I've had the dilemma last few seasons of trying to get in close to birds that are seemingly un-huntable unless you can get right in on them at first light.
There's a pond that has a levee on one side and then on the other three sides it's surrounded by woods with big oaks they like to roost in each night. No rhyme or reason as to where they'll be each morning, but somewhere within the bowl that lowers to the pond in those oaks.
Each morning they will hit the ground and go one of three ways. Long story short, if I can get in tight on them before daylight I can probably kill one before he goes any which a way.
The problem has always been getting in close is next to impossible. The leaves make it where I might as well be ringing a bell and the hens that are usually with them are all around.
So how do you get in close to birds in the morning? Any unusual tactics you've used?
I have found that moving into place while it is still pitch black dark does not spook a bird. If there is no moon, that much better. No flashlight, just sneak in.
Go n roost em. Than as it gets darker sneak close n see which way they're facing and set up on that side. They sometimes flip on a limb but the odds are w you.
Go early, like real early. Walk slow, a few steps at a time. If you break brush wait! try n sound like a deer poking along very slow n quietly. Leave your light off and in your vest.
My brother and I tried the real early tactic last year and ended up bumping some so we backed out. They flew outta there at daylight like scalded dogs.
It's worth trying again this year, especially if the moon is in our favor.
Go in during the day when the birds aren't around and figure out where you want to set up, then clear a path to that spot so that you can go in quietly before first light.
I have a friend I can bring, that way we can cover all routes.
If it's early and dark you can get fairly close, I try and stay 75 yards away.
GO in in the dark and be sneaky , cant sound like an elephant , there used to hearing deer and stuff in the dark...
I have only bumped a bird off the roost in the dark once. I have, however, gotten closer than intended several times without the birds taking off. I check the sunrise tables and plan on being seated in place 75 mins before the noted sunrise. Give yourself walk-in time on top of that.
Quote from: FullChoke on February 02, 2015, 03:36:36 PM
I have found that moving into place while it is still pitch black dark does not spook a bird. If there is no moon, that much better. No flashlight, just sneak in.
:agreed:
Quote from: tomstopper on February 02, 2015, 09:28:05 PM
Quote from: FullChoke on February 02, 2015, 03:36:36 PM
I have found that moving into place while it is still pitch black dark does not spook a bird. If there is no moon, that much better. No flashlight, just sneak in.
:agreed:
X2
If he is with hens, wait until he goes to roost, then go in busting dove loads. Watch/listen for the direction in which he flies and setup between where he went and where went from. I have accidentally busted several gobblers off the roost after sunset and if I could get back the next morning, I cannot for the life of me remember one who saw another sunset. It is a fall hunt with sexual desperation added to the mix. Not the kind of thing you want to make a habit of, but he chose the difficult roost, not you.
Just some random and contrary thoughts:
First off, I would question why you think you need to get really close. I spent the first 15 years of my turkey career trying to get as close as I could and finally figured out that I could stay well back and wait for them to come to me. The trick was observing which way they tended to go. You've got that down to a 1-3 shot already.
Second, I have a buddy treestand that is frequently used by turkeys as a roost. I can be almost to the top of the ladder before I find out they're there. It can be a rather explosive experience, and I would suggest that folks in my situation no have their mouths open, looking up, when it happens. However, the trick always seems to be coming in before first light.
Third, have you tried actually busting them off the roost deliberately? If you do a good job of it, the turkeys will scatter every which way. You then only need to sit down in the middle of it all and do assembly calls. That's what happens when I find turkeys roosting on my treestand. They spend the next 2 hours squabbling about who's going to come where, reforming the flock and moving off.
I've done this several times so don't laugh. Have found that if you know where the birds are roosted and want to slip in as close as possible and its not too wet I have taken my shoes off and walked in with just socks (dark). Makes a big difference and you feel everything you walk on. You may want to consider pre scouting during daylight hours the area you are going to slip in and get a feel for where you are going. Would also not use a light. Good luck. :z-twocents:
Quote from: Tomspur on February 03, 2015, 09:12:08 AM
I've done this several times so don't laugh. Have found that if you know where the birds are roosted and want to slip in as close as possible and its not too wet I have taken my shoes off and walked in with just socks (dark). Makes a big difference and you feel everything you walk on. You may want to consider pre scouting during daylight hours the area you are going to slip in and get a feel for where you are going. Would also not use a light. Good luck. :z-twocents:
Well worn in Crocs and neoprene socks are quiet in the leaves. No traction at all in the slick stuff though.
