In Your Lap ?

[brittman]

Saturday morning turned out to be more educational than I anticipated.

I was running 10 minutes later than I wanted ... headed into the patch of woods where I had worked birds the 1st day of the season and in previous seasons - that said, I had never killed a gobbler here.

Even though I was running late I decided to walk in another 25 yards before sitting my small chair next to a big tree (ground/tree combo does not mesh well with a 40something year old back) and getting into position. The birds tended to roost on the side hill a little further in and I wanted to be closer to them this time. Some morning clouds seemed to keep the birds from sounding off too early.

Gobble, gobble.... he is in my section of woods – good sign.

Gobble, gobble … I look up and there he is just under 40 yards away. I should be Busted! I can tell you when you are that close to a roosted bird, the gobble does not sound as loud as a bird 40 yards away on the ground. The sound must be projecting over my head.

It becomes a little more light out and I can see Mr. Tom has a hen in the tree next to him.

Both birds are so close to even consider grabbing a call …

It is fun watching the gobbler fan out and strut on that tree limb. He gobbles loudly. A couple of times he stops, stretches out his neck and looks right down at me. Am I busted ? Now I am glad that I have not moved nor have I called to him.

Another hen about 80 yards away yelps out a “hey I am over here” cadence to the gobbler. He responds with an intense double gobble. That hen sounds like another hunter and you want to yell out – hey there is another hunter in the woods. A few minutes later and she flies down aggressively calling out … she lands right below his tree and yelps a couple more times. He triple gobbles and then goes back to spitt’n and drum’n on his tree limb. The hen slowly walks off in the opposite direction of me.

The other hen in the tree next to him wakes up and stretches her wings. He gobbles and fans …. the hen - never making a sound flies down in the opposite direction…. OK, two hens out the opposite side near a little clearing and trail – looks like my pre-sunrise chances over. At best I will have wait for the hens to leave him later in the morning. Yelp, Yelp, Yelp – they are now pleading him to jump out of that tree.

The gobbler now spins on his limb in their direction and gobbles hard. Over. Then ..

for what ever reason he spins on a time and flies down right at me – it seems like he is going to land right in my lap, but lands 10 paces in front of me.

I have often heard the scenario above play itself out in the morning turkey woods, but this was the first time in a very long time that I could visually confirm what has played through my tired head…..

[DonBo]

A very cool experience. Often in the fall I'll purposly set up right under an entire roosted flock. Nothing more exciting (to me anyway) than watching and hearing a bunch of birds doing what they do to greet a new day from very close range.

Sooooo....did you get the bird?

[Borch]

Yeah,

What Don said...

I've been very close before and scored. It's funny how birds start appearing from other trees nearby that you didn't even know were there.

[IlliniWalli]

yeah, me, too.

should have been a very happy ending to that story.

[sticknstring]

I had the same scenario unfold Friday morning except I was about 75 yds away. I even did the shake my hat and fly-down cackles to immimate a few hens. He double-gobbled. 5 min later a few hens lit up across the ridge and that was all it took. 40 yds is close! What a cool hunt.

[Cheetah]

Shoulda dumped him out of tree. Would serve him right for letting you sneak in late and get right under him.

[bigbucks]

Did that with my cousin Saturday morning, set the blind up about 75 yards from a roosted bird, but we didn't know it. When he gobbled first we thought he was about a 100 yards. He was in a red oak I think, but on the other side of a big white pine & we couldn't see him. I don't think he could see us either. He quit gobbling about 6:15. We never heard him fly down, but by 7:00 when we still had heard nothing we got up to go looking for birds. We scanned another small field & then walked up the ridge that we thought he "had been" roosted behind. He flew out of a tree on top at about 35-40 yards. Here he was sitting there the whole time. He probably could see our decoys. We felt pretty stupid.

We went looking for birds elsewhere on the property. Having tagged out yesterday I went home about 8:30 when it started to rain. He eventually wound up back there about an hour before dark. Plopped down by a tree & 5 minutes after setting up shot a 19 lb 11 oz gobbler. He had a long day, but he got his bird.

[sticknstring]

Did you call to him at all? If he thought he had a hen near (you), they'll often sit longer than normal waiting/looking for it. I had the same thing happen with hens.

After that tom flew down and went the opposite way, I went back to the truck, grabbed the blind and a bunch of gear and walked down the trail past where a hen been roosted earlier. I proceeded to kick 3 hens out of the trees around 7am. A fox had passed through earlier that morning.

Why do you guys suppose those hens stayed up in the trees so late? Was it the fox? Were they just catching some early sun rays in the tops of the trees? I've seen birds stay roosted for good portions of the day due to inclimate weather but it was gorgeous out with no wind. That was a first for me.

[brittman]

Sooooo....did you get the bird?

Yes. Nice two year old bird.

21.5 lbs, 10 inch beard and 1&1/8" spurs

I have sat directly under jakes and hens before, but they always flew off quite aways. Sometimes none the wiser I was there, other times PUT, PUT, PUT, PUT, PUT ..

From my experience hens will remain in trees if the weather is cold or raining hard or if something is running around below them. Weather they stay quiet or yelp occassionally - scared they put.