In the wake of the fatal bear attack in Jerome, the conversation around a potential bear hunt is heating up. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to discuss options for a 2025 bear hunt at their upcoming meeting scheduled for May 21.
This topic has been on the agenda even before the recent attack in Jerome, and it remains a divisive issue. Florida has not held a regulated bear hunt since 2015, and prior to that, not since 1994. The recent attack led one group called “Bear Defenders” to urge the commission to delay making any decisions until emotions, like fear and revenge, have cooled.
Item 5 on FWC’s agenda for May 21 is titled “Proposed Rules – Options for a Black Bear Hunt.”
Staff will present “Amendments to hunting rules to implement a sustainable and repeatable hunt structure,” to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioners.
“The goal of the very highly educated and well qualified scientists at FWC is not, is not to kill all the bears, which some people would have you believe, but it’s to manage the growth of the population so that it can be sustained,” said Mike Elfenbein.
Elfenbein is the Executive Director of the Cypress Chapter of the Izaac Walton League of America. It’s a conservation group which fights to protect our air, water and wildlife and is rooted in outdoor traditions like hunting, fishing, canoeing and camping — according to its website.
“As a hunter, as a sportsman, as a conservationist, I am always in support of scientifically driven conservation tools in the state of Florida,” Elfenbein added, “and fishing and hunting are one of those tools for conservation of wildlife.”
In an FAQ, FWC says it wants to slow population growth to keep the numbers “In balance with suitable habitat,” adding, “At some point bears will have to start living in more marginal habitats, like neighborhoods.”
Elfenbein wanted to draw attention to this fact, of the 40 states with black bear populations, 34 have regulated bear hunting seasons. Of the 6 that don’t, Florida has the most bears. FWC estimates there are just over four thousand in the state.
“They don’t have a legitimate count of how many bears are in this state, and they won’t until 2029 2030. Postpone the hunt. Stop it right now. Don’t let hunters go out there and shoot and kill bears for trophies right after somebody was killed,” said Tom Mooney.
Mooney is part of a group called Bear Defenders. At the very least, they want the proposal and any decision to be postponed to when emotions like revenge and fear aren’t as high. Their ideal goal, Mooney says they want no hunt.
“2012, the bears were on the endangered species list. 2015, they killed hundreds of bears,” With tears welling in his eyes, Mooney said, “That’s not the state of Florida. Protect and preserve conservation. This isn’t conservation. It’s killing”
Mooney said he fears extinction. “I am not your trophy,” reads Mooney’s sign with a bear on it. He plans to hold it up at one of the multiple Bear Defender Protests ahead of FWC’s meeting.
Mooney and Elfenbein are motivated by the same thing, the environment. But are on opposite sides of this proposed bear hunt.
“Love the state. I love the environment, if it wasn’t for the everglades and being able to photograph bears, panthers, bobcats. What next? What next? What happens when they’re gone? If the state of Florida continues to build, 20 years from now, there won’t be any bears anyways,” said Mooney.
“Wild Florida is what, what motivates me. I spend every day of my life fighting for Florida, for our everglades, for water quality, for conservation of the landscape, and to ensure that we leave Florida better for my children and your children,” said Elfenbein.
The exact proposal — or the options that will be presented by staff aren’t public record. FWC told WINK news presentation documents will be posted when available.
Commissioners will vote on May 21 whether or not to move forward with a final vote at the August commission meeting.
Florida is considering a black bear hunt to manage its growing bear population, a proposal opposed by 81% of Floridians according to a Remington Research Group poll.
Humane World for Animals opposes the hunt, citing concerns about hunting methods like hounding and baiting, and the potential for slow, painful deaths from bow and arrow hunting.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is holding public meetings to discuss the proposed hunt, with the next meeting scheduled for May 21, 2025, in Ocala.
While the FWC reports increased bear-related calls and significantly grown bear populations, opponents argue the hunt is unnecessary and advocate for better education and bear-proofing measures.
