Roosted Birds

[sep0667]

How close can you get away with getting to roosted birds in the morning? A property I plan to hunt this spring the birds roost along a creek behind a couple houses/their yard only about 100 yards. To get to the part of the property where I can hunt them I will have to go past the houses/yards, cross the creek, and about walk within 50 yards or so or just about right under them of where I have seen the birds roosting this winter. I don't have a bunch of turkey experience, but I have already walked under roosted birds before and also set up quite close and they didn't really seem to notice/ or care, not sure if that was just lucky or not.

 

[Daver]

In my experience, this varies widely. On an overcast, windy day...I have walked right underneath them and gotten away with it. On a clear, quiet day...those suckers bomb out of the trees scaring me to death sometimes 100 yards away! Also, even if you don't spook them off the roost, you can get close enough that they will then go quiet and/or head the other way on fly down.

You look to be a little constrained in that photo...one thing you can do for sure to help yourself is to go ahead of time and either rake, or leaf blow, a path to follow in the dark. At least then you can be assured of having a quiet path in.

 

[sep0667]

In my experience, this varies widely. On an overcast, windy day...I have walked right underneath them and gotten away with it. On a clear, quiet day...those suckers bomb out of the trees scaring me to death sometimes 100 yards away! Also, even if you don't spook them off the roost, you can get close enough that they will then go quiet and/or head the other way on fly down.

You look to be a little constrained in that photo...one thing you can do for sure to help yourself is to go ahead of time and either rake, or leaf blow, a path to follow in the dark. At least then you can be assured of having a quiet path in.

Yeah I plan to try and get it plenty early to try and not spook. I do already have a pretty good path cutout that I use to access when I bowhunt deer here. Its small property, maybe only 10 acres actually huntable. Lot of turkeys in the area and quite a few deer. Its a challenge to hunt just because its so small. That's a good tip to maybe only hunt it if its a bit windy or so to help conceal my noise going in. The birds typically always pitch down into the area I have permission on and then work into the ag fields.


Funny thing is the green circle below is my blind from 2 years ago when I had permission on the large farm to the south, until a neighbor that has permission to deer hunt it blew up on me in the field that I was out there turkey hunting last year, even though I had permission (see my post from last spring about that). I've deer hunted the 10 acre area here about 10 years now, the farm to the south is nearly just all open crop ground and he hunts the fenceline of the timber I have permission on and he even had shooting lanes cut to shoot onto my side. I'd always just let it slide, until last year he did that, so I blocked his lanes with brush.

 

[cybball]

If they fly down and head his way, can you cut out and around to the south of the blue x's and set up between them and where they are heading? I wouldn't want to get too close to where he is as that can be dangerous and cause a shouting match, but if you can somehow not walk right through the birds and get toward where they want to go.

 

[Ishi]

I’ve tried many to get close to roosted birds but only once did it work out!
It has finally sunk in to know the travel route of the birds and success has skyrocketed.

 

[sep0667]

If they fly down and head his way, can you cut out and around to the south of the blue x's and set up between them and where they are heading? I wouldn't want to get too close to where he is as that can be dangerous and cause a shouting match, but if you can somehow not walk right through the birds and get toward where they want to go.

Not really, I can only be in the timber basically, he has the open ground. I don't think he really even turkey hunts. The two springs I turkey hunted on the ground to the south he was never out hunting, I never saw a blind etc. I think he was just pissed I was turkey hunting where he deer hunts.

 

[Blaster]

Early in the season i only get within 100 yards of them. But late in the season when the leaves are on you can get right under them! If you have to go by them early in the season make sure it's real dark when you walk by them. They won't know what you are.