I would like to know what some of the old hands have to say! My experience hunting in SE Ohio [hilly country, thick forest] is:
1. Turkeys don't usually roost in same place two days in a row--but stay in roughly a
one sq. mile area.
2. They often roost in trees about half way up a ridge.
3. At fly down they will fly onto the ridge top and "assemble"
4. Gobblers usually gobble from first light for about 45 min to 1 hour.
5. After they get together, they feed on the ridge top a while, then head down into
the hollow--and shut up!--until the hens leave.
6. If you can't be in the right place at flydown--then you probably won't have much luck
until after around 10:00 am when the hens leave the gobblers alone.
Any comments or observations from you guys that you will share??

Turkey I hunt don't play by same rules as the ones in the videos and turkey hunting mags

So I dont think I'll be much help to ya

i agree with most of that, except the roosting half up ridges.

From my experience, where they roost depends almost entirely on wind.
If you have a windy evening-night, they will roost at or towards the bottoms of valleys/ridges, and in calm evenings they will tend toward the mid-upper trees on the ridges.

Which way they tend to fly down also seems to depend on wind, windier days they will spend in the relative calm of creek bottoms, and nicer days are often spent in more open areas.

Mat

its funny, but the turkeys i hunt have not bothered to read "the book" as far as thier behavior goes... USUALLY, around here, (Upstate NY), they do the things you mention. but.....

last year i got fixated on one big BIG tom, and he drove me nuts! roosted in the SAME tree, every night. flew down a different direction EVERY day, regardless of hens, calling etc... it was out of controll, he would gobble till i got bored or HAD to quit. i tried every trick and method i knew, i just could not get this bird on the ground, called him in once to 15 yds, but it was the thickest rosebush tangle in north america, couldnt see him.... he came in one time, and strutted BEHIND me in the landowners chicken "yard" AMONG the chickens for an hour (if i shot then, it would have been ugly.
Another time , the mail carrier said "boy, you shoulda seen that big tom struttin by your truck this morning" This was AFTER i climbed 2,560 miles uphill to "swing around him"....

i tried anticipating where he'd go after flydown, getting between him and the hens, moving away, moving towards, decoys, everything short of putting out corn with vicodin in it, he just plain old outfoxed me for the last 2 weeks of the season! it was horrible (and FUN! like smashing your big toe into a 400lb oak dresser at 5 am while stumbling to the bathroom in the dark is fun...)


but this year, i have a plan. oh YES. i WILL get that bird. MUHAHA .....MUHAHAHAH...HAHAAHAHAH...HHAAAAAAAAAH

AAAHHAHA....

Easterns are definately the hardest species of turkey to outsmart. Much of what you say I have found to be true. They are also very hard to call downhill, call across fences, little creeks etc. They do seem to gobble the first hour hard and then shut up or hen up whatever the case. Many times a turkey will gobble his head off and go the other way from you. Easterns like to strut in "their strut zones", when they hear a hen yelping they will gobble and head striaght for the strut zone, they assume the hen knows exactly where the zone is at, or he thinks his gobbling to a receptive hen will guide her into strut zone. Anyway, I have found that a Eastern tom will many times gobble going away, and the hunter is left confused saying " he was gobbling his head off , but went the other way, wouldn't come in". In essence, what happened is he went to his strut zone assuming you ( the hen) would follow. Just something I've oberserved over the years. They don't play by the rules all the time.lol.. Last year my son took his first bird by employing a tactic we desgned for this type of bird. We had to set up on wheat field away from where birds were roosted. They'd fly down to bottom wheat field where we were set up at. My son called and as soon as the gobbler would start answering my son had to get to the strut zone before the tom and set up. We could not set up on strut zone in morning before light because the birds were roosted directly above in trees. My son called, the Big Gobbler answered in bottom field, and made his way up powerline clearing to strut zone. My son skirted ridge through woods to strut zone we located before ,and soon enough here came ole tom like clockwork.This bird would fly down to bottoms, then when a hen he wasn't with would yelp, he'd make his way back up ridge to strut zone from where he flew down earlier that morning. So by us setting up in the bottom waiting on him to get there, then call to him, and beat him to the strut zone to set up before he got there. We put him on the wall with his buddies....Sometime you have to get creative to outsmart an old bird...Ridge

ttt: Some good tips and information to tuck away! anyone else?
Mike