North pasture I'll try to figure out if they are working towards the East or West side and set up accordingly.

Ken

[pullit]

The birds don't roost on the farm I hunt. They roost just off the farm but come to the fields on the farm I hunt. They don't gobble much at all period let alone at night so no I have tried several times but gave it up years ago.