Hunt the Roost
03-05-2010, 07:18 PM
#41
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Eldred, PA
Posts: 1,667
Perfectly said 12ga. We all have our own ways, and if it's legal then go for it. Ethics are a matter of personal preference. While I wouldnt do things one way, another may. If it's legal, whose to say they're wrong?
03-06-2010, 12:24 AM
#42
Spike
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: calgary ab
Posts: 38
It strikes me as a bird would feel safe in the roost, I don't have the experience of walking up to a roosted bird in daylight, but, I don't believe they would spook as hard they would on the ground. Ie; You can spook a Ruffy up to a tree, but, they don't usually spook out of the tree, if they are high enough to feel safe from a ground predator. And it wouldn't be near as much fun. My thought is, that I'd get closer to that tree, yelping all the way in, and hang up--he should get torqued enough to come down then--maybe, probably?
03-06-2010, 02:29 PM
#43
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Windsor, CA
Posts: 2,279
I disagree with all of you who say shooting from the roost is not hunting or ethical. I believe that it is perfectly fine, and you are all missing the point of the chase. Is there any difference between scouting a bird to its roost the night before, and going the next day to harvest it, or sitting right where you know its going to fly down and harvesting it then. Your guys' comment on how the bird feels safe in the tree is why you wouldn't harvest it from there don't realize that most birds feel safe with your decoys by the time they get within range of you. Don't shoot the bird if it feels too safe.
I have harvested many birds in perfectly legal ways that you would all disagree with, but i call it part of the luck of the hunt. When i turn the corner on a path and there is a tom standing at 30 yards in front of me, why should i hesitate to harvest it? Did it not have the ability to leave when it heard my footsteps(Im not very quiet)? My Brother-in-laws second bird was harvested that way, and he was proud of it, for it is still his largest bird to date. But i know many of you would look down on it, and after reading this i dont see how you would consider me and my family hunters.
Personally i would not shoot a turkey from the roost, mainly because on the properties i hunt dont roost the birds, they spend the night on neighboring properties. But i see nothing wrong with harvesting a bird in any legal means possible, and dont think we should judge other HUNTERS over trying any means possible to make their time in the field successful, just like we do when we buy hevishot, new camo, new guns, or even decoys.
I have harvested many birds in perfectly legal ways that you would all disagree with, but i call it part of the luck of the hunt. When i turn the corner on a path and there is a tom standing at 30 yards in front of me, why should i hesitate to harvest it? Did it not have the ability to leave when it heard my footsteps(Im not very quiet)? My Brother-in-laws second bird was harvested that way, and he was proud of it, for it is still his largest bird to date. But i know many of you would look down on it, and after reading this i dont see how you would consider me and my family hunters.
Personally i would not shoot a turkey from the roost, mainly because on the properties i hunt dont roost the birds, they spend the night on neighboring properties. But i see nothing wrong with harvesting a bird in any legal means possible, and dont think we should judge other HUNTERS over trying any means possible to make their time in the field successful, just like we do when we buy hevishot, new camo, new guns, or even decoys.
03-06-2010, 05:01 PM
#44
Fork Horn
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 221
Just some words of experience here. I find Wild Turkey hunting personally an easy but rewarding and exciting sport because of the calling aspects of it.
Now if I make it even easier by shooting a bird off a tree,I frankly wouldn't be hunting this bird.We have a full month of hunting season and I call for others and refrain from shooting my turkey until about the last 2 weeks of the season. You won't find me waking up 3:30 AM just to shoot a bird on the roast, and believe me I had hunted 6 days in a row,driving 1 hr. in darkness on this hunts. This said I don't think one can honestly say they enjoyed a turkey hunt until they have experienced the closing in of that gobble or the unexpected thunder that explodes 10 yards of the decoys that unnerves even the most experienced of us, like myself.
The calling in and fooling of a big Tom is why I hunt wild turkeys and shooting them out of the roast will only shorten that and the fun that goes with it. Once you called in a Tom with all the gobbling that goes with it, I doubt if one will actually omit this portion of the hunt by shooting a bird on the roast. It might be legal in your State, but what's the point of it all?The Turkey sold on grocery stores to some will taste better and its all cleaned and buttered ready for the oven. It is even cheaper by all counts considering gas etc...plus the wife loves it better than the wild variety, and it's completely legal.
Now if I make it even easier by shooting a bird off a tree,I frankly wouldn't be hunting this bird.We have a full month of hunting season and I call for others and refrain from shooting my turkey until about the last 2 weeks of the season. You won't find me waking up 3:30 AM just to shoot a bird on the roast, and believe me I had hunted 6 days in a row,driving 1 hr. in darkness on this hunts. This said I don't think one can honestly say they enjoyed a turkey hunt until they have experienced the closing in of that gobble or the unexpected thunder that explodes 10 yards of the decoys that unnerves even the most experienced of us, like myself.
The calling in and fooling of a big Tom is why I hunt wild turkeys and shooting them out of the roast will only shorten that and the fun that goes with it. Once you called in a Tom with all the gobbling that goes with it, I doubt if one will actually omit this portion of the hunt by shooting a bird on the roast. It might be legal in your State, but what's the point of it all?The Turkey sold on grocery stores to some will taste better and its all cleaned and buttered ready for the oven. It is even cheaper by all counts considering gas etc...plus the wife loves it better than the wild variety, and it's completely legal.
Last edited by huntrfishr; 03-06-2010 at 05:20 PM.
03-06-2010, 05:45 PM
#45
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Eldred, PA
Posts: 1,667
No doubt huntrfishr.. But, as we all know, most hunters like to kill one just so they can brag and one-up their buddies. Once the bird is dead, they can tell their friends a totally different story than what really happened. Then, they can pick at their friends that they haven't gotten one yet. I believe in most cases, when people shoot them from the roost, or other desperate measures, they are trying to prove somehting to other hunters.
