turkey scouting tips?

Jeff V

Jeff V

New member
Never before have I seen so many wild turkeys by our house than I did this fall. about 8 came up and were pecking around in our garden and i saw at least 5 more while squirrel hunting. So this got me thinking and im thinking come spring, im gonna get one of these big boys.

Now that being said. I know they have different priorities in the spring so they will more than likely not be where I saw them in the fall. Any tips on how to scout for them? I have the camo, the gun, and ill be buying a couple calls soon. I just need to figure out how to find the best place to set up and start calling.
 
I've found that aside from learning the lay of the land, turkey scouting now is a waste of time. Around the end of March the flocks will break up and gobblers will establish a territory, so they rarely are in the same places in spring as in winter. The large hen groups will also break up then and disburse. On mild calm mornings in early spring, you should be able to hear toms advertising their services to the hens. This is an excellent time to be out listening and glassing for birds at a distance. You can learn about roost sites, feeding areas, and strut zones. Calling in a tom really isn't that difficult IF you are between where he is and where he wants to be. That is where pre-season scouting pays off. The WORST thing you can do then is take a call in the woods and "practice". By doing so you are conditioning them to hang up until the can see the "hen" they heard calling, making it much more difficult to get them into range when the season opens. I treat my scouting just like hunting- being there during the best times and conditions, full camo, binocs, stealth and woodsmanship. Do it right and you can drop a tom opening day. Good luck and POST PICS!
 
Thanks man. Thats what I figured, just go out listening and find out where they are calling.

I rarely go out in the woods not in full camo, unless its for rabbits, then i wear some tough pants to bust through the brush.
 
best advice for scouting turkeys, is not to look for the birds but for their food source. If there is chufa planted near by, they will flock it it. also recently burned over areas, and spots that are hard for predators to get to. Around here, our turkeys roost in alot of pine trees, an almost anywhere you can find a thick stand of pines with food close, turkeys will be around.

to help find the gobblers, in the spring go out witha crow, owl, or coyote howler at dawn and dusk and let er rip. the tom will gobble back 9 times out of 10 if he is in the area
 


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