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locator calls

to those of you that roost birds what calls are you using? I tried a barred owl call few years ago but couldn't quite get the right call out of it. what brand calls? also i just picked up a dog whistle because ive heard that can work, dont have much faith in it myself but it was cheap so figured it was worth a shot.

I use a crow call and hit it as hard as I can for 2 or 3 caws. A coyote howl works well also. Never had much luck with owls hoots. The other night I had a real owl hooting nearby and no gobbling responses. Hit the crow call and got a gobble.

Tekoa

I've historically had horrible luck with late day roosting. That said, slamming my truck door really hard has worked nicely, as has honking the horn in remote areas. Overall, I generally like the owl hoot (I do it with my voice, I have learned to make a mean barred owl and can gobble well too).

That said, at dawn it always felt to me like any loud noise (crack a stick walking in) would work - it's the "shock" of it. While in the evening, they are acclimated to lots of noise, so it either has to be a sound they have not heard in a while, a particularly shrill (loud crow call for example) sound or different sound. Thus things like the dog whistle, car door, horn, blow horn, coyote, you yelling "whoop whoop" etc all can work.

First thing make sure you don’t try to roost them too early. Right now I would say anytime after 7:45pm and you would be ok. Once they get comfortable up in the tree, they should gobble at almost any loud noise but obviously you want the noise to be natural sounding. Any of the calls mentioned above will work. A couple of things Ive noticed about trying to roost a bird however, is that not nearly as many birds gobble on the roost in the evening as they do in the morning, so just because they don’t gobble at night doesn’t always have to factor in to your hunting plans for tomorrow. I’ve also noticed that night gobbling is very much affected by the weather. More so than gobbling in the morning.

Practice, practice and then practice a little more with all your calls. And x2 what Longbeard said.

Just like Will I havent had much luck roosting but before season I would go early am to each spot and note where they were. I was hunting one day and used the crow call but got no responses then a couple minutes later a real owl hooted and I heard a gobble. I went and bought an owl call that same day on the way home.

primos Woodpecker/peacock call. its high pitched and really loud. works all times of day... swear by it

thanks for all the tips. just ordered the woodpecker call and will give that a try also.

One thing I may add to the list above and I know many of you will disagree with me but when all else has failed for me I have actually use really loud hen yelps and it has worked many times yes many times had birds gobble of the roost. With that being said I have walked out of the woods the next day with a bird over my shoulder. I still use this only when nothing else has worked. Gobbling works well also.

I’ve had the bedt luck doing what Deanman said, but i always use a different call than what i will use the next morning. Typically use a big box call that is really loud.

Ma bow that's what I use as well! Box call with fresh chalk on it!!! Then I can also gobble with it!

Ma bow that's what I use as well! Box call with fresh chalk on it!!! Then I can also gobble with it!

back in the day my bro and I made many of our own calls...some of them were old 35mm film cans with a diaphram made from a balloon or latex glove or dental dam. you can make super loud calls with them and call completely down a hollow.

I also use a loud box call made by quaker boy called a 'boat paddle' is super loud and I gotta go easy on it.

but as I said above....I prefer the woodpecker/peacock as I'm not using a turkey sound contributing to the over-calling/call-shy issue.

Deanman just to clarify. In my post above I wrote that you shouldn’t try to roost them too early. I didn’t finish that thought. I too have use very loud cutting and yelps to get a response. But if it’s too early and the birds aren’t roosted yet, you might have an evening visiter that you didn’t want. But to your point, if done wisely loud yelping can work at roosting time. Fun stuff!!

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