03-08-2010, 11:08 AM
#46
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: NY
Posts: 2,820
No doubt huntrfishr.. But, as we all know, most hunters like to kill one just so they can brag and one-up their buddies. Once the bird is dead, they can tell their friends a totally different story than what really happened. Then, they can pick at their friends that they haven't gotten one yet. I believe in most cases, when people shoot them from the roost, or other desperate measures, they are trying to prove somehting to other hunters.
I can hear that story now....."I" called him in from over 400 yards away, across 2 creeks, and down a mountain before finally pulling the trigger at 10 paces!! LOL!!!
03-09-2010, 03:52 AM
#47
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Estill Springs TN USA
Posts: 270
Ok, my turn. To start off with, I would never shoot a roosted turkey. That's not what I'm out there for. I want the challenge and the show. I love the meat too, but I won't say that a turkey dinner is the only thing I go to the woods for.
That being said, if shooting a roosting turkey is legal and that is how you want to take your bird, go for it. While I don't agree with some of the things that you do, I'm sure I do things that others don't agree with also. Surely there are those out there who don't believe a repeating firearm is sporting. I wouldn't dream of running deer with dogs, but in some parts of the country it's just part of the hunt. In some states it's legal to hunt turkeys with rifles. That's not anything like the turkey hunting I know, but it's legal and that's how many people do it.
We as hunters (whatever the definition of that may be) need to stick together. Face it. We are much more like the guy who shoots the gobbler off a branch than the anti-hunter PETA nut that's trying to take away our tradition, sport, lifestyle, whatever you want to call it. We just need to realize that we won't ever all agree on what's right, and try not to bash those who have different views of what's right.
Make your own judgments within the confines of your state law. If you're out for meat, I wish you luck putting a tom on your table. If you're out there for the show, I hope he struts and spits n drums for you like a champ. As for me, I want both!
Let's all just pray that we can enjoy turkey hunting, for whatever our intentions are, for many years to come.
rw
That being said, if shooting a roosting turkey is legal and that is how you want to take your bird, go for it. While I don't agree with some of the things that you do, I'm sure I do things that others don't agree with also. Surely there are those out there who don't believe a repeating firearm is sporting. I wouldn't dream of running deer with dogs, but in some parts of the country it's just part of the hunt. In some states it's legal to hunt turkeys with rifles. That's not anything like the turkey hunting I know, but it's legal and that's how many people do it.
We as hunters (whatever the definition of that may be) need to stick together. Face it. We are much more like the guy who shoots the gobbler off a branch than the anti-hunter PETA nut that's trying to take away our tradition, sport, lifestyle, whatever you want to call it. We just need to realize that we won't ever all agree on what's right, and try not to bash those who have different views of what's right.
Make your own judgments within the confines of your state law. If you're out for meat, I wish you luck putting a tom on your table. If you're out there for the show, I hope he struts and spits n drums for you like a champ. As for me, I want both!
Let's all just pray that we can enjoy turkey hunting, for whatever our intentions are, for many years to come.
rw
I wonder how many that consider it "unethical" to shoot one out of the tree break the speed limit on the way to their huntin spot.
03-10-2010, 08:07 PM
#48
Spike
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 67
ok, my turn. To start off with, i would never shoot a roosted turkey. That's not what i'm out there for. I want the challenge and the show. I love the meat too, but i won't say that a turkey dinner is the only thing i go to the woods for.
That being said, if shooting a roosting turkey is legal and that is how you want to take your bird, go for it. While i don't agree with some of the things that you do, i'm sure i do things that others don't agree with also. Surely there are those out there who don't believe a repeating firearm is sporting. I wouldn't dream of running deer with dogs, but in some parts of the country it's just part of the hunt. In some states it's legal to hunt turkeys with rifles. That's not anything like the turkey hunting i know, but it's legal and that's how many people do it.
We as hunters (whatever the definition of that may be) need to stick together. Face it. We are much more like the guy who shoots the gobbler off a branch than the anti-hunter peta nut that's trying to take away our tradition, sport, lifestyle, whatever you want to call it. We just need to realize that we won't ever all agree on what's right, and try not to bash those who have different views of what's right.
Make your own judgments within the confines of your state law. If you're out for meat, i wish you luck putting a tom on your table. If you're out there for the show, i hope he struts and spits n drums for you like a champ. As for me, i want both!
Let's all just pray that we can enjoy turkey hunting, for whatever our intentions are, for many years to come.
Rw
That being said, if shooting a roosting turkey is legal and that is how you want to take your bird, go for it. While i don't agree with some of the things that you do, i'm sure i do things that others don't agree with also. Surely there are those out there who don't believe a repeating firearm is sporting. I wouldn't dream of running deer with dogs, but in some parts of the country it's just part of the hunt. In some states it's legal to hunt turkeys with rifles. That's not anything like the turkey hunting i know, but it's legal and that's how many people do it.
We as hunters (whatever the definition of that may be) need to stick together. Face it. We are much more like the guy who shoots the gobbler off a branch than the anti-hunter peta nut that's trying to take away our tradition, sport, lifestyle, whatever you want to call it. We just need to realize that we won't ever all agree on what's right, and try not to bash those who have different views of what's right.
Make your own judgments within the confines of your state law. If you're out for meat, i wish you luck putting a tom on your table. If you're out there for the show, i hope he struts and spits n drums for you like a champ. As for me, i want both!
Let's all just pray that we can enjoy turkey hunting, for whatever our intentions are, for many years to come.
Rw
