I've got a few birds that have been riosting in the same place for a while now and season opens this weekend. They're roosting on the side of a ridge that has a gas line that runs straight up the side of it. The birds roost within 50 yards of the gas line and pitch down either onto a big flat on the side of the ridge or directly onto the gas line. But where they are roosted, without crossing on to someone else's property or setting up below them (which I prefer not to do) I have to walk that gas line up on to the ridge and get within 75 yards of the birds to get level with them. My question is how early should I go in and get set up on them in order to not spook them and allow for there to be some time for things to calm down.
As long as it is pitch black out you will be fine, nice thing about the gas line it should be quiet walking in, I think it will be more important to know where you can set up without making noise if your tight, keep in mind you really need to be hidden very well if your in sight of the roost!
I was in there the other day and there is a good sized oak across the gas line from the birds. There is some thicket stuff right on the wood line so I should be hidden well from the birds while they are in the trees. Unless they move on my and I look up once it gets daylight and they're in the tree I'm sitting in haha
The sooner, the better. I would head in before the sky starts to glow.
I tend to be in there early, I'd rather wait longer than bust them going in late. I am usually in there and set 45 minutes before birds are gobbling... I like hearing the timber come alive in the morning!
MK M GOBL
Whatever you do, don't shoot that gas line!
Agreed the earlier the better, both so the birds can't see you and so you can go in once close , a step at a time. I sometimes go in, especially very early season so early in the morning that I'll sleep in the woods. Id use no light going in, busting the flock from roost is counter productive
"I would rather be an hour early then five minutes late"
Considering this is a spot you seem to have easy access to, go ahead of season mid day and clear the spot you want to sit. Kick the leafs out of the way, clip any limbs and get it how you want it. Opening day, all you have to do is slip in without a light, sit down and wait.
you can walk right underneath them as long as they're still asleep and you aren't crashing around. Be in the woods before there is any light at all..... once you're set up take a nap til the gobbles wake you :funnyturkey:
My preference would be to set up the night before and quietly slip in the morning before the sky starts turning...
Otherwise, I would be there about an hour before sunrise, set up quietly, and kick back... I strongly believe in using NO light. I have never had a bird come in off the roost when I use any light (red or white). While I do not believe there are nearly smart enough to reason that the light is bad, I do believe they see the light and have the instinct to avoid the area they saw it though...
And a bit O.T., but I have never understood why the red light would make much of a difference over the white. I can see that red light for some distance off, and turkeys certainly have the retinal photoreceptors to see the red light as well. Why would the red lights be any less deleterious?
How early and where you set up depends on how you plan to hunt the birds. I've got an acquaintance who takes his children to school before heading to the turkey field, arriving around 8:30 in the morning. He slips in, sets up his decoys without being seen, and calls to the toms that are often already in the field with hens. His success rate is very high and his hunting style fits into his need to care for his family first.
Early. I have set up right under them on accident. Total darkness is your friend. I am even very careful if there is a full moon. I set up a lot on a field and if there is any moon at all, I make sure that my outline has trees behind it (field edge) so they can't see me headed in. Give yourself enough time for a very slow walk in. No lights of any kind. I also would visit it at least a day ahead of time and have a natural vegetation blind built and cleared ahead of time. On our little lease we have 4 prebuilt brushed blinds we can get in if we get one to gobble near them. Just cleared ground and piled low brush. Takes 10 minutes during daylight. Good luck and post the pics when you kill him!
If I have a bird roosted or have a very good idea where one is, I'm there early! I like to set up tight on roosted birds. The less distance they have to come to me, the less chance a real hen will intercept him. I don't like using a light so I give myself plenty of time and move slow when I get close. If I end up getting set up 30 minutes before first light, well that's great. I get to listen to the woods come alive and slowly turn from dark to day. Heck, that's one of my favorite things about morning hunts!
Get in ther early and set up a decoy or two. Make sure you do some tree yelps and then a fly down cackle. If he's hot, he will join the party. BOOM!!!!
