Bumping The Roost Tree

[tha bugman]

I may be sitting under one now.  We will find out soon enough lol.


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[TauntoHawk]

I often set up very close, I want to be right in the landing zone and I've killed a bunch of birds within seconds of them being on the ground. I can only remember one time that I actually bumped birds off the roost tree in the dark and I still killed that morning, trying to get close to some toms I had seen the evening before i bumped a tree that must have been full of hens. They pitched a country mile and when the sun came up I had toms and jakes roosted all over and not a single hen left around. Maybe for an easy morning of no competition.

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[wvmntnhick]

I've been close before. Close enough that their loads of last evenings dinner was falling on both sides of me. Buddy and I set up several years ago right under a roost tree. Didn't realize it. Had heard birds gobble when they flew up. Slipped in thinking they were farther up the hill. Wasn't the case. When the Tom was pitching down, I swung the barrel and shot him almost as he hit the ground. Never made a call that day at all. Best bird I've ever killed had me under his tree waiting for enough daylight to see without making a lot of noise in the dark. He ended up flying down 70 yards away and came right back to the gun barrel.

[OldSchool]

I've spooked birds off the roost trying to get too close, and I've walked almost under others in the dark that I didn't realise were there, without seeming to bother them. Terrain and cover dictate how close I try to get to roosted birds. I generally like to get within 75-100 yards if possible. That said, and you can call me crazy, but I always feel like I've missed out on some of the fun when I kill a bird first thing off the roost.

Bob

[wvmntnhick]

Not me  just means everything worked out and the rest of the day is smooth sailing. Take an early nap. Go do a little trout fishing. Look for some mushrooms (which I can never find). I love turkey hunting but I like a good mid morning nap after getting up at 4 o'clock too. Hahaha.

[OldSchool]

Not me  just means everything worked out and the rest of the day is smooth sailing. Take an early nap. Go do a little trout fishing. Look for some mushrooms (which I can never find). I love turkey hunting but I like a good mid morning nap after getting up at 4 o'clock too. Hahaha.

You do make some good points.

This thread makes me think of a bird years ago that I got a little too close to on the roost. I knew where he was, but I overshot where I wanted to be in the dark without realising it. It started to lighten up and I was expecting a gobble any minute. No gobble. It got lighter and still no gobble. I waited a bit and called softly. Nothing! I was sure the bird was there, so I sat there for a while to see what developed.

After a while it was obvious that something was wrong. I called again and waited probably a half hour and when I didn't get any response, I decided to move to the edge of a pipeline about a quarter mile away. When I started to get up, it didn't take long to figure out what the problem was. I'd set up almost under the Tom and he'd been there the whole time watching me. Talk about feeling like a fool.

Bob

[outdoors]

A COUPLE OF SEASON AGO I SET UP BLIND IN THE DARK WHERE I WAS DEER HUNTING AND SAW ALOT OF TURKEYS... AND JUST AS THE SUN WAS RISING I WAS BEING HIT WITH SOMETHING FROM SOME SQUIRRELS I THOUGHT AND LATER I FOUND OUT IT WAS ,, TURDS  FROM TWO GOBBLERS ,,
AND I THOUGHT IT WAS SOME PAIN IN THE BUT TREE RATS AND I COULDNT TAKE ANYMORE AND LOOKED UP AND ,, DANG ,, TWO GOBBLERS ROASTING THEY FLEW ABOUT 200 YRDS  AWAY .NO LUCK THAT DAY ..................

[Turkeyman]

Well, I have never had good luck bumping a bird with hopes of getting him later. But one of my best strategies is, if he flies down and goes another direction, is to hurry to his roost tree and call at him from there. They can't seem to stand the fact that a hen is back there at their roost. Works more times than not to be a coincidence.