quiksilver

Have you guys in PA noticed an overabundance of shots being fired before 6 a.m. this season?

I was guiding a guy on Saturday when somebody blew our bird off the tree. I managed to keep my composure and not go out there and flip out on the guy. Less said less mended, I suppose. He wound up getting a good one later, anyway, so I guess taking the moral high road pays off.

I tagged out on the first friday, but the couple mornings that I did get to hunt, I heard a whole lot of roost shooting in SW PA. Now, you can barely hear a gobble on the roost from a ridge that on opening day where I heard over 20 birds sounding off. I'm attributing at least some of the lack of morning chatter to the idiots running around trying to fill their tags before legal shooting hours.

For the last two weeks, I'll be trying to call for my friends, but it's just getting really difficult to get a bird to cooperate at flydown when every turkey in town has been peppered off the roost every other day.

If they would just try to run a normal setup on the gobblers and hunt them the right way, they wouldn't be so darn call-shy and spooked. It would just be so much better for everyone.

I guess I can stop whining now, but I was just curious if any of you all have encountered the same problem.

rybohunter

I heard 2 shots this saturday before 6. One was while it was just barely getting light, the other was about 5:55. 2 seperate directions.

Mikey S.

Quik, sad to say, but some of the idiots that hunt in our neck of the woods think that shooting them off the roost is actually an accomplishment. They don't know what a normal set up is. One guy that I know used to spring hunt, and never carry a call with him. Hunting these birds is difficult enough as it is, these guys don't make it any easier. I've only been out 4 mornings so far, and I can't get unpressured bird to cooperate yet, can't imagine what goes on when there's some guys around. I'm getting so frustrated, I'm close to quitting.

I will say this though: I killed my biggest bird ever a few years ago after some moron blasted one off the roost, scattering the flock. I walked into the roost area an hour or so after daylight, and called a bruiser in to the gun barrel in 3 minutes.

quiksilver

A buddy of mine just killed a longbeard on Friday that weighed only 14# - it had about 15 bb's peppered all through his right wing, breast and underside. Gangrene had set in. The poor thing looked wretched, feathers all falling out and everything.

I think this year has been a little more difficult to begin with, as the birds are a little more henned up than I remember them being in years past. I think the increased difficulty is what's causing these guys to resort to "drastic measures" and use their squirrel hunting prowess and midnight stealth to try and take an unsuspecting (sleeping) tom. They're only making it harder for themselves, in my opinion.

Hang in there Mikey, b/c I look for most guys to give up after this past Saturday, so the pressure will be off. Those hens will be nested soon and things might get better before they get worse.

WNY Bowhunter

Yep...I just don't know how someone could be proud of shooting an old longbeard out of the roost. It happens quite a bit in my neck of the woods in western NY too. I know several people around here who would't hesitate to do it if given the chance. However, you can't just assume that every shot that you hear prior to 6:00 is a result of somebody shooting birds off of a limb. I've been on a number of hunts over the past several years that have been over before 6:00 and a lot more that could have been (including a couple of close calls this spring). A couple of years ago I called in a nice longbeard for a buddy of mine on opening morning that came right in off of the roost and he whacked him at 5:45. We got back to school and found out that a buddy of ours had also called in and killed a gobbler that morning at a little past 5:30. Over the past week or so with it getting lighter earlier and all...alot of the birds seem to be on the ground by 5:30-5:40.

This season has been really tough and it sure is starting to wear on me. Things started off great here in the NY...we killed 8 gobblers in the family during opening week/youth season this season...6 longbeards/2 jakes. Since then, things have taken a serious nose dive. The birds just aren't talking much at all due to the army of hunters that have been fooling with them over the past couple of weeks. We've still been seeing a good number of longbeards in the area...but man, those suckers just won't commit to the calls. I sure hope that things get a little better over the next couple of weeks. Good luck in PA.

Jimmy S

I have to agree with WNY....Shots being heard before 6AM do not necessarily mean they are being shot out of their roost. The most activity I have seen this year was well before sunrise. I certainly know little about the turkey hunting in PA and hopefully, the shooting from roost is not as bad as many there think. ....Good Luck.

mauser06

it happens......but its legal.....and unless its REALLY early.....its legal......im to lazy and tired from being up since 430am to look in the book.....but i think we can start hunting half hour before sunrise.......its pretty dark out every time i used to follow that......i was like wow we how can you actually shoot this early?? so its not illegal.....i just think its slobbish......my buddy dropped one from a tree and thought it was something to be proud of....it never even crossed my mind to stoop so low......whats the fun in that?? i could easily snuck into my bosstoms roost and dropped him.....i have more class then that........i rather be beat and get skunked then do that.......

rybohunter

Mauser,
It most certainly is illegal in the spring, hunting must be done by calling only. It's in the book.

hawglips

Can't imagine being so low as to shoot a bird off the roost.

Hal

PA GOBBLER

that is messed up.. i hope i dont run into someone doing that