Quote from: TauntoHawk on March 31, 2016, 09:48:42 AM
you can walk right underneath them as long as they're still asleep and you aren't crashing around. Be in the woods before there is any light at all..... once you're set up take a nap til the gobbles wake you :funnyturkey:
Absolutely correct! Been under sleeping birds many times. Explains how and why bobcats get 'em... :camohat:
Quote from: Marc on March 31, 2016, 12:11:19 PM
I strongly believe in using NO light. I have never had a bird come in off the roost when I use any light (red or white). While I do not believe there are nearly smart enough to reason that the light is bad, I do believe they see the light and have the instinct to avoid the area they saw it though...
And a bit O.T., but I have never understood why the red light would make much of a difference over the white. I can see that red light for some distance off, and turkeys certainly have the retinal photoreceptors to see the red light as well. Why would the red lights be any less deleterious?
I agree with Marc in regards to a light. I never carry one turkey hunting. On a really dark morning I might wait five minutes by the truck for my eyes to adjust, but they do adjust and you can see surprisingly well...certainly well enough to walk in and set up.
I don't know what the deal is with a red light, but it's definitely different. For instance, for our home alarm we have second control panel in our bedroom. It has a green light when unarmed and red when armed. Neither bothers me, but the green light will wake my wife every time. Don't know what the deal is, but there's a lot of evidence a red light isn't as provocative to many animals.
That said, I don't take any color light in the woods. One more thing to carry, and it serves no purpose if you let your eyes adjust. Now, while it wouldn't be ethical (or even legal many places), I'd love to wear night vision walking in sometime. Several game wardens have told me it's incredible how well you can see turkeys on the roost with the right setup. Would really be interesting to just watch them on a limb in the dark.
:morning:
In my younger days, maybe no light. Now it's a necessity. I'd rather spook a bird than fall or twist an ankle or a knee! Don't bounce like I used too... :camohat:
Quote from: lowoctane on April 07, 2016, 09:36:58 AM
:morning:
In my younger days, maybe no light. Now it's a necessity. I'd rather spook a bird than fall or twist an ankle or a knee! Don't bounce like I used too... :camohat:
I can certainly see a potential need in rugged terrain. One of the weaknesses of these discussions are the different conditions many face.
I like to be in and settled 1 hour before things even begin to lighten up. I believe that ensures the turkeys and the rest of the critters in the woods forget about me.
Don't underestimate moonlight. I once kicked a turkey off the roost around 4 a.m. when I walked right under its tree. Given its size I was quite confident it was a turkey but it was also dark enough where I couldn't fully identify it. At the time I believed that turkeys would never fly in any form of the dark. However, I was able to see where it went in the moonlight. It flew directly across the narrow field and roosted again. Sure enough when things lightened up I was able to see it through my binoculars and it was a hen.
:z-guntootsmiley:
Quote from: born2hunt on March 31, 2016, 09:34:39 AM
Considering this is a spot you seem to have easy access to, go ahead of season mid day and clear the spot you want to sit. Kick the leafs out of the way, clip any limbs and get it how you want it. Opening day, all you have to do is slip in without a light, sit down and wait.
Good advice, in my opinion. Give yourself every advantage you can. It stinks to realise that you can't shoot anywhere just as It's getting light enough that you don't dare move. I like to be where I'm headed early too, with plenty of time to get settled. I enjoy that time, sitting there in the dark with the anticipation neck deep.
Good luck with em. :icon_thumright:
Bob
I was in on my birds at 350 AM last Friday morning and shot within 2 seconds of the third gobbler touching the ground.
Use stealth. Feel for sticks with your feet before placing full pressure on them in the leaves. Take 30 seconds to a minute and a half between steps and bend over. Make yourself look like a deer as you get in really tight.
The earlier the better because the birds are asleep, it's darker and you can get tighter to them without blowing them out.
If I'm hunting inside 60 yards of a roost, I'm in there set 80 minutes before light begins to touch the horizon.