Youth Turkey Season

[bogmanjr]

Have to agree on all of the above. Call less instead of more, less chance of saying the wrong thing and they will know where you are once you have called to them. I have had birds still roosted an hour after light, That's the exception and not the rule though.

[CAPTJJ]

We thought we were set up about 200 yards down a cliff (7-8 stories) and just north of where they normally roost on the edge of a field.  The idea was that they should have been able to look down and see out decoys.  But all of the gobbling came from across a busy road.  I figured that they just happened to roost in a different spot.  When do they normally fly down, at first light?

Thanks for any advice you could give!

I know they have amazing eyesight, but how is their hearing?  When that hen started coming in we were like Abbot and Costello in the blind!

I waited till I got out of the blind to answer this, too much for texting.

First off, while it sounds like a good idea, you probably don't want them to be able to see the decoys from the roost, it's not natural for a hen to be there as it gets lighter first thing in the morning(story below). Like the others said they usually fly down soon after first light, a few things can keep them up there longer, like rain. One time I busted a hen off the roost ina pine tree at 10am??? It was cloudy but no rain. Another time I set up in a roosting area near a pond, checked the night before and didn't get any gobbles. Got everything ready in the dark, decoy out. As it got light I was startled by a gobble real close, finally got light enough to see a longbeard in a pine 30 yds away and I thought it would be a slam dunk, He was gobbling like crazy(doubles, triples) and I could see his beard swinging every time he stuck out his head to gobble. He kept it up until 8:30(almost 3 hours), when a hen flew in across the pond and landed on the other side of the tree; he flew down and they went off in the other direction.

Their hearing is excellent, they rely on it. From what I understand they can hear your calls even if you can't hear them gobble back. I saw a video taken out west, they were calling and zoomed in on some gobblers across a canyon; you could see them gobble back at the calls, but they couldn't hear it. It was really windy, too.

One sound you want to listen for when you get a tom coming in is the spit/drum, it's very faint and strange(cool ) sounding and they can only make it when strutting. They guy that taught me how to hunt them said if you can hear that you know he is close or in gun range.

[33Canuck]

Took a kid out Saturday but got nothing but soaked, only heard one distant gobble.  Kid wanted to sleep in Yesterday, they have no priorities these days.  Can't wait for next Tues.

[joe snag]

Almost stepped on a bedding Hen yesterday,scared the crap out of me and I did her,Had 13 eggs in the nest..

[Green Mountian Hunter]

Almost stepped on a bedding Hen yesterday,scared the crap out of me and I did her,Had 13 eggs in the nest..

                    Would loved to have been there I would have helped out HEHEHE !!!!

[Chucker]

Almost stepped on a bedding Hen yesterday,scared the crap out of me and I did her,Had 13 eggs in the nest..

We had a similar experience at PSC...  Doing a forest mensuration exercise, and three of us were wading through hobblebush.  All of the sudden the ground exploded - we had gone straight over a grouse with young chicks.  All three of us froze in mid-step, for fear of stepping on a chick until she could gather the brood up and get out of Dodge.

[mookie]

    Ruger's 1st point was a bedded hen when he was 4 months old . I used to take him for walks on the power lines near my house , I was proud till the hen chaced him and me down the trail lol 

[Green Mountian Hunter]

Being the Jokester  I am I'd had a field day with both of you Chucker & Mookie