The first recorded fatal black bear attack in Florida occurred on May 5, 2025, further intensifying the debate surrounding bear management in the state.
Eighty-one percent of Floridians oppose a hunt to manage the state’s black bear population, according to Kate MacFall, Florida director of Humane World for Animals.
The executive leader at the organization formerly known as the Humane Society of the United States is citing a poll by the Remington Research Group.
Speaking out on behalf of Humane World for Animals against the proposed regulated bear hunt in Florida, MacFall openly disagrees with wildlife officials and politicians proposing a three-week hunt later this year, ostensibly to remove 187 bears from an estimated population of 4,000.
HB 87: Taking of Bears authorizes taking the lives of Florida’s black bears without a permit or authorization and provides an exemption from penalties.
Can you ethically hunt bears?
A draft proposal for a three-week hunt shared with the Naples Daily News and The News-Press by the nonprofit Bear Warriors United has the state possibly allowing hunters to feed bears, then kill them near the hand-outs, use packs of dogs, and skip check stations.
“One of the most alarming aspects of this proposed hunt that the FWC is considering is the use of hounding and baiting,” the Humane World Florida director told the Daily Commercial about using dogs to hunt bears, and meat scraps or fish to lure bears to a specific location for hunting.
The FWC may allow trophy hunters to field dress bears, she added, which can lead to misidentifying the sex or hiding the fact that a bear was a lactating mother.
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Hunters, MacFall added, could also under-report the weight of a cub to avoid penalties.
According to the Remington poll, 89% of people surveyed oppose hounding, and 86% oppose baiting and hounding when packs of dogs chase the bear up a tree.
MacFall also expressed concern about bows and arrows, which can leave bears wounded to die slowly and painfully. “A study of modern archery equipment found that about 30% of deer shot by archers die slowly rather than from quick, clean kills,” MacFall said. “It’s extremely cruel.”
How will the FWC arrive at its decision?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held its first public meeting regarding a proposed regulated bear hunt in December, a public meeting in March, and will host another round of talks next week in Ocala. The agency expects to reach a decision this summer.
According to the FWC, “Commissioners directed staff to develop a range of options for the commission’s consideration for black bear hunting in 2025. Following direction from the commission, staff will return to a future commission meeting for a final hearing.”
The next public FWC meeting will convene the morning of Monday, May 21, in Ocala, starting at 8:30 a.m.. The meeting will encompass two days of information sessions and public comments on several matters. The bear hunt issue might be pushed to May 22 or postponed, the agenda says. Information can be found at myfwc.com.
According to a story in the Tallahassee Democrat, a big contingent of recent public pressure to approve the hunt is coming from the state’s Panhandle. One Florida sheriff has even taken to Facebook to plead with the FWC for help, the paper said.
Franklin County Sheriff A.J. “Tony” Smith said the once reclusive animals now boldly roam the streets of Carrabelle, have broken into homes in St. Teresa, and have startled a Lanark Village resident who found one snoozing on her porch.
Why is the FWC considering another bear hunt?
The FWC reported that bear populations across the state have grown to around 2.5 to 5 times above the minimum population objectives. (Minimum population objectives, the FWC explained at the meeting, are the minimum population needed to maintain the long-term genetic health of the population.)
Supporters of the hunt argue it is a necessary population control measure and a valuable tool for wildlife management.
“FWC should manage the Florida Black Bear resource for the benefit of hunters based on science, not emotions, especially when those emotions come from sections of the public that clearly do not understand hunting nor the science behind wildlife management,” says Bear Hunting Magazine.
At its December 2024 commission meeting, the FWC’s Bear Management Program gave commissioners a five-year update on implementing the 2019 Florida Black Bear Management Plan, highlighting recent bear management and research efforts.
Florida currently has more than 17,000 square miles of suitable bear habitat, of which 46% is protected. This is adequate habitat for the current and the larger predicted future populations, the FWC reported.
