how to find where they roost?
05-21-2008, 09:31 AM
#11
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 409
RE: how to find where they roost?
Strut:
Consider this:
Years ago I would spend a lot of time doing all that stuff you mentioned and enjoyed it. However, I have found that I can be much more productive, save a lot of time, and not give away my presents to the birds by going to high open areas and listening at daylight and just before dark. This can be done preseason. At these quite times of the day gobblers can be heard at very long distances.
They often call at fly up and fly down time from their roosting areas and these are the most vocal gobblers...the ones easiest to get set up while they are in the roost.
I have about ten of these prime locations to listen from.
This year I went to two of them one morning and heard 7 gobblers from the first location and 9 from the second location. This works best in mountain and hilly country. The higher the better with long ridges and valleys and before the leaves are on.
I can pinpoint the location of the gobbling and sometimes glass the gobbler. I no longer go into the woods until opening day and I know just where to go...
Consider this:
Years ago I would spend a lot of time doing all that stuff you mentioned and enjoyed it. However, I have found that I can be much more productive, save a lot of time, and not give away my presents to the birds by going to high open areas and listening at daylight and just before dark. This can be done preseason. At these quite times of the day gobblers can be heard at very long distances.
They often call at fly up and fly down time from their roosting areas and these are the most vocal gobblers...the ones easiest to get set up while they are in the roost.
I have about ten of these prime locations to listen from.
This year I went to two of them one morning and heard 7 gobblers from the first location and 9 from the second location. This works best in mountain and hilly country. The higher the better with long ridges and valleys and before the leaves are on.
I can pinpoint the location of the gobbling and sometimes glass the gobbler. I no longer go into the woods until opening day and I know just where to go...
05-22-2008, 12:24 AM
#12
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 1,906
RE: how to find where they roost?
Born 2:
I absolutely understand, and back East, I would always listen for birds during preseason scouting and then during the season.
However, I now live in Oregon. The closest hunting from my home is 2 hours away. The best hunting is 5-7 hours away (either south or east). Out here in the West, because of the vast expanse of open lands, many times it is just not possible to simply rely on listening for birds. You need to be able to use woodsman's skills to find birds, or else you may have one long uneventful hunt 600 miles from home.
Topo maps, satelite images and information from the locals is a great place to start. However, if you don't hear anything at all during the first morning of a 3 day hunt, you better know how to physically locate a roost area in the absence of gobbling...
I absolutely understand, and back East, I would always listen for birds during preseason scouting and then during the season.
However, I now live in Oregon. The closest hunting from my home is 2 hours away. The best hunting is 5-7 hours away (either south or east). Out here in the West, because of the vast expanse of open lands, many times it is just not possible to simply rely on listening for birds. You need to be able to use woodsman's skills to find birds, or else you may have one long uneventful hunt 600 miles from home.
Topo maps, satelite images and information from the locals is a great place to start. However, if you don't hear anything at all during the first morning of a 3 day hunt, you better know how to physically locate a roost area in the absence of gobbling...
05-22-2008, 08:32 AM
#13
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Ky Lake,West TN
Posts: 48
RE: how to find where they roost?
When I first started turkey hunting,I was a real go getter.I would scout,scout,and scout again.I realized that I was doing more harm than good.Bumping birds before season is the worst thing you can do.I start about 2 weeks before season listening and Glassing at daylight and have figured out that this is best.Plus Im getting old and lazy.Ha!
