The other scouting thread got me curious. When do you southern guys like me start scouting? I hunt the same private land my family owns every year, so I pretty much know where to look. I usually start getting up and listening about a week before. How about y'all?
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I don't do too much pre-season scouting, but hit it hard once the season opens. In Mississippi, the season opens March 14, the birds are typically grouped up to some extent, and gobblers are often roosted with hens. There are exceptions, but often the first week or so the birds will gobble some on the limb, fly down, and might gobble a few more times before shutting up and going about his day with his hens.
The advantage this early is that there is no foliage on the trees, and you can hear a long ways. It is definitely a frustrating time to hunt, but it's nice to be able to take inventory so when April arrives and the woods green up I know where several birds are that I can hunt.
I start scouting last year and all deer season, never stops for me!
I'm always scouting, as our firearms season is about to wind down we have a late primitive weapon season that will carry us past valentine's day. During that time frame I really pay more attention to tracking the roads and glassing for turkeys as I do deer. About 3 weeks out I will hit the woods on weekends to listen for life, no calling not even a locator. The week the season is going to start I go almost every morning before work to listen and stretch my legs. Usually by opening weekend I have a bead on a few birds. First few weeks are tough as everybody is in the woods calling with everything they own. After the begin to give up by mid season. I start hunting every morning no matter what. Most of those same birds are still where I have been hunting them the previous few weeks. Less pressure and it's time to hit the calls a bit. Especially if the gobblers have cooperated and stated pretty quiet and not had a bunch of folks chasing them
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I scout timber management and burns starting now on Public ground. Taking a sort of inventory of fresh cuts, prescribed burns, roads, gates, etc. Mainly looking for open woods near nesting cover to come back and check once the season opens.
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I hunt public land that gets a lot of pressure so I don't scout any before the opener. Ironically, I have killed a bird the last 3 years on opening day in the same hollow with zero scouting, but after opening weekend the birds move right across the line onto private and stay there for the next 7 weeks until season is over so I know I am going to this spot opening weekend regardless of whether scouting had turned up anything or not. All my buddies start 2 weeks early listening so all I have to do is listen to what they say the birds are doing in a certain area.
I used to start listening a month before season on good mornings (March 1st), mainly just because I enjoy scouting and listening to them gobble. Now, I try to go every good weather morning I can for a couple of weeks. As lean as it's been the last few years, it's proven beneficial to know where a few are.
Pretty much never stop scouting , always working on my turkey habitat all year long maintaining clover plots and leaving some tall grassy areas for nesting etc. If i can pull the hens for nesting , i always feel i can pull the gobblers , food and water also helps ..
Our populations at home are really scattered and I am continually on the lookout for a new place to hunt. Some of the places I hunted for years are now completely out of turkeys. I try to find at least a couple new areas to hunt every year to replace those that have dried up.
To answer the question I start soon after the woods calm down after deer season. The woods are bare no bugs easy walking. I'm looking at terrain potential roost sites etc. Depending on the timing of Spring we get Gobbling in late February and early March. By the middle of March I'm out nearly every day checking over the old spots and trying to locate Gobblers in the new areas I scouted in Jan-feb.
I'll go listen a week or two before the season. Then go watch clear cuts a couple afternoons before it opens.
I will go as soon as deer season closes if I want to get the lay of the land in a new spot. As for looking for turkeys, that is pretty useless in my experience. I stay completely out of the woods if I know the area and just start listening from the roads on nice mornings a couple weeks before the season.
I usually do not scout much but my in laws farm had some timber cut so I will spend a couple weeks early March listening. I have a good feel on what they will do and some of the annual roosting spots was not touched but still want to get ears on it.
Here in Mississippi on our private land I'm always looking for birds...what I see during deer season is usually a good indication of what will be around come spring time.
When I hunted public land in Georgia I'd usually start checking about a month out. They may or may not gobble much but it's a great time to look for scratchings and the like.
I have hunted private and the same public for many years. I pretty much know where the birds will be through the season. Many places I kill birds in the same place year after year.
I try to keep tabs on the places I hunt as much as possible, squirrel season thru the end of Feb. here in VA helps with that by keeping me in the woods. I'll start listening first of March as much as I can, even though I know the usual spots they roost, etc. I still enjoy a drinking a cup of coffee as it's breaking daylight listening for a turkey to gobble.
I did a little already. It's too early really, the birds don't winter in the same places they go each spring usually.
But I start going at least once a week a month before season and go listen to see where they wake up for a couple of days before season. I try to know where I can find at least four or five gobblers come opening day.
I just go hunt. The birds were gobbling in early January where I hunt down here, and I already know where I'm going to hear one if they cooperate.
I started last weekend. Only have 2 more weekends open to scout before season.
I run squirrel dogs all fall and winter and am always walking around looking for tracks or scratching. I normally start going and listening the week before the opener
To be honest, I have never really thought to scout... I have only been hunting turkey for a few years, and always just went out the morning of a hunt and waited for gobbling. We then go and get setup on the nearest bird we hear.
This year, however, I am planning to spend a few morning, probably mostly on public land, in the woods just listening to get an idea of where some may be...
Oh, to answer your question, gobbling should really start early to mid-March here in SC, so I will start getting out and listening the first week of March. The season opens March 22nd.
I've been hunting quail and woodcock four to five days a week since mid November. Always looking for turkey sign. Right now there is plenty of food in pastures so that's where most turkeys are hanging out. Once the creek bottoms start to green up they'll be going back and forth. I hunt nothing but public so closer season opener Gets the more I scout where people are bunching up to stay away from that location.
Riding the dirt roads after rain and looking for tracks.
start during deer season