strutnbuck

This past friday, I was calling and had many birds within 80 yards in every direction, including a gobbler about 60 yards, all still on the roost. A jake flies from his roost in front of me and lands in the tree next to the one I am against. As I sat there looking up at him trying to find the hen he has heard the past 15 minutes, I was wondering if he would still be considered on his roost? Not that I was going to shot a jake with a gobbler answering every call I made prior to the jake showing up and putting me in a freeze pattern, but I thought about it. Florida law says you can not shoot them from the roost, the roost is the tree that they slept in, I called him in to the tree he now occupies, so do you think that it would be legal? I will tell you what the game warden said later. Again, I would not take a turkey from a tree, but I just thought about that question. What do you think?

MKMGOBL

It’s funny you should ask this because I just went to a seminar hosted by Chris Parish and this question was asked. His response was exactly how I feel about it. I personally feel if he flies from a roosting tree into anther tree, I would consider that still a roosted bird. Now if he flies down and is working his way into my calling and flies up to a limb as he enters my range. I’d blast him in a second!

I had a gobbler come into my calling on WV hunt. When I took the shot, I pulled it real bad to the left (because of my shooting position) and missed him completely. The turkey pitch off the flat and landed on limb on tree on the next flat down. The turkey was eye level with me just sitting there watching me trying to feed another shell into my jammed gun. Again, because of my weird sitting position I didn’t ejected the 3 ½ out all the way and it jammed. I think if he knew if he sat there another 15 seconds, he was going to get thumped right off that limb and he would have been right.

MKMGOBL

sorry wrong thread []

TEmbry

my guess is it is considered roosted but just my guess, so what did the game warden say? id personally pass on that shot too, but wouldnt comdemn anyone who pulled the trigger.

ultimag

I would say he is roosted and would not pull the trigger

strutnbuck

Well I sure would have liked some more responses. The Warden says that the bird would be considered off the roost being that the roost is where the bird resides for the night, but tha if a game warden should ever witness someone shooting a turkey out of a tree without seeing the bird fly to that tree, he would no doubt have to write him a ticket and take the bird. SO, IF YOU EVER CALL IN A GOBBLER OFF THE ROOST TO THE TREE NEXT TO YOU, KEEP THIS IN MIND.....

Dr Andy

I was under the impression that a "roosted" bird was one that was in a tree,regardless of time of day etc.

the animal

Does any one remember in the1st season of Road Trips? Michael Waddell called a tom down hill. Instead of walking the tom tree hopped from one tree to another all the way down the hill. Michael had no troubled taking the tom out of tree since in his word the tom was not roosted. If I remember right that hunt took place in Kentucky

zubba

Thanks for the answer....I have another question....

How did you hunt pan out? did you get the gobbler you were calling to all morning?

strutnbuck

Well, ZUBBA I took a respectable Tom posted "scored this morning" and my wife took that gobbler the next morning and it's posted "wife scored this morning". Good thing I don't shoot jakes and from the tree at that. Take a look at those 2 birds. We have went back to back 2 years in row now and that is her 2nd Osceola in a total of 8 days hunting. Keep in mind that I also took two birds in those eight days......Pretty cool!