But statewide bear-related calls are at an all-time high, up 42% from 2016. The calls comprise both positive (bear sightings) and negative (complaints), the proportion of which has remained relatively consistent through the years (average 40% of calls are complaints).
$2.1 million has been allocated to local governments to provide bear-proofing trash cans along with “bear aware” information and education.
MacFall shared an online fact sheet about the proposed bear hunt from Humane World, which can be found at its website.
First human dies from Florida bear attack
FWC confirmed Friday, May 9, that the death of an elderly man in Collier County on May 5 was the first fatal Florida black bear attack in state history. Investigators said the remains of 89-year-old Robert Markel were found about 100 yards from his home in rural Jerome.
A post-mortem exam of the bears found Markel’s partial remains in the body of a 263-pound male. Tests confirmed that bear’s DNA was also found on Markel, in his home and on the body of a family dog.
According to the FWC, dogs have been involved in over half of the incidents of people being injured by bears in Florida. When walking dogs, keep them close to you — ideally on a non-retractable leash — and be aware of your surroundings, which is good practice for preventing conflicts with any wildlife.
When asked her thoughts about the first bear-on-human fatality, Humane World’s MacFall expressed sadness and conveyed condolences to the victim’s family.
She maintained that the bear hunt is not the solution and recommends reading the FWC’s “BearWise” page on the agency’s website, instead.
“The FWC bear management team is excellent,” MacFall asserted. “Their tips and the information on their website can help you avoid conflicts, manage trash and other bear attractants.”
Read Daily Commercial’s tips on how to manage and avoid bear encounters at dailycommercial.com.
What happened during the last state bear hunt?
A public outcry over the speed at which kills took place and how bears were baited called into question an FWC-regulated bear hunt in 2015.
In the 2015 Florida black bear hunt, a total of 298 bears were killed the first day. The hunt was halted after the second day when the harvest approached the quota of 320 bears. In all, 139 bears were killed in central Florida, the highest number in the count.
“To wildlife professionals and hunters, these success rates indicated that the bear population was significantly higher than had been estimated prior to the hunt,” the editorial in Bear Hunt Magazine says.
“To non-hunters, it indicated that we had just decimated the bear population. The latter narrative was ultimately used to bring the Florida Black Bear hunt to a screeching halt, to be revisited 10 years later.”
The group Bear Defenders calls the proposed hunt “a lethal response” that is overwhelmingly disproportionate to the concerns expressed by residents and officials regarding property damage and attacks on humans.
Florida black bear numbers continue to be a problem despite the self-defense legislation, says Marion County Commission Vice Chairman Carl Zalak, whose district encompasses a portion of the Ocala National Forest.
“My concern is for drivers on State Road 40 who risk hitting black bears crossing the road,” Zalak told the Daily Commercial earlier this year, adding that the two-lane highway, which cuts east-west through federal and state forest lands in Marion, Lake and Volusia counties, poses a danger to both bears and humans.
MacFall, of Humane World, says the bear hunt will not ensure more safety for bears and humans. The problem, she said, involves a lack of awareness and education, and misinformation.
“It has more to do with eliminating attractants, not leaving trash in unsecured bins, and not feeding animals outside attracts bears,” MacFall said. “Decimating the Florida black bear population will not solve the problem of attracting bears to residences.
“Vilifying one of our most precious animals, very specific to Florida, is not the right path.”
How to learn about bear encounters
To understand the extent of problems experienced by human encounters with bears, the FWC offers an interactive map that shows incidents involving bear complaints, encounters and illegal kills. It can be found at myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bear/living/distribution-map.
The map shows a high concentration of bear encounters in Marion County and northern Lake County, especially around Eustis and Umatilla. Sumter County also shows bear incidents to a lesser degree in the Wildwood and Coleman areas.
