Turkey scouting

[Gellar]

Maybe I enjoy scouting for turkeys more then I do hunting them...maybe. It seems every year there’s a few threads on how to turkey hunt. I believe scouting is the #1 factor in successful turkey hunting. Here is how I do it: I mainly hunt a large piece of public land for Iowa (2500 acres give or take)that is mostly timber with a few clear cuts and oak regeneration areas. It has a gravel road running through the middle of it that divides it 1/3 on the southwest and 2/3 on the northeast. It is very rough Mississippi river bluff country. Every morning between dawn and sunrise I stop at 2-3 locations and listen for 5 minutes each spot along the road. I shut the vehicle off, stand in the middle of the road and drink my coffee. If I hear a turkey I mark the time, temp, wind direction and approximate wind speed and of course where I think it is roosted at. I start doing this about a month before the season. In the afternoon I drive the road and look for turkeys along the road or in the power line right of way. And mark those down too. I have found looking back at my notes that the turkeys do about the same pattern year in and year out, regardless of conditions. They change their roost every 3-4 days, but stay within a general area of where they are going to feed. After all of this scouting I hunt 1st season and 4th season. Iowa has 4 turkey seasons and you can hunt 2 of them if you are using a gun. Each season gets progressively longer with the 1st season starting on April 13 and ending on April 16 this year. I have never used a pop up blind but prefer to be mobile and go to where the birds are. I usually sit with my back to a tree and hopefully a deadfall in front of me. The last several years using these scouting techniques, minimal calling, and a lone hen decoy I have killed a Tom on opening morning of the 1st season.

I’d love to hear how you scout and hunt for turkeys! Do you scout similar or do you just show up and hope for the best?

 

[Slm864]

I scout in a similar manner when I check spots on my way into work. I will stop on the road and wait 5 minutes and listen for gobbles on the roost. I also drive around a lot and look for birds in the fields. With the PA season mostly not opening until May we have a lot of fields that are planted by then which makes the turkeys easy to find. I Don’t use decoys anymore and have had good success. Shot a lot of birds first thing in the morning and still made it to work by 630!

edited to put pics in. quality is poor.

 

[Pucky Freak]

3 toms strutting in an open field yesterday - eye candy!

My scouting consists of watching CNN and seeing that Iowa governor has not yet issued a stay at home order, meaning I’m one day closer to being able to hunt the opener!

 

[Mainer207]

3 toms strutting in an open field yesterday - eye candy!

My scouting consists of watching CNN and seeing that Iowa governor has not yet issued a stay at home order, meaning I’m one day closer to being able to hunt the opener!

that stay at home order for NY hasn’t kept me from fishing...nor will it keep me from turkey hunting. Those are essential business!

 

[TheBenHoyle]

I live at minimum an hour from my nearest turkey hunting grounds. It is not possible for me to scout much. I mainly just show up and hope I'm in the right spot. I do always note where I have seen turkeys in the past and try to set up accordingly, but I would love to have the ability to scout more recent to my hunting.

 

[Gellar]

I am fortunate that this spot is on my way to work. I have killed several birds and had them plucked before work starts at 7. With season 1 always Monday-Thursday there has been more than 1 time I have had a plucked turkey in the work shop refrigerator too. Lol! I am fortunate to have a boss and coworkers who are not upset about a turkey in the break room but they would be upset if I missed an opportunity to harvest a Tom but didn’t because I was going to be an hour late for work.
Sometimes I think about hunting other public spots that are not close to home or on the way to work and I always decide against it because of the lack of scouting.
If we get a stay at home order it will be interesting to see what they decide for hunting and fishing. Illinois I believe said you can hunt/fish still but not on public land. Other states have said public land is still open, but not the visitors centers and shelters. I hope it doesn’t go that far.

 

[2rocky]

I'd love to get excited about turkeys but having them roosting in the trees within bow range and strutting in my yard just makes it feel unsporting really.

The birds that come into town and strut in the street, and scratch in people's yards are really pests.

I've limited out for the season within view of multiple houses year after year. I've had landowners say "why did you only shoot 1 ?"

Now when I started, I did hunt "Wild" turkeys and I had fun calling in toms. But these days it's basically depredation work in the Bay area of California. Why don't I take a kid? Because it is rural residential, so no shotguns, and I don't want a wounded bird going and dying in someone's yard.

 

[trb]

I could not be more excited for the upcoming month and a half long Colorado season. A much needed distraction from the current state of things. Chasing mountain Merriam's is a huge challenge and ton of fun, and it always seems to lead me to exploring new areas which I love. I set up 4 trail cameras in some interesting spots in November, I can't wait to go check them next week.

