Turkeys on roost

[LPJR]

How much or how little are you calling during sunrise when the birds are hammering from the roost?  I usually always call too much as I love the response gobbles. Saturday morning we are going to play it cool and only do some light tree yelps if birds are on the roost....

 

 

[Gobblengrunt]

light clucks and tree yelps off the roost just to let them know your there.  if u call too much or too aggresive, gobblers expect to see a hen on the ground to fly down to.  feel the gobblers mood once they hit the ground.  only time i get aggresive is if im challenging a hen or mimicking two hens challenging each other (two calls at once)

[Thunderchicken]

Soft and light. I just want him to know I’m there.  Some soft tree talk  as Gobblingrunt said. 

[tomturkey]

If hens are talking I will match them, love a good hen fight!!

If just gobbling I play it be ear but I'm probably more aggressive then most. With that said I still will let him/them gobble 3-5 times before I answer.

 

Good luck all!!

[Live to Hunt]

Love that picture Lou

[Rusty]

Great picture Lou.  Less is more when it comes to calling.  Once they respond to you they know that you are there, there's no reason to yell back and forth at each other.  

[Buckeyes11]

Overcalling can end a hunt before it starts. I give a few soft yelps   If he’s real fired up. No reason to keep calling. Curiosity will get the best of him

[mazzgolf]

I'll never forget the time - my second season hunting turkey - I had a gobbler sounding off every time I would call. He was on the ground, I was in a blind. I would call and call and call. He would gobble and gobble and gobble. This bird ended up completely walking around my location 360 degrees - he literally  circled me. He never got within range or he stayed hidden behind trees - never gave me a shot.

This bird taunted me for at least an hour if not more. I could not believe this bird was not coming in to see what was calling to him. He's in front of me, I call, he gobble. He circles around to my left. I call, he gobbles. He's behind me... he's to my right. Call... gobble... Walked a complete circle around me..... and then went away.

It was then I realized it really is true that Toms really do expect the hens to come to them and that calling too much can hurt you.

I bet had I just called once or twice and shut up after that, eventually the curiosity of that Tom would have been too much and he would have walked right to me looking for the hen that went quiet.

I know this doesn't answer the question "how much to call when they are on the roost" but I bet its the same theory. If they continually hear a hen, but never SEE a hen, they are going to think something's not right and they are going to keep their distance and expect the hen to show herself first.

[Thunderchicken]

Well said! Less is more when calling to a bird on the limb. 

Its nature and there isn’t a silver bullet to this stuff as all situations are different, but wearing out your striker or blowing your mouth call  till the reeds are shot usually isn’t the answer. Good luck to everyone and be safe!! 

Edited April 20, 2018 by Thunderchicken

[Swamprat]

Once you call and they respond....they know exactly where you are. Trust me. I go quiet once they fly down. Will call sometimes if I see a bird working the other way. I also believe for every bird you see/hear their is a bird you don't see/hear. 

[mazzgolf]

BTW: that is an awesome picture - nice little game would be "how many turkeys can you find in the trees?"

I (think) I see 15  

[LPJR]

Yup, going to play it cool with a few soft calls. Hopefully this pisses off a big one and brings him in. Using the strutter for the first time and it is so realistic that the bronze feathers actually "glisten" in the sun. I will say this, we hunt private land but this is something I would not bring to public spots. A shot may be taken at it....

[DBuck]

Calling to birds on the roost can get tricky,it all depends how close you are to them. If I'm really close to them like in LPJRs picture, I won't even call to them when they are on the roost because they can look over and see that's there no hen there. plus being that close it's going to sound like the hen is on the ground already and that will focus their attention on you. If I'm  far enough away then I'll give some tree yelps and then eventually a fly down cackle. after that I'll do some calling then shut up until I can figure out what they're up to. I never do a fly down when set up close. Remember too, if they boys are roosted with the girls then chances are they're going to go with them, so now you have to work the Toms and the hens, but you have to be careful with the hens because they can and will take the Toms away from you. It's a big chess match. If you're set up close and want to get them gobbling then use an owl call. This is just my strategy, I'm sure others on here. like Gobblegetter could answer the question much better.

[Nomad]

Once I find one on the roost, I usually make some clucks/yelps to ensure he knows I am there.  Then I make a few more calls right before fly down to remind him.  If there is a hen/hens with him , I usually call at least as much as the hens do, maybe more.  If you can be where he wants to go anyway that's can be better than good calling.  Good luck tomorrow.  

Edited April 20, 2018 by Nomad

[B B]

I call with my hat and the leaves.  I rarely set up very close to their roosting area.