The 31 counties where bears may be hunted
North: Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, Suwannee, Union
Eastern Panhandle: Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Jefferson, Liberty, Leon, Wakulla, Washington
Central: Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, Sumter, St. Johns, Volusia
“We’re hoping that they will change their minds,” MacFall said of the FWC bear hunt proponents. “The last one was an absolute disaster for bears, for Florida, and a PR disaster.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission May neeting will convene at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at the College of Central Florida, The Ewers Century Center, Klein Conference Center (Building 40), 3001 SW College Road, Ocala.
I joined the WTXL team as the Northwest Tallahassee neighborhood reporter in September 2023.
Protestors outside the Capitol Saturday rallying against at FWC proposed bear hunt
The FWC is proposing a bear hunt with strict rules and regulations that would take place in December
Watch to hear from opponents and to find out more about the bear hunt.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Protestors outside the Capitol Saturday looking to stop a proposed Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission black bear hunt that would take place in December.
“It’s just going to be a slaughter of Florida’s wildlife,” said Leslie Carlisle, an advocate against the proposed FWC bear hunt. “One of the most majestic animals that we have in Florida, which is the black bear.”
The FWC does have a list of proposed rules and regulations for this proposed hunt.
According to the FWC’s website, the agency wants to slow population growth to balance population numbers and suitable habitats.
“There is a finite amount of suitable bear habitat, so if bear populations continue to grow unchecked, at some point bears will have to start living in more marginal habitats, like neighborhoods.”
Their website also said “black bear populations have not reached levels where self-regulation has been exhibited anywhere in North America.”
The last black bear hunt in the state was in 2015.
Yet opponents of the hunt said, the hunt feels unfair.
“I’m just very, very upset that they’re proposing a slaughter of the bear when it’s their state too,” said Carlisle.
The FWC will discuss the bear hunt at their next commission meeting beginning May 21st in Ocala.
Protestors said they will be attending to voice their outrage.
Posted Fri, May 16, 2025 at 10:59 pm PT|Updated Fri, May 16, 2025 at 11:07 pm PT
A large bear is protective of her cub tangled in a Lake Tahoe soccer net. (California Department of Fish and Wildlife)
LAKE TAHOE, CA — Some California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers and biologists braved the nervous wrath of a mamma black bear Thursday to rescue her cub after it became entangled in a soccer net at a park in the Lake Tahoe area.
The drama unfolded early Thursday morning in the Northern California’s most popular mountain resort community.
The wildlife department received a call about a bear cub tangled in a soccer net at Kings Beach park.
“When our team arrived, they found the cub stuck—closely guarded by a very protective mama bear,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
Wildlife officials worked to keep the big bear calm, so that they could free her tangled cub.
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“With some careful teamwork to loosen the net and make sure the mama bear gave them safe space they needed to work, Wildlife Officers and Biologists safely freed the cub in just over 5 minutes. The little one darted up a nearby tree, and after a quick reunion, both bears wandered peacefully back into the wild.”
The wildlife agency also credited partners at California State Park for helping to keep the bears calm.
The rescue drew immediate praise from resident across the Golden State.
“That is so cool,” Lucille M. Hurley wrote on Facebook. “No anesthesia needed just cool calm patient teamwork.”
“It’s all fun and games until someone gets caught in the soccer net. Thank you everyone who got involved to help this baby bear,” added Bella Danielle Ramsey. “I am sure the mom was stressed out as well but glad they’re back together and they’re both OK!!”
UPDATED 12:56 PM ET May. 17, 2025 PUBLISHED 5:24 PM ET May 15, 2025
OCALA, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently released its proposed rules for a black bear hunt ahead of its meeting next week.
Meanwhile, organizers of a group against the proposed hunt gathered Saturday at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando to voice their opinion. Members of the Animal Rights Foundation Florida say their is no justification for the hunt.
