jrbsr

If turkeys are bumped off there roost by hunting pressure.
This is on public land.
Will they come bact to the same spot or go some where else to roost ?

Thank You

Adrian J Hare

I think Easterns roost in the same areas , but I would not say the same tree. Most times presure by bumping birds will quiet up the birds from Gobbling. This also includes ground bumping birds. A lot of hunter tend to think that birds that they have hunted in one area have moved out , but on the formost , the birds have just became close mouth gobblers and would soon travel and Drum then talk...BT

JNTURK

Good question. I can speak for the eastern birds i hunt on public land in CA. I have bumped them from the roost. This last spring i found where they were roosting and patterned there movements. I came back 3 days later for the opener and one of the jakes had roosted closer to my set up, (within 15 yards) it was still very dark and i was very quiet, (there were three hunters that morning) the bird clucked and i think what saved me is i acted like a deer. i stopped and stood stile for about 2 minutes, he clucked again and i took my boot and tapped the ground like a deer would do. we waited another 3 minutes and then set up, still within 15 yards. that bird ended up flying down to the decoy, however my brother missed with a bow at 25 yards. Will they come back, maybe....the turkeys i have killed with a shotgun typically don't come back to the roost that season, but the next year...they have been in the same roost every spring for four years now....granite there is not a lot of pressure on them besides myself and two other hunters i have seen in the woods. So if the pressure is low..they will come back..if the pressure is high, i would have to say no, and they probably won't roost in the same spot the next year..hope that helps

Bobgobble2

I agree wholeheartedly with Adrian here!Gobblers particularly dominant ones have an established area they will stay in throughout the breeding season provided there are hens in that area!They may not roost exactly in the same tree but generally close by!What they do as Adrian stated as human intrusion comes upon them during hunting season is gobble very little to none on the roost!Dont think that a woodwise ole gobbler cant pattern hunters because THEY CAN!Not only will they stop gobbling on the roost but also fly away from would be callers due to past bad experiences!They will still due there thing through the course of the season as far as breeding is concerned but without mouthing off!I have killed many a gobbler late in the morning and even early afternoon as we can hunt till 4:00PM here Calif not neccassarily because of the hens leaving the gobbler to nest but simply because the majority of the hunters have left the woods disgusted over the silence!I have seen the woods on alot more than one occasion liven up as far as gobbling activity goes simply because the woods have quieted down as hunting pressure lightens up as the day progresses!Bottomline is stay in the woods till legal shooting hours are over and you might be surprised!!!

Strut&Rut

There really are many variables to this Q & A...

First off, how were the birds bumped. Were they literally scared off the roost, were they called to and shied away, or were they shot at...all three can have drastically different results.

Second...were these hens, gobblers, or mixed birds? Hens, IMO, will move on if they haven't started nesting. If they have started nested, they will be back. If there are any unbred young hens still roosting with mama, chances are the nearby gobblers you spooked will also return, just because they know that young hen is in the area...

Third, and probably most importantly, is how much area are we talking. Is this a 10,000 state forest, or is this a hundred acre state park surrounded by suburbia? If it was large, they probably have multiple roosting sites, and will probably abandon that roost until the Fall. If it's a small area, they may have no other suitable spots to roost, and will need to return, even if spooked severly. They will, however, go tight-lipped as BT spoke of earlier...

Fourth,the weather. If it's late into the summer, with growing fields and bludgeoning insect populations, they're gone. If it's early in Spring, they'll be back. They roost there for a reason, primarily the hens like to eat/drink nearby.

Fifth, finally, the breeding status and population in your area. If the population is high, you can bet some birds will probably roost there again, but it may not be the same birds. If the population is low, and you're late into the breeding season...I would suggest finding some new birds to hunt, because you just screwed the pooch with those birds...

jepcho

In the fall I've had pretty good luck figuring out where turkeys roost on most nights, however in the spring, the birds I hunt rarely roost in the same location two nights in a row.

lou-lou

Some turkey's are weird, so there is no real answer to this. I would back off ( if springtime) and hunt elsewhere and then come back mid-morning. If you can get a gobble from him then you can try to after him, but go after him from a different angle, don't try to follow him directly in the way he walks it rarly works.

hawglips

Jrbsr,

In the spring, the gobblers I've hunted in NC cannot be relied on to roost anywhere near the place they roosted the night before, depending on availability of good roost trees and territory to roam. In eastern and central NC they seem to prefer pines.

Hal