Quote from: silvestris on February 02, 2015, 09:47:37 PM
If he is with hens, wait until he goes to roost, then go in busting dove loads. Watch/listen for the direction in which he flies and setup between where he went and where went from. I have accidentally busted several gobblers off the roost after sunset and if I could get back the next morning, I cannot for the life of me remember one who saw another sunset. It is a fall hunt with sexual desperation added to the mix. Not the kind of thing you want to make a habit of, but he chose the difficult roost, not you.
:agreed:
If you can't get tight because of topography or geography, bust them off the roost.
Quote from: GobbleNut on February 02, 2015, 06:53:55 PM
Go in during the day when the birds aren't around and figure out where you want to set up, then clear a path to that spot so that you can go in quietly before first light.
You can trim a trail and even leaf rake the last hundred yards or so if its that noisy , then go in early and lights out. You cant get much quieter than that. A little work can go a long ways.
Don't worry about spooking his hens. That is a bonus.
I don't want to be closer than 75-100 yards bit not over 200 either. Seems to me if your to close they expect to see hens when there's not any
Owl hoot set up accordingly :gobble:
We had a gobbler at my old lease that was tough to get close to. He liked to roost on an open mixed hardwood & tall pine ridge with hens where they'd see or hear you before you got close. Whenever we tried calling to him, he'd fly off the other direction. I waited until one day when I knew it would rain over night and clear up in the morning. I was able to slip into his wheelhouse undetected an hour before first light because the weeds and leaves made no noise at all. Several weeks before then, I had cleared sticks and briars off the trail during mid day when they weren't in the area, so I could slip in that area as quiet as possible when the time was right.
Jim
ok cut n run, did you get the bird?
Quote from: Tomspur on February 05, 2015, 02:49:16 PM
ok cut n run, did you get the bird?
Seriously, he just left us hanging. ;)
Quote from: shaman on February 03, 2015, 06:19:38 AM
Just some random and contrary thoughts:
First off, I would question why you think you need to get really close. I spent the first 15 years of my turkey career trying to get as close as I could and finally figured out that I could stay well back and wait for them to come to me. The trick was observing which way they tended to go. You've got that down to a 1-3 shot already.
Second, I have a buddy treestand that is frequently used by turkeys as a roost. I can be almost to the top of the ladder before I find out they're there. It can be a rather explosive experience, and I would suggest that folks in my situation no have their mouths open, looking up, when it happens. However, the trick always seems to be coming in before first light.
Third, have you tried actually busting them off the roost deliberately? If you do a good job of it, the turkeys will scatter every which way. You then only need to sit down in the middle of it all and do assembly calls. That's what happens when I find turkeys roosting on my treestand. They spend the next 2 hours squabbling about who's going to come where, reforming the flock and moving off.
exactly I'd rather be far away that too close..scout and figure where they're going..you may have to sit 4-6hrs, get a blind and observe a couple days, then go kill one.
Perhaps there are some of you out there that are so good at this that you feel confident you can set up 100 or more yards from any roosted bird and call him to you, regardless of how many times he has been through this rodeo. However, for us "mere mortals" that know there are birds out there that have figured out that it is best not to go towards any turkey sounds they hear, and in fact will fly far away from those sounds, there are times when the only logical course of action to have a chance at killing one of those stubborn birds is to sneak in close, stay quiet, and hope the gobbler flies down within range.
Although I hate having to hunt a bird that way, there have been a few gobblers in my life that I was so frustrated by, that I decided that, by god, one way or another, I was going to kill the SOB,....if nothing else, just to put him out of my misery.
In those cases, the best thing to do is get as close as possible to the tree,...do it in the dark,...and do it quietly. I am no mathematical genius, but I do have enough common sense to know that the further I am away from his tree, the less likely he is to fly down within range so I can unceremoniously sluice his azz.
