Roosted Turkey Question, how to tell if you've spooked a bird?

[SalemDawger]

This morning I hunted a canyon I have hunted in the past that always has a few toms and normally very few if any hunters. Last week I found a were a group of birds were roosting and headed there in the AM darkness. I went to were I watched them roost last Sunday and circled wide around in the the pines to where I thought they would be. My goal was to get to a meadow up hill 100 yards. Just as I was getting to where I wanted to set up, a tom gobbled 50 feet atop a pine that was only 20 yards uphill from me. It was still early and quite dark. I quietly moved to where I could set up on the edge of a small meadow and waited. He gobbled 5-6 more times over the next 90 minutes and then three hens in the tree started with soft yelps right before they flew down. He followed last and unfortunately the flew all the way down to the canyon bottom and landed 200 yards below me.

Long story short, another hunter drove the road and started calling from his truck right were he was gobbling on the ground

The tom shut up. I stayed as long as I could hoping they might move in my direction after being spooked. No luck.

I don't think I could have called him as he was henned up, but I did not expect them to fly that far from their roost. I was on the edge of the meadow I figured they would fly down to.

From what I am describing, could they have been just spooked enough to fly that distance? Or does the fact that he kept gobbling in the tree mean that he was not spooked?

Will spooked birds always flush from the Roost?

The real bummer is that on the drive out there were hunters everywhere! I counted 8 trucks on the road with hunters in them, and more trucks parked along the road. My (semi)secret spot is secret no more.

 

[grinder67]

I dont think I have ever spooked a gobbler on the roost and still had him gobble at all. Usually they just bail out and shut up when it happens to me anyway. Sounds to me like you may have woke him but he wasnt sure what had disturbed him. More than likely if no one killed him he will be back in the same area that very evening.

 

[shelton573]

Sounds to me like you didn't spook him. Like grinder said, you might have woke him up but not scared him. I have spooked a gobbler on roost that was gobbling and he shut up and waited until it was light and flew in the other direction and didn't gobble the rest of the day. On Saturday, I walked out to where I normally start my morning and listen for gobbles and one gobbled about 60 or so yards down the tree line so I quietly set up. He gobbled every 30 seconds or so and right before they came off the roost I did some soft calling and he got really fired up....then he flew down about 150 yds in the other direction and gobbled his head off for about 30 minutes. Moral of the story, I don't think you spooked him, I just think he had other plans already. It's been a tough year here in Iowa for me so far...they don't want to cooperate. I guess that's why they call it turkey hunting not turkey killing. Good luck!

Shelton