Gobbler pattern question

Saturday morning a buddy and I were out scouting the area where we’ll be hunting the opening season here in Minnesota. We heard several birds gobbling on the roost, heard them fly down, then saw them strutting in an open field…needless to say it got us pretty jacked up for hunt.

My question for some of the veteran turkey guys out there is what is the likelihood that these birds will roost in the same general area and display in the same area? We watched them from 80-100 yards away so we wouldn’t disturb them and could get a feel for their movements. If they aren’t disturbed by people or predators, do they do roughly the same thing each day? Will they roost in the same general area? I have a rather limited number of acres to hunt, so if they are somewhat creatures of habit I could be in luck.

Thanks for any input you can give…and for keeping my mind off of work!

from my experience the Toms will Roost in 2-3 locations. it’s a game of cat and mouse or chess. nothing better then when you pick the right one and get to say “CHECK MATE”. i suggest being very quiet the night before and try to tuck one in. if you hear them roosting the night before…. get in the woods earlier then you ever have and wait them out as they come down and intercept them before the reach the field or take em’ on the field edge. good luck and let us know how it all works out

Thanks for the info, Gobbler.

I’ve heard of people “tucking them in” at night so you know where they’re roosted…how do you know when they’ve roosted? Do they gobble at night like they do in the morning? Will they respond to calls? Basically I’m asking how you do that without messing things up for the next morning.

Another way is to scout them in the evenings. Find out where they go to roost and listen for them. They will sound off early in the evening, but just be careful not to get busted. An owl call will work great for the early evening and also for the early morning locator. The best thing to do though is to scout them closer to your season and find out exactly where they are strutting in the morning. They should be in a pretty predictable pattern by then! Good luck!

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Saturday morning a buddy and I were out scouting the area where we’ll be hunting the opening season here in Minnesota. We heard several birds gobbling on the roost, heard them fly down, then saw them strutting in an open field…needless to say it got us pretty jacked up for hunt.

My question for some of the veteran turkey guys out there is what is the likelihood that these birds will roost in the same general area and display in the same area? We watched them from 80-100 yards away so we wouldn’t disturb them and could get a feel for their movements. If they aren’t disturbed by people or predators, do they do roughly the same thing each day? Will they roost in the same general area? I have a rather limited number of acres to hunt, so if they are somewhat creatures of habit I could be in luck.

Thanks for any input you can give…and for keeping my mind off of work!

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Much will depend on their food sources staying the same and the amount/location of available hens. This time of year sees more change than any other, making it difficult to pattern birds this far before the season. Make no mistake about it though, scouting like you did yields you an incredible advantage. Not only do you know which trees these birds slept in, you know the tendency they have in flying down. More importantly, your confidence has been bolstered! Roost locations can-be, and often-are repeated, but they typically have several roost locations.

Try and think back and make mental note however of what hens were with them, where they were roosted if present, etc. Also, think about adjacent properties, connected by waterway, crop cover (if available), and more importantly wooded acreage, to think about what other areas they might occupy during your season. Air photos are great for this. In other words, don’t let your sightings make you too comfortable in terms of the amount of available land you have to hunt. More is better in this instance, and it would be nice to have other options if the turkeys do what they’re known for doing!

Joel