How Close To The Roost Do You Dare Get?

[blackbeltbill]

   I know alot of the old time Turkey Hunters would slip in no closer then 150 yards from the Roost in the Pre- dawn. Of course there was not nearly as many Turkey Hunters in the Public Woods then.

    Personally  I try to push the envelope.  I try to slip in within 100 yards. 70 yards would be better in the Hardwoods. Hopefully, I will be closer then the Real Hens.

  So- How close to the Roost do you normally  get each morning  out before setting up?

[Skillet]

Depends on foliage, and how noisy the forest floor is. 

[mowin]

Many times I've roosted the tom the night before, and set up within 40-50 yards.  Don't call until his feet leave the limb. Aggressive cutting usually has him in my lap very soon after his feet hit the ground. 

[blackbeltbill]

14 minutes ago, mowin said:

Many times I've roosted the tom the night before, and set up within 40-50 yards.  Don't call until his feet leave the limb. Aggressive cutting usually has him in my lap very soon after his feet hit the ground. 

 Cutting definitely  works and very Few Turkey Hunters use Cutting  .

[The_Real_TCIII]

2 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

 Cutting definitely  works and very Few Turkey Hunters use Cutting  .

Im afraid one of my "cuts" will be a "putt" so I dont use it when I know hes coming

[cynthiafu]

Mr. Bill we have been closer then that . We had the 2nd on I got in a tree right above me. Just had to wait for him to hit the ground 

[Buckmaster7600]

If I’ve roosted a bird and by roosted I mean know what limb he’s on not what ridge I want to be as close as possible 70yds minimum but like 40 or 50 even better if possible.

 

Back when I did it regularly my average was well over 500 if I could get in that close to a roosted Tom. That’s part of the reason I quit doing it to me it takes a lot of the fun out of the game when I can stack the odds that much. I also never waited to call  like many say you’re supposed to. I wanted the bird to know I was there. After fly down time it was purrs and scratching leaves with the occasional cut mixed in eventually they usually flew into my lap.

[mowin]

23 minutes ago, The_Real_TCIII said:

Im afraid one of my "cuts" will be a "putt" so I dont use it when I know hes coming

They do sound very similar, but it's the cadence, volume and number of calls that separates the too.  Trailing cutting off to a short cackle sequence helps also

[The_Real_TCIII]

16 minutes ago, cynthiafu said:

Mr. Bill we have been closer then that . We had the 2nd on I got in a tree right above me. Just had to wait for him to hit the ground 

I setup against a tree with a tom in it once lol, he flew down way out to my left and then walked right in front of me and BLAMMO!

[mowin]

I once watched a tom walk through a field just before dark.   I set up 75 yards away from the oak I thought he would roost in.  Kept hearing "acorns" falling.  After about the fourth of fifth acorn, I realized it was way too early for nuts to form, let alone fall.  Yep, set up directly under that tom.   

[blackbeltbill]

1 hour ago, cynthiafu said:

Mr. Bill we have been closer then that . We had the 2nd on I got in a tree right above me. Just had to wait for him to hit the ground 

That's  Right  Cynthia !!

   You were a good 20 feet away from Mr. Loudmouth up in his Tree ! I saw you keep looking up at him. You hammered him later on after he flew down.

 

[blackbeltbill]

1 hour ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

If I’ve roosted a bird and by roosted I mean know what limb he’s on not what ridge I want to be as close as possible 70yds minimum but like 40 or 50 even better if possible.

 

Back when I did it regularly my average was well over 500 if I could get in that close to a roosted Tom. That’s part of the reason I quit doing it to me it takes a lot of the fun out of the game when I can stack the odds that much. I also never waited to call  like many say you’re supposed to. I wanted the bird to know I was there. After fly down time it was purrs and scratching leaves with the occasional cut mixed in eventually they usually flew into my lap.

Right. Plenty of Real Hens around. I want to get my name in the Box and Tree Yelp early.

[dbHunterNY]

2 hours ago, mowin said:

They do sound very similar, but it's the cadence, volume and number of calls that separates the too.  Trailing cutting off to a short cackle sequence helps also

yup cadence. change speed as you work through the series. seems it's always faster than putts strung together. funny thing is i've never heard an actual hen cutting while out in the woods. calling CDs sure but not out in the field hunting.

[mowin]

4 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

yup cadence. change speed as you work through the series. seems it's always faster than putts strung together. funny thing is i've never heard an actual hen cutting while out in the woods. calling CDs sure but not out in the field hunting.

The most time I hear cutting is later in the season if a hen is actively looking for a tom, mostly yelping though. 

[dbHunterNY]

it depends on quiet i can be, how open the woods are, or if their roost tree is near a field edge. if i'm downhill from the roost i'm further away and uphill i'm closer. basically if I think the birds can see me i'm usually pumping the brakes on trying to get closer. if on the way there i reach a tree with hens and he seems to be hammering away in a further tree i stop and then become an annoying boss hen "assembly yelping" when they start hitting the ground.