“The bears were here first,” said Bryan Wilson, foundation coordinator. “We’re moving into their areas. So any bear-human interaction is because we wound up taking their forest; taking their food source and where they live.”
What You Need To Know
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is meeting to discuss a proposed black bear hunt next week in Ocala FWC’s proposed rules for the hunt limit hunters to one bear per permit — however, the number of permits issued depends on the bear population in a given area If approved, this would bring back a black bear hunting season for the first time since 2015 FWC commissioners believe this will regulate the bear population in Florida
FWC commissioners say they believe reopening black bear hunting will regulate the population and manage growth rates. This would be the first black bear hunting season since 2015.
According to the proposed rules, they plan to establish Bear Harvest Zones and Bear Harvest Permits. The zones would exist in areas where the bear population exceeds 200.
The limit is one bear per permit, but officials say the number of permits issued will depend on the bear population in each demographic.
President of Speak Up Wekiva Chuck O’Neal is against the bear hunt. Living near Wekiva Springs State Parks, he said his backyard has become a playground for bears, he and believes there are better ways to manage the population.
“If we come back with a black bear hunt every year, that’s going to drastically reduce the number of black bears in Florida, and specifically in the central bear management unit we’re in now,” said O’Neal.
He said one of his concerns is FWC removing check-in stations. They were used to making sure all bears were legally killed. Instead, bears must be tagged and reported using the commission’s harvest reporting system within 24 hours.
“They’re removing that one key element that we used in 2015 to track the number of bears that were actually killed,” said O’Neal.
On the contrary, Lewis Pryzstup says he grew up in a family of hunters and believes the current numbers justify the hunt.
FWC reports there are more than 4,000 bears living in the state.
“There’s always going to be a bag limit, especially on something as crucial as the bear population here in Florida,” said Przystup. “They’re not not going to have a bag limit. Last time, it was a single bear if you got drawn.”
Permits would be issued through a random draw. During the first year, the proposed season would last 23 days in December. Then, the future season would occur between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.
Przystup says while the bear is a trophy to some, it’s also food that’s not going to go to waste.
“I don’t think people look at hunters the same way as another person would,” he said. “Us as hunters, we do things ethically, responsibly, we’re not going to do things that are going to make the bear suffer, do things like that. But it’s definitely something that needs to be done.”
The proposed ruling also discusses hunting with dogs, and would allow each permitted hunter bring up to nine guests with them. There is also discussion of implementing a Private Lands Bear Harvest Program, which would allow private landowners with at least 5,000 acres to bear hunt on their property.
FWC staff will discuss the black bear hunt during their commission meeting on May 21 and 22 in Ocala at the College of Central Florida.
Protestors came together in Ocala, DeLand and downtown Orlando on Saturday to protect black bears.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will meet May 21-22 to hear options for brining a bear hunt back for the first time since 2015.
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If the proposal gets approved, the hunt will last for at least three weeks in December.
“I have personal experiences running into them, and I do not consider them a threat,” said Betsy McClain, a Longwood resident who joined a protest in Lake Eola Park. “So it’s cruelty at its finest.”
“I think it’s very wrong and I think it’s sad because they have feelings as well, but not many people understand they have feelings,” said Serenity McCallister, a 13-year-old animal advocate.
“There is an overdevelopment, overpopulation, and a subdivision overpopulation. So, the bears’ habitat is getting destroyed,” said Raquel Levy, a Volusia County resident who joined the protest in DeLand.
“It is strictly a trophy hunt for the few individuals who are going to get permits to kill these bears,” said Bryan Wilson, the Central Florida coordinator for Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.
“The reality is that bear meat is actually delicious,” said Mark Barton, a supporter of bear hunting. “It’s a really great source of protein. especially if, like me, you don’t want to support the meat industry.”
Barton believes the outcomes could outweigh the risks.”
“By focusing this hunt in an area where there’s a lot of bears, you know, we can use that money to promote, more population growth in the areas where they still need help,” said Barton.
