Water

[krm944]

Good Morning.

I'm an experienced hunter, but taking Turkey hunting more seriously this spring. To date all of my success with Turkey has been pure chance.

I have about 1000 acres of Private land in Coastal VA. I don't have rivers or streams, but at I am at sea level with a variety of swamps. After a rain, all the ditches have water. The property holds a plethora of deer and we have a couple decent flocks of Turkeys. I have Turkeys on all my trail cameras throughout the property almost year round. During deer season I have noticed a couple of spots where turkeys roost.

From experience I have seen Turkeys everywhere, but as I begin scouting should I try targeting them closer to water?

How would you treat my water situation? Would it affect your scouting/hunting?

[GobbleNut]

In your case, it sounds like water is not going to be a factor.  If there are fresh water sources in several locations on the property, the turkeys will find it when they need it. 

My advice is to focus on identifying those roost sites (it is generally easy to do in the spring because the gobblers will let you know where they are roosting at first light in the morning with their gobbling).  Find the roost sites first, figure out what your birds are doing when they come off the roost, learn to call a bit, position yourself along the path(s) they tend to take,...and you should find success.  It may come very quickly or take a few days, but in your situation you should be able to git 'er done!   

[krm944]

Thank you.

My hunting grounds are a couple miles from where my son attends school. This afternoon about 4:30 we did some preliminary scouting, driving to a few spots and blowing a crow call. We didn't hear any gobbles. Weather permitting tomorrow, we will set out some cameras and possibly try at day break.

[g8rvet]

If you have a lot of water, think of where it lays as you are trying to set up on a gobbling bird.  There are days they will fly across a river to your calls and days they will not cross 1" deep sheet water.  The less between you and the bird like wet swamp and ditches, the better. 

[GobbleNut]

Thank you.

My hunting grounds are a couple miles from where my son attends school. This afternoon about 4:30 we did some preliminary scouting, driving to a few spots and blowing a crow call. We didn't hear any gobbles. Weather permitting tomorrow, we will set out some cameras and possibly try at day break.

Although a locator call like a crow call might be effective any time of day, I would mainly concentrate on using it (or another loud locator call) at first light in the morning (forty-five minutes or so before sunrise to sunrise) and from sundown until about a half hour after.  If you have turkeys roosting on your property, however, you may not need to do anything but listen at those times without using a locator.  Personally, I use one, but others prefer just to sit and listen for volunteer gobbling. 

If you are fairly certain you have turkeys roosting on the property, I feel pretty confident you will hear them gobbling on the roost, especially in that early morning time period. 

[GunRunner]

Great advice from GobbleNut !!
Get out before dawn a few weeks before season starts and locate their roosts from natural gobbling or using locator calls. Several hours in the AM on several days should give you tremendous knowledge on their roosting locations.
BUT....DO NOT DO ANY HEN CALLING TO THEM.
I is OK to use an owl hooter or coyote call to make them shock gobble to locate them , but no yelps, cuts, purrs, or kee kee's.

GunRunner

[Lcmacd 58]

+1 on no calling a few weeks prior to season .... I hunt public here in southern Illinois and these guys wont leave em alone