When do you start scouting for turkeys?

DavePwns

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Lots of questions here. Do you have a preferred time to scout for spring turkeys? A month before season, a week? What have you found to be the most beneficial time to scout, also how early do turkeys start to shock gobble

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OG DramaLlama

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I get out as soon as I can. Mostly to get out and enjoy. The turks in my neck of the woods follow the snow line up from the river basins they spend the winter in. So the scouting is really just to check and make sure the birds are in general area and how many birds I’m looking at near the season opener.

They seem to shock gobble anytime. I don’t put to much pressure on them prior to season with shocks. I just watch areas that look good for nesting and glass them moving them in.

My most productive scouting it the week before. Most times they are already gobbling.


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DavePwns

DavePwns

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I just watch areas that look good for nesting and glass them moving them in.




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How do you know what good nesting looks like? I've heard they like horizontal branches and maybe on a slope to make it easier to get on / off the roost but other than that I don't know how to scout for good potential roosts

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OG DramaLlama

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Sorry. I missed typed. Not nest, but roost. During the breeding season the hens will lay eggs in nests on the ground. They still fly up to roosts at night until the polts hatch. Never have seen a turkeys nest. Suspect it is in the thick cover close to the riverbeds. That is usually where I see the hens lead off after mating with Tom.

For good roosting areas I look for trees that are out of the prevailing winds and are about halfway up the hill/mountain side is where I start looking. Tend to look at deciduous trees first, but find them in evergreens too. I look for signs of turkeys on the ground and when you find a roost that is well used you will know it by the amount of poop.


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boom

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never. i hunt a small patch of private land next to another GIANT cattle ranch. i only have access to what i have and just call them to me. they are always there..for the most part. this year the wildfire left this area untouched. the area has the best roost trees. i am very optimistic.

my scouting is calling my friend and asking, "you see any?". :D
 

howl

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I am always on the look out whenever in the woods. Specific scouting is going out to listen in the morning starting a couple weeks before season starts.
 

BrentLaBere

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Was hoping to get out and do some scouting soon but the recent snow storm is going to keep me at home. Hunting a new unit this year, hoping to get some shed hunting in while scouting and learning new country. The sooner you can figure out the roosting area, and mid day areas they like to roam, the more your chances go up from my experience. My back up plan always relies on my scouting for ambush spots. They pattern easier than deer ive hunted.
 
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DavePwns

DavePwns

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Was hoping to get out and do some scouting soon but the recent snow storm is going to keep me at home. Hunting a new unit this year, hoping to get some shed hunting in while scouting and learning new country. The sooner you can figure out the roosting area, and mid day areas they like to roam, the more your chances go up from my experience. My back up plan always relies on my scouting for ambush spots. They pattern easier than deer ive hunted.
I'm having a hard time finding turkeys, how reliably will they shock gobble with a locator call (I. E. Owl hoot or crow call)? I've been covering a bunch of country with my bike and sending off these locator calls but have yet to hear a reply. Am I just in the wrong area or are some birds just quiet, and I'm hunting in the California Sierra mountains which I believe are Merriam's if that matters

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BrentLaBere

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I haven't been hunting turkeys that long, but from my experience for the areas ive hunted them they will sound off from their roost every morning when the time is right. Weather and cover may dictate how well you can hear them. Once they hit the ground and start moving away from the roost they may go quiet due to the pressure they have received. I dont often try to get them to gobble on the roost, ill let them due it on their own. Often times finding them mid day or even in the evening watching which direction they are heading so I can get an idea where they might be roosting. I can then find them in the early morning, pre dawn, hours. It also helps that ive hunted mostly open country where I can find them from a distance.
 

BrentLaBere

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Ill also add for the areas I have been hunting they will look for cotton wood trees to roost in. Helps narrow down the areas I even start searching to begin with. Maybe speak with your state biologist and see if they can suggest what type of trees they roost in typically.
 

Jmock97

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Your best bet to hear them is in the morning before they fly down they get vocal for about 15 to 30 Mins.
 
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DavePwns

DavePwns

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Your best bet to hear them is in the morning before they fly down they get vocal for about 15 to 30 Mins.
What time do they typically fly down? 9am?

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BrentLaBere

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Yup, I would agree with Jmock. And again I will say weather can affect this. Ive read plenty of stories and articles to say its not always the case, but for me, rain tends to shut a lot of things down.
 

boom

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What time do they typically fly down? 9am?

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crazy thing about fly down. btw..our birds start raining from the trees when the sun comes up..very very early. still to dark to read a book, dark.

they NEVER land where you think they will. look around and try to picture where one of the worst flying birds will want to land. they need a bigger landing strip..then post up at the end of that. i camped out right under the tree and it was awful. super awesome at night hearing them stirring overhead..but when they came down..they glided about 60 yards into a clearing i couldnt see.

eventually they came around and i skewered one, but i wanted that awesome exctiement of them landing around my decoys.

i DID go scout this past weekend. the birds are thick. i saw four giants..and copious amounts of love sick jakes. bigger jakes that got kicked to the perimeter. i hope this works out like i have it playing out in my mind.
 

JNDEER

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cover as much ground as you can until you see turkeys. listening for turkeys off the roost, ie from a high point, only works if you are in earshot of an actual turkey. if not- your spinning your wheels. Look for tracks, poop, feathers and turkeys. Once you find a turkey make not of the spot and GE the area to find the highest closest spot to where you found the turkey. Get to that spot 1 hour before sunrise, sit, listen and be quiet. When they gobble do your best to pinpoint there location.

educated public land birds may not gobble at anything..shock gobble that is..or may just for a day they are over "excited"..


the way I scouted years ago to find some good spots was to grab a blm map and over the weekend go to every piece of public land I could find and look for turkeys. I did this during the season as well. lots and lots and lots of $$$ in gas and time to find spots that 1)had turkeys and 2) had turkeys during the spring time.
 
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DavePwns

DavePwns

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cover as much ground as you can until you see turkeys. listening for turkeys off the roost, ie from a high point, only works if you are in earshot of an actual turkey. if not- your spinning your wheels. Look for tracks, poop, feathers and turkeys. Once you find a turkey make not of the spot and GE the area to find the highest closest spot to where you found the turkey. Get to that spot 1 hour before sunrise, sit, listen and be quiet. When they gobble do your best to pinpoint there location.

educated public land birds may not gobble at anything..shock gobble that is..or may just for a day they are over "excited"..


the way I scouted years ago to find some good spots was to grab a blm map and over the weekend go to every piece of public land I could find and look for turkeys. I did this during the season as well. lots and lots and lots of $$$ in gas and time to find spots that 1)had turkeys and 2) had turkeys during the spring time.
Do you glass for turkeys like you would for mule deer during the day? Or do you mean just get to a top of a peak and do a quick scan and move on?

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