Bob H in NH

Took my son out for NH Youth weekend yesterday. Got a bit more than expected!

We got to the field well before first light and walking in, we bumped 10 deer from the field. When the deer headed off the end of the field 3 toms started gobbling up in the trees on the other side of the field (field is about 75 yards wide).

We were caught pretty much out in the open. We slid further up the field to get almost across from them, dropped the decoy 10 yards into the field from our side and backed into a blowdown.

Turkeys were gobbling every few minutes and if they went quiet for 10 or so, I would yelp and they would all answer back immediately. Figured once they flew down, at least one would come our way.

First off it to FOREVER for them to fly down. It was a VERY cloudy but calm morning. We picked out 4 in the trees and it was very light before the first flew down. Two flew away into the woods, then one flew down into the field, I was sure he'd come over.

I waited about 5 minutes and then quietly purred, no response, so I gave a quiet yelp. Nothing. About 30 minutes after the final flydown my son wanted to try and "sneak" up the hill (field was severly crowned so we couldn't see past 25 yards into the field). He got to the top of the hill and said nothing was on the ground on the other side, when he stood up about 5-6 more, hens I think, flew out of the trees!

What could we do different?
Why did they stay in the trees so long?

Are you "busted" if they see you from the roost? Can they see in the dark?

Simp

You probably didn't do anything "wrong", butby calling to the tomswhile they're still up in the tree will only make them stay longer most of the time. They hear a hen calling to them so they expect her to come to them. When she didn't they probably realized something was fishy.Remember, a tom will almost always stay put if he has hens with him already. He'll likely not take a chance on a hen he hears when he has the real thing all around him.

I'd say you need to figure out where these birds are going by doing a little scouting. Get between where they roost and where they do during the day and you'll likely have a shot at one. If the toms and hens are roosted separately then you'll have a great chance of getting one if you can slip in well before light and get between him and his hens. Good luck! Simp

LKNCHOPPERS

If you had turkeys nearby like that you probably would want to stay put. Give them some extra time and relax.

drdi

I haven't done this for awhile (thank goodness), but several years back, I inadvertently set up under a big roost area. The birds knew something was wrong and hung tight in the trees. Every time I tried to move I busted another bird. Finally I was so disgusted with myself that at 8am I stood up and left and busted a couple more birds out of the trees. Moral is that sometimes they will not fly down if they know something ain't right.

The next year I got set up underneath some birds again. I went in an hour before shooting time fortunately, but realized what was happening as it got light. I sat perfectly still, not moving a muscle. At fly down I had birds landing all around me without spooking a bit. I even had a gobbler land 30 yards from my gun barrel but I couldn't shoot him because it was just dumb luck that he landed there. I just couldn't justify shooting a turkey that I didn't actively "hunt" other than setting against a lucky tree. I know many who would have taken the shot which is fine by me.

So the lesson I learned is if you are in the roost area, don't call or move until the birds have flown down. Knock on wood, but it's been several years since I've busted birds out of the trees since doing that.