The FWC says there are more than 4,000 bears in the state.
A spokesperson said the staff started talking about the hunting last December.
“At the December 2024 Commission meeting, Commissioners directed staff to develop a range of options for the Commission’s consideration for black bear hunting in 2025. At the May 21-22, 2025, Commission meeting, staff will present options for amendments to hunting rules to implement a sustainable and repeatable hunt structure based on bear population information. Following direction from the Commission, staff will return to a future Commission meeting for a final hearing,” the FWC told WESH 2 News in an email.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) is proposing a new black bear hunting season despite public opposition and concerns about its impact on the bear population.
The proposed hunt includes a three-week season, use of hounds, baiting, and potential for bow and arrow hunting, raising ethical and management concerns.
Critics argue that focusing on human behavior changes, such as securing garbage and removing food attractants, is a more effective way to manage human-bear conflicts.
The author contends that the hunt is unnecessary and poses a risk to the genetic diversity and survival of Florida’s black bear population.
The hunting of Florida black bears is a matter of science, numbers and stewardship, and right now, it looks like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is coming out wrong on all three. The FWC staff proposal refers to a new bear hunting season as a “highly regulated hunt.” It’s more likely a tragic trophy hunt on Florida’s black bears that will likely embarrass our state. It’s a hunt almost no one in Florida wants. A brand new poll shows that a supermajority of Florida voters, 81%, do not want a bear hunt, and even more — 89% — oppose hounding and 86% oppose baiting bears at “feeding stations.”
In 2014 and 2015, biologists conducted surveys of Florida’s bears in their core areas and suggested that there might be a mere 4,000 individuals spread across the entire state. Most of these subpopulations are not interconnected as their habitats are fragmented by human developments and highways.
In 2015, the FWC set a week-long season on bears but shut down the hunt in just 48 hours because trophy hunters killed over 300 of them. Sixty percent were females, many of them mothers.
Trophy hunters are even shamelessly taking advantage of the recent tragic bear-related death in Collier County; even as sound science shows hunting won’t prevent such incidents. Yet, FWC admits that randomly hunting bears won’t stop them from entering neighborhoods.
Changing human behaviors will. Securing garbage, removing bird feeders, and eliminating food attractants are far more effective than random hunts. In a Florida black bear study, FWC biologists found that securing bear attractants reduced human-bear interactions by 54% and reduced the chances of bears eating garbage to “zero percent.”Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
In data gathered from 34 bear-hunting states, we found that while the number of bears hunted has increased nationwide, conflicts did not decrease.
Instead of such sensible measures, FWC proposes to give trophy hunters a three-week-long season with 24 hours to call in their bear kills (to help determine when a unit quota has been filled). The 24-hour delay could result in hunters far exceeding the 187-bear quota.
FWC has in mind to permit up to ten people and six hounds to chase terrified bears through Florida’s swamps and wildlands. Once the bears were treed or cornered, hunters would get an easy and unfair shot. Hounding results in other terrible outcomes, as the hounds chase bears onto roads where they are struck by motorists, kill non-target animals including endangered panther kittens, bear cubs and deer fawns.
In addition, FWC is considering allowing private landowners to lure bears to bait piles to reinforce a taste for free, easy meals. Soon enough, however, they’ll become live targets for trophy hunters hiding behind blinds.
FWC may also authorize bow and arrow killing or archery hunting. The massive bones and thick coat of a bear make it hard for hunters to achieve a quick kill. All too often, bears wounded by bow-and-arrow hunters flee, only to die slowly from blood loss or infection.
Adding to the mayhem, FWC may allow trophy hunters to “dress” (gut and butcher) bears in the field. This could lead to misreporting the sex of bears to hide the number of females killed, particularly lactating mothers, or to cover up the killing of cubs. Nor does FWC intend to require hunters to immediately check in at an FWC station with their bears, perhaps to avoid public scrutiny. In Florida, less than 1% of residents hold hunting licenses, and only a fraction would ever hunt bears.
