MichiganWhitetails74

I'm in a high volume Turkey area and do not scout either GMMAT. Only because of the turn over I have had in the last few years... I just show up in that 2 week zone and do my thing.....

yelp yelp yelp yelp....gobble gobble gobble gobble......400, 200, 100, 30, 20 yards....Full strut....the sound of the Toms wings hissss as he flufs upand zeros on the decoys.........Thwack!!


I may deep fry this year....

mauser06

if its an area ive hunted before, and the landscape has not changed at all, i wont bother scouting. this will be my 10th year chasing turkeys(holy cow that sounds like a long time!) ive come to find out that year after year, they will be in the same areas and doing the same things so long as nothing changes. not ALWAYS, but generally i find that to be true...and as long as i know the turkey population hasnt disappeared, i wont bother to scout..

now, if its a new property, i do scout...and i get pretty in depth...to scout a new property i go in and look for sign...droppings, scratchings..thats sorta thing..mid day usually..when i find that, i know that theres atleast turkeys SOMEWHERE using that area. my big problem i run into hunting small woodlots is them not using that property till after 12pm noon quitting time and not roosting nearby so they arent really huntable..i dont run into that toooo often but have before..

after i locate the sign and know that theres birds somewhere i use past expirience to try to determine potential roost sites. past expirience tells me my turkeys here usually roost somewhere high on a hillside above a creek, or down in a valley, usually on a point. and i can look at trees there and can almost say "i bet they roost there" im not THAT good...but i can get pretty close. then i will wait till a few weeks before the season(closer the better..exspecially here because birds can change patterns big time from winter to spring..) and get a nice day and go out an hour before sun up like im hunting them..take nothing but my crow call i use to locate them..95% of the time on a nice spring morning, they will naturally sound off on the roost on their own. i goto a vantage point where i know i'll beable to hear them sounding off but yet im still far away...being a turkey hunter and running coon hounds pretty much all my life, i am pretty good about knowing where i'll beable to hear...valleys and hills can kill sound..gotta becareful with that and foliage. when i hear them sounding off i make notes of where i heard all the different gobbles and where exzactly i was standing so come hunt time i got a good game plan. after they fly down i usually sneak into the approximate area and try to keep tabs on them..if they arent talking, i will hit the crow call once in a while to make them shock gobble..that gives me a general direction they flew down and are heading. THAT is the direction i will setup and hunt. they may or may not do that EVERY day..but they did it naturally that day...makes good sense to setup there for the hunt...

i dont know it all, and dont claim to...many might disagree with me and my methods..but thats what i find to be true for me and the birds ive encountered thus far in life...i really feel that if you spend the time scouting and locating birds and learning their habits, you can almost kill them without a call.

by calling like a hen turkey and trying to call the gobblers TO US, we are essentially trying to reverse nature. in nature, gobblers gobble and strut trying to attract hens TO them...the more you scout and learn your birds, the more successful you will be..

but my scouting time now goes into new properties or properties that have changed...one day, not scouting the "old faithful" spots WILL burn me..no doubt about it..it WILL happen im sure...but i like learning new areas and new birds and hunting new areas...although i always end up at the old faithfuls...

your also most likely tackling a different beast...im mobile and hunting with a shotgun...your most likely looking for areas to setup a blind...although i have fields all around me to hunt, im always in the woods...and no decoys...just my style of hunting for the time being...one of these days i'll take the bow...maybe this spring if im feeling upto the challenge...but no blind and no decoys..i carry enough as it is and walk toooo far!

tkycaller

Most turkey scouting is done from afar, so you will do well to stay away and get after them during the season. Scout on the run....

Dubbya

If you know you're property holds deer, why scout?

If you know your lake holds waterfowl, why scout?

It's all the same principle, to put yourself in the best possible location for a succesful hunt. Granted it's a little different because you can move to the birds, but elk hunting isn't a whole lot different. Most all of us have had hunts where we KNOW we're in a good place, but the birds go another route just because they'd rather be somewhere else. If you've scouted, you know where that "other place" might be...

BOWHUNTINGisLIFE

I agree with Dubbyai do it to find there new little hang out spots (Strutt Zones) and what kind of birds i have out there. If i have a high # of mature toms i will somtimes tale a friend out there to help him get a turkey as well. An i just sit and mybe hit the owl call once or twice just to see how they are acting. I they are acting kind of spookish i wont hunt them as aggresivly in when the seasp rolls around. This year i am bow hunting so i will watch were they are moving to and then build a small stick blind for a little cover.

Dubbya

Very good point. Jeff, just like deer, I hunt the biggest tom that I feel I have on my property. Quite frankly, going out and killing a bird isn't that difficult. But targeting a specific bird is much more challenging and more rewarding in the end.

BOWHUNTINGisLIFE

Yep i think it is the best part about it. That is why i am pulling out the hoyt this year

GMMAT

Hunting with a bow.....I'd like to get to your level.

BOWHUNTINGisLIFE

lol i love a challeng. So i am going to try it on the 5 of april.

GR8atta2d

I didn't have to do more than drive the back 40 last evening. Watched a flock of 35 till near dark when the departed via air for the roost.