Quote from: mgm1955 on February 02, 2015, 09:43:27 PM
Quote from: tomstopper on February 02, 2015, 09:28:05 PM
Quote from: FullChoke on February 02, 2015, 03:36:36 PM
I have found that moving into place while it is still pitch black dark does not spook a bird. If there is no moon, that much better. No flashlight, just sneak in.
:agreed:
X2
but you got to sneak. some peoples version of sneaking is not sneaking. they still sound like a booger walking slow in the woods..... SNEAK!!!!! try not caliing at all if he has hens. let them be turkeys and you just be in the way
Quote from: GobbleNut on February 06, 2015, 08:47:34 AM
Perhaps there are some of you out there that are so good at this that you feel confident you can set up 100 or more yards from any roosted bird and call him to you, regardless of how many times he has been through this rodeo. However, for us "mere mortals" that know there are birds out there that have figured out that it is best not to go towards any turkey sounds they hear, and in fact will fly far away from those sounds, there are times when the only logical course of action to have a chance at killing one of those stubborn birds is to sneak in close, stay quiet, and hope the gobbler flies down within range. :TooFunny:
I've done the midday clean and rake tactic before and it can work. Here in Florida if they are roosting in pines there is no telling which way they will go when they hit the ground. I have had success clearing a trail at midday and going in really early(like an hour before sunrise when the sky hasn't even lightened up) and go super slow. I had a smart old gobbler two years ago that gobbled his head off in the tree (a small stand of big pines)every morning and then shut up as soon as he hit the ground with his hens. Took me several tries to get in tight without spooking him and catch him hitting the ground in range. I have no moral issue with killing one this way. I believe he was unkillable any other way. I never saw him without hens and he didn't pay any attention to calling no matter how subtle or aggressive.
There's lots of reasons someone needs to be close. Everyone's situation is different. He may have a small family farm he hunt on n can't scatter them, maybe the coyotes run in n scare the turks, (who doesn't have that problem occasionally), maybe it's an hour hunt before work or maybe he just wants to be instantly "in the game". I know for me, nothing is cooler than having em right next to you at first light.
Nothing wrong with a roost n shoot, as I said earlier go very early, very slow, no light, take a step at a time, sound like a deer. No matter how windy you can get right up to where you hope to be.
I get as close as I can. The less ground they have to cover, the more apt they are to get curious. I hunt all public land as well, so waiting and calling just leaves more time for other hunters to close the gap.
Go in while it is very dark. I have also used a flashlight if that was needed to keep me from making noise. What spooks the birds is waking them up with noise. If the light is on the ground and you make no noise, they will remain asleep. Not the preferred method but I wouldn't totally rule out the light.
I have many times set up right under the roosted birds.
Go in when it's dark, leave the flashlight in your vest and be as quiet as you can. You don't have to be completely silent though. Turkeys hear all kinds of animals moving around in the dark when they are roosted.
Quote from: FullChoke on February 02, 2015, 03:36:36 PM
I have found that moving into place while it is still pitch black dark does not spook a bird. If there is no moon, that much better. No flashlight, just sneak in.
This.
I do it almost every morning. If its still very dark they may wake but will likely not fly. And also if they do fly they will be more huntable since they will try to get back together.
Quote from: CntrlPA on February 07, 2015, 07:51:04 PM
I get as close as I can. The less ground they have to cover, the more apt they are to get curious. I hunt all public land as well, so waiting and calling just leaves more time for other hunters to close the gap.
Very valid point for heavy pressured public land.
If not posted already, locate him the evening before, go in the next morning in the dark with no light, get tight keep quiet and wait for his feet to hit the ground. Just be careful not to get too close and keep god cover.
If he sees you while still on the roost he'll booger out and fly off while still in the tree. In east Ky that means gliding into the next county.
Another point about sneaking in on him. When you get within 200 yards of his roost and start sneaking under total darkness, remember that this slow approach will take a lot more time to reach your spot than by walking in daylight. Make sure that you allow yourself plenty of extra time when you go in.
Raking a trail in to your best guess as to where they will be is a great tactic. Here in GA we have lots of big quartz, white colored rocks laying around. I grab up a few of those and space them out on the trail, in the trail. One every 10 yards or so. You won't need a light and can very quietly get to position without any noise or a light. The rocks will be your guide. I have killed many using the tactic on a piece of property just like yours.