Living on Colorado's busy front range, scouting for me is more about finding new little pockets, meadows and travel corridors in difficult to access public land areas. Because Merriam's are so nomadic, there isn't much point in locating them until a day or two before season. I spend a ton of time on OnX trying to find those meadows, saddles, and water sources and figuring out how to get there. I've also had success walking closed FS roads after a fresh snow and hoping to cut tracks. I have had limited success calling to locate, I think partially because of their nomadic nature, and also the topography limiting the distance of the sound.

 

[Wally Dog]

I've hunted the same places in Idaho since 1990. I know where the birds are/will be year after year. They live there and nobody mucks with them. A great secret for success is simply being familiar with a property.

 

[Gellar]

I've hunted the same places in Idaho since 1990. I know where the birds are/will be year after year. They live there and nobody mucks with them. A great secret for success is simply being familiar with a property.

I agree 100% they aren’t the same birds every year, but a lot of times they are in the same area. A lot of these turkeys roost on the edge of a very steep bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. If you spook them off the roost the fly to the bottom and are not hunt able.

 

[Gellar]

I could not be more excited for the upcoming month and a half long Colorado season. A much needed distraction from the current state of things. Chasing mountain Merriam's is a huge challenge and ton of fun, and it always seems to lead me to exploring new areas which I love. I set up 4 trail cameras in some interesting spots in November, I can't wait to go check them next week.

Living on Colorado's busy front range, scouting for me is more about finding new little pockets, meadows and travel corridors in difficult to access public land areas. Because Merriam's are so nomadic, there isn't much point in locating them until a day or two before season. I spend a ton of time on OnX trying to find those meadows, saddles, and water sources and figuring out how to get there. I've also had success walking closed FS roads after a fresh snow and hoping to cut tracks. I have had limited success calling to locate, I think partially because of their nomadic nature, and also the topography limiting the distance of the sound.

I would love to hunt the mountain merriams.

 

[MT Bound]

alot of listening before the season opens to locate.

Another vote from me on minimal calling, most guys over-call, period.

 

[belshawelk]

Must of saw at least 300 on my drive home from my cabin last week.

I will do my part next month controlling the pest population................... They are at least a few chromosomes up the ladder from geese.

 

[Gellar]

We have went from high 20s and low 30s at night to a few nights in the 40s and days in the upper 50s. As a result The grass is starting to green up and the flocks are starting to break apart. I have seen a few toms by themselves or with a small group of hens. And yesterday I heard a lone gobble in the middle of the afternoon.

 

[Gila]

I would love to hunt the mountain merriams.

The Black Ghost

I haven’t turkey hunted for almost 8 years. In 2012 I became really sick and thought I would be pushing up daisies by now, but I pulled through and got better. I thought all of that crap they threw at me across the big pond when I was younger was going to kill me but I made it back. It feels...

jesseshunting.com

Last year I had bronchitis and didn't get up there. With this year's stay at home order I will have to stay down here. There are a couple of toms up on the ridge that might find their way to my grill though. If NM closes a hunting season, then we might all just as well bend over and kiss it good bye!.

 

[FLS]

How I scout depends on where I am and how visible or vocal the birds are. I live in a rural area with a lot of ag. Starting in late February the birds get pretty visible. I figure out where they’re roosting and how to get in unseen or heard. Woods / swamp birds are a different game. I’m looking for sign and trying to figure out their travel and roosting habits. Ideally I want get get them coming off the roost if possible. If they get henned up I’ll try and get a gobbler interested once they split up. If they don’t want to talk, I lose interest quick. I could care less about ambushing one.

 

[Old man bob]

TRB, I agree with You 100% on Mtn Merriams. No need to scout til few days before the hunt, or I would be there now for something to do ,instead of being stuck in phoenix. Here I hunt the high country of the White mountains 8K to 9500 ft. They seem to follow the snow line up as it melts . Generally find em in the same area every year. Good luck..............BOB!

 

[Old man bob]

Gila ! I called friday afternoon and G &Fish said hunt was still on .I will check as time gets closer. I come over from Phoenix.................BOB!

 

[AggieHunter]

TRB, I agree with You 100% on Mtn Merriams. No need to scout til few days before the hunt, or I would be there now for something to do ,instead of being stuck in phoenix. Here I hunt the high country of the White mountains 8K to 9500 ft. They seem to follow the snow line up as it melts . Generally find em in the same area every year. Good luck..............BOB!

DO Merriam's respond to locater calls well?

 

[Old man bob]

Yes , I know Guys that use them ,but to me it doesn't make sense....Good luck ,Even just listening before daylight ,if there are birds around on the roost, You will hear them unless its windy................BOB!