tip of the day from strut

[strutnrut1984]

roosting birds for the morning hunt. one tactic ive used over the years is finding roosting areas. preseason is the best  time to find these. turkeyslike the tallest trees with nice level branches the can find. mostly on highest point of ridges. check around these type areas. for dropped feathers and scat toms scat will be in a j shaped pattern. hen more round.  i like to check these areas out just before dark. stay back aways and listen for flyup. then use a barred owl hooter. or coyote howl to try to get a gobble. but dont over do all u need is one response. then u will have a good setup for morning. slip in at least 1 hr before light.    to be continued.          strut

[Turkeyman]

Try and set up where you see a tom fly up from, most of the time they will fly down and travel the same path they came into the roost area. Good scouting and set up spot and some patience is the key to killing turkeys.

[strutnrut1984]

exactly, thats is if u see them and know there arnt hens. man i tell u i started using a wing or slappin my hat on my leg about 20yrs ago it been a killer. works good on birds that have pounded with callin

[Turkeyman]

You are right works great. scratching the leaves also works.

[fishunt247]

Are you guys hunting merriams or rios? All the merriams I've ever hunted rarely roost in the same trees. Usually in the same draw or canyon, but they don't seem to have "roost trees" like rios in the blues do. But being the irrational bird that they are, I've seen em move a half mile for no reason one day, only to come back and roost in their home area a few days later.

[NWTFhunter]

Shhhhh Your giving up all the secrets

[PA BEN]

Turkey's use the same tree's to roost in. They make the same routes to feed and move in, each day. There's different spots to roost in these routes, where ever they end up in the route is where they roost. Also, toms have strutting areas, you might be next to the toms tree all set up. He flies down, looks at your decoy and moves off to his strutting area. Remember hens go to the tom, that's why it's hard to call them in sometimes. The one thing I can say for sure, is when you think you've got them figured out they change and do something off the wall. That's why I carry a lot of different calls. One year a certain call my work and the next you can't beg a bird to come in to it. 

[yelp]

I've seen turkeys use several roosting sites through out a year.  In some cases they use the same roosting areas, but not always.  In the fall and winter roosting seems very focused.  In the spring however when competition for hens increases and hens establish nesting areas annual roosting sites seem to not be as focused.  It seems hens can be as aggressive as toms.  Adult hens (just like in real life) (sorry honey) seem to run the show.  On the tom side the equation I believe the satellite toms like to try and pull hens from the boss tom and take them away..starting roosting sites in other areas. (competition for hens).  I have seen this on several occasions. I know of several roosting sites that year in year out bird are there.  Usually terrain and location dictate roosting site selection.  Hens also are the ones that seem to run the show through out the year.  The breeding, nesting site selection, egg laying, incubating and brood rearing all play a role In the spring and summer.  As hunting goes woodsmanship and scouting are the keys.  Locating turkeys on roosts at night are my favorite.  Also during scouting trips locating active roosts by sign.  I can tell a fall/winter site fro example from a spring site just from the freshness of the sign.  Also when you locate a roost study the roost.  Location, types of trees, site selection factors, number of gobbles (more may mean lots of jakes) (less maybe mean boss tom).   

[Intruder]

Are you guys hunting merriams or rios? All the merriams I've ever hunted rarely roost in the same trees. Usually in the same draw or canyon, but they don't seem to have "roost trees" like rios in the blues do. But being the irrational bird that they are, I've seen em move a half mile for no reason one day, only to come back and roost in their home area a few days later.

I've experienced this too with Merriams and Rios.  Seen em use a spot for 4 or 5 days straight then end up in 3 different spots during the next 3 days. 

The whole killing the bird of the roost scenario is kinda over played IMO.  Granted it can be successful but in my experience it rarely unfolds like on TV.  Often their roost sites present many setup challenges.  I truly prefer to call them in anyway.  I tend to hunt roost sites only in the sense of locating the flock/tom.  I'll normally try to setup adjacent to the roost and call the bird to me rather than ambushing them at the spot they fly down.  Not knockin that.... just prefer the calling scenario much more.   

[yelp]

I want to be clear that the term "off of the Roost" is defined as setting up in a location near a roost in hopes to call in a tom and harvest him.  Roosting birds is a term used to locate birds.  There are newbe turkey hunters out there that think it is ok to shoot turkeys off of or out of a roost tree.  I would suggest hunters don't.   I am know one to judge but ethically I choose to call them in after they fly down.

[Intruder]

Shooting a turkey out of the roost is not ethical !!!

[fishunt247]

Agreed. I was actually gonna start a topic about what could we do (if anything) to make it illegal to shoot birds out of the roost. PA Ben, I get what you are saying, but in my opinion, I'd have to disagree. While there are some birds that use the same trees or areas daily(depending on terrain), they seem to move week to week. I've followed many gobblers on numerous occasions over the years that have moved locations every week from mid March thru the first week or two of May. Granted they may only move their roosts and where they hang out a couple hundred yards each time, but by the end they have been upwards of two miles away from the first spot I heard/observed them. But hell, that's just my observations. I've also seen birds that have lived in the same draw and/or roosted in the same patch of timber from March through April. Guess it depends on the terrain and available hens. I think that is the main reason they move roosts, their hens have gone to nest and they are on the prowl. One of the beauty's of a long turkey season (in addition to scouting) is some gobblers you can strike up a relationship with...hunting the same bird 3, 4, 5, even 6 or more times. That is when you really learn the irrationality of a turkey.

[PA BEN]

Not to brag but where I lived for years, in the country out of Chewelah, the turkeys would wake me up in the mornings. I had a roosting spot about 200 yds from my bed room. I've watched these birds all year long for years. I spent a lot of time in the woods. I was hunting those birds when most people didn't hunt turkeys, or they would hunt down along .Lake Roosevelt. If you put a tom to bed in those days, he was dead in the morning. But with all the hens now it's a different ball game. I've killed a lot of toms putting the snick on them. I've hunted this ground all my life and know the birds and where to find them. Not all toms will gobble every night. I've been out in roosting areas and not heard a gobble at night. But in the morning there gobbling in the same spot. Like I said as soon as you got them figured out they will surprise you. I do know you can piss off a hen by calling and bring her in dragging a tom. I do know if you find strutting areas you will kill a tom.

[Moose Eyes]

as soon as you got them figured out they will surprise you . .

Amen!

[NWTFhunter]

PA Ben, You and I need to hook it up in that area !