Question for the turkey experts

[mums]

I was just wondering what your guys experience is with calling to Gobblers in the morning when they are on roost, do you call at all or do you wait for them to fly down and then try to call to them, I have tried both ways over the years and had minimal success just wondering what any of you have experienced over the years?

[Ghostmaker]

Usually what I do when I have one on the roost is very soft tree calling about the time the songbirds start making noise. You can google tree calling and get some youtube examples of it. It is very soft and almost muffled yelps and clucks. I don't do alot, just enough to let the toms know where I am. After light hits I'll do a flydown cackle then just clucks. I like to use the different calls to talk to them from the roost to the gun. Early in the season you have alot of competition so you want to be the first hen they hear, not so aggressive you hang them up but not so sparse they lose interest and another hen moves in. Clucks are very soft,up close calls. If you setup on your bird right, he'll hear them when he gets close. He already knows the direction you are from the flydown. Yelping in the morning, especially early in season, not only broadcasts your position to the toms but also ticks off the hens and they may move in and take your bird away. Having a bird on the roost increases your chances but you have to kind of finnesse them to you. Now if I don't have one on the roost in the morning and they are semi quiet, I'll hammer a bunch of yelps and get aggressive to bring in the hens and hopefully a tom in tow.
This isn't the only way to work a roosted bird but one I like to use. Good luck!
Ed

[Grasshopper]

Usually what I do when I have one on the roost is very soft tree calling about the time the songbirds start making noise. You can google tree calling and get some youtube examples of it. It is very soft and almost muffled yelps and clucks. I don't do alot, just enough to let the toms know where I am. After light hits I'll do a flydown cackle then just clucks. I like to use the different calls to talk to them from the roost to the gun. Early in the season you have alot of competition so you want to be the first hen they hear, not so aggressive you hang them up but not so sparse they lose interest and another hen moves in. Clucks are very soft,up close calls. If you setup on your bird right, he'll hear them when he gets close. He already knows the direction you are from the flydown. Yelping in the morning, especially early in season, not only broadcasts your position to the toms but also ticks off the hens and they may move in and take your bird away. Having a bird on the roost increases your chances but you have to kind of finnesse them to you. Now if I don't have one on the roost in the morning and they are semi quiet, I'll hammer a bunch of yelps and get aggressive to bring in the hens and hopefully a tom in tow.
This isn't the only way to work a roosted bird but one I like to use. Good luck!
Ed

This is all good information. The only thing I would add is I try to get as tight to the bird as I can before I set up. The less distance he has to travel to reach me, the better. You have to be very careful about this, especially in the early season before the trees leaf out. Its really easy for a tom to bust you as you slip in. Try to use terrain, trees, and moving really slowly and quietly in the total darkness.

Its a lot easier to get tight to a bird if you can roost him the evening before. Then you know exactly where you're heading in the morning.

One caution about getting tight to a roosted bird; you have to really tone down your tree calling. I carry a turkey wing in my vest, and I have been so close to a roosted bird that I will scrape that wing against my pant leg or a nearby tree, like a hen adjusting her wings on the roost. I've been so close to roosted birds that they've gobbled when they hear that wing. At fly-down time I'll flap the wing and do a fly-down cackle or a couple of clucks. It can drive them crazy.

Like GM said, I keep the calling light as long as he's on the limb. I just want to paint a picture in his head that I'm there and ready for him. Ideally, if I do a little tree calling and he gobbles, I shut up til fly-down.

Good luck! I get excited just talking about this stuff

[MuscleOnTheRidge]

I start my hunt on Thursday and I am ready to ruuuuuuummmble!!! I will try some of these tactics and see how it pans out. I will keep ya posted.

MOTR

[MuscleOnTheRidge]

I see in the regulations that a youth may purchase a permit to hunt during any permit period in any permit area open to Turkey hunting without participating in the lottery. Does that mean they can hunt the entire season from April 13th, until May 28 with a single permit? Does it even mean they can purchase multiple permits until they are successful? I always thought they could purchase a single permit for a specific area and only hunt that period and zone. Sort of vague.. Can someone provide a little clarity on this for me? Thanks. I did submit a question to the DNR but have not heard back yet.