Bears have been balancing their ecosystems for millennia, spreading saw palmetto and other seeds across vast distances and helping to regenerate plant life. They break apart logs, speeding up decomposition and soil enrichment. Their movements through forests create spaces in which sunlight can reach the ground, encouraging diverse plant growth. We’d be doing bears no favor if we authorized a trophy hunt, which will certainly undermine the genetic diversity of their populations, with profound ramifications for their survival in Florida’s increasingly volatile weather systems.
It amounts to this. Black bears are too valuable to our state to see them put at risk in so reckless a fashion. There is no need to kill them for something so frivolous as a trophy part or bragging rights, and we simply shouldn’t let it happen. The simple truth in 21st century Florida is that black bears deserve both our mercy and our protection, and we should adopt public policies shaped by that conviction.
Kate MacFall is the Florida state director for Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States.
It was 60 years ago that the group The Outsiders crooned the lyrics “I can’t wait forever; Even though you want me to.”
They could well have been singing about the frustration hunters feel that have not bagged a spring gobbler as the final days of the season slip away. Of course, it would be another three years before Pennsylvania had a spring gobbler season, but the message is not lost.
So, one of the best ways to have an encounter is by throwing caution to the wind and hunting turkeys on the roost in the morning or when they are returning to roost in the evening. Be advised, however, this strategy can result in busting the bird and spending what remains of the season searching out its new roost tree.
In the early days of the season the ideal distance when setting up on a roosted bird is generally within 100-150 yards, as the goal is to get close enough to potentially call them into shooting range, but not so close that you are easily seen or heard. As the days run out on the season, desperate times call for desperate tactics, so through caution to the wind, take advantage of the heavy foliage and quietly move in as close as possible without spooking the bird.
Some hunters prefer to get as close as 40-50 yards, especially if the turkey is roosting alone. If a gobbler is roosting with hens, it’s generally best to back off 50-60 yards away when setting up.
While being aggressive when hunting roosting birds in the late season can result in a tagged bird, avoid being careless and reckless. Just because the treetops are in full foliage avoid walking across open fields to set up and breaking limbs and branches when moving through the woods.
Always be aware of wind direction that will carry sound to a roosted bird. One factor that remains constant – no matter if hunting the opening morning of the season or the final hours on the final day – is the importance of stealth.
If hunting in the morning, once set-up start calling softly to attract the bird and add some scratching in leaves to imitate the sound of feeding hens. As the goal is to get as close to the roost tree as possible without spooking the turkey, be prepared for the turkey to fly down and be in position to take a shot.
Remember, turkeys roost in areas where they won’t be disturbed. Flying up in the evenings as sunset approaches and fly down in the morning near sunrise. Turkeys will rarely move to different roosts in the night, as they have poor night vision and they like relatively clear areas to fly up from and fly down to.
When scouting for roosting trees, which are often stained by droppings, concentrate on areas near water sources, large mature trees and open areas with good cover. Look for ridges, field edges and places where turkeys are likely to feed or travel.
Even if a bird goes quiet once it flies down, it will usually gobble on the roost in the mornings and evenings. Generally, soft calling is a beast in the morning and louder more aggressive calls in the afternoon will get a gobbler fired up that is working its way back to roost.
There is no mistaking a roosting area as the area should have droppings and feathers from birds dusting. Scratch marks and dusting bowls are easy to find, but also look for travel routes as turkeys establish specific routes along paths between feeding areas and roosting sites.
Setting up along the route the bird will use to get to the roost can be highly effective in the afternoon. This means patterning your bird and then waiting for him to walk by, rather than calling to him to try to lure him in, and this technique can be a game changer.
Avoid using decoys with this afternoon strategy, as the bird wants everything to be normal – right up until the load of shot finds its mark.
Exposing the Big Game 