MOTR

# Wild Turkey Season April 13- May 26th
# Youth age 17 and younger can purchase a $12 wild turkey license for any time period or permit area during the season. They are not required to participate in the wild turkey license lottery.

[MuscleOnTheRidge]

Here is the answer.

License Requirement

* Age 0 through 17 need to obtain a reduced cost license for $12.00

Seasons

* Spring season (2011) - April 13- May 26. Permit area and time period must be selected at time of license purchase.

[dubblebeard]

Been chasing turkeys for 17 years now and I can tell you every roosted turkey has it mind of its own. All the tips posted are good ones and have used all of them my self. Finding them the night before is the best bet and you will have the upper hand.Knowing the lay of the land is a big plus!! If the gobbler is use to flying into a field or open spot I would bet 100% sure thats were he will go no matter what you sound like or do!!Get close to him,and take his temp. Give him some light calls see if he goes nuts. All you need to do is let him know where your at. If he gobbles at your call shut up!! Let him come to you! A old tom will want the hen to come to him so all he has to do is fly down to her. If he hits your call while still on the limb put the call away till he hits the ground. Listen for hens try and mimic what they are doing and get them pissed off at you so they can tow the gob to you! Henned up toms are and will be hard to kill! One trick I have used is to bust the flock up at dark when they just went up to roost so the gobblers will try and find the hens and will be gobblin fools come sun up!

[Grasshopper]

Here is the answer.

Seasons

* Spring season (2011) - April 13- May 26. Permit area and time period must be selected at time of license purchase.

MOTR, I think you and I need to lobby the DNR turkey guys to make this an all-season tag. It's very tough for kids to find hunting time, and many of the time periods have only one weekend day.

So why not let a kid grab a tag before the 1st season and hunt til he fills it...or not? This would allow him/her to pick their days and have more flexibility. Let them truly enjoy the sport and hit a couple good-gobbling days.

I've got a boy and a girl in 6th grade (twins) and I doubt they'd hunt 5-6 days the whole season, given lousy spring weather and commitments in school, church and sports...

[MuscleOnTheRidge]

I will give Mike Kurre aka "Cold Front" at the DNR a call or drop him an email and make the suggestion. If you go the DNR for Kids link, you will see his email addy on the turkey hunting page if you would like to also drop him a note. More is better.

MOTR

[mums]

MOTR, I think you and I need to lobby the DNR turkey guys to make this an all-season tag. It's very tough for kids to find hunting time, and many of the time periods have only one weekend day.

So why not let a kid grab a tag before the 1st season and hunt til he fills it...or not? This would allow him/her to pick their days and have more flexibility. Let them truly enjoy the sport and hit a couple good-gobbling days.

I've got a boy and a girl in 6th grade (twins) and I doubt they'd hunt 5-6 days the whole season, given lousy spring weather and commitments in school, church and sports...

I totally agree I took my 7 year old son out this last season and we just had a blast, he got to hear some toms gobbling on roost and we got to sneak up to with in about 35 yards of a tom and he just about jumped out of his shorts when he heard him gobble that close, it would be cool to have a few more weekend oppertunitys to take him out though, very difficult to find time with everything going on like grasshopper said, this was the first time I have taken my son on a hunt that he was the one with the tag to fill, even though he never got a chance to pull the trigger it was one of the best weekend in the woods in all my years of hunting

[Grasshopper]

even though he never got a chance to pull the trigger it was one of the best weekend in the woods in all my years of hunting

This describes the hunt I had with my boy last spring perfectly.

I wanted him to kill one so bad, but in the end it was just sharing the woods with him and laughing like buddies that I will never forget.

Hunting with kids is the best! It reminds you what it's like to see, hear and experience all that stuff for the first time!