Scouting for Fall Hunting in Missouri

[Mowoodsman]

Quick question for anyone who has a fall season.  Typically, I start scouting in August/September with game cams etc... before October opener in Missouri.  I just wanted to get some input to when some of you fellow fall hunters start your scouting. I'm trying to stack my odds in my favor.  Any additional tips would be much appreciated.  Thanks! 

[jepcho]

I like to hunt early in the fall season, and I usually am scouting as early as possible. Especially if you wanna find the toms. In my area the males are already getting back into bachelor groups and by early fall season here they are mostly still in their summer routine. I'd say August for sure.

[KYFrid]

thanks guys for posting this. I was wondering when to get back out there and start scouting them for fall. The depression of spring season  being over is already driving me nuts.. Good to know that I won't have to wait as long..

[fallhnt]

Get out and look now before the crops get to tall. If you hunted your area much over the years you may have noticed the birds tend to use the same area year after year. This can make scouting easier. Good luck

[glenhunter]

I generally start my scouting with trail cameras in late August through mid-September to get ready for N.J.s fall turkey season which is late October.

gh

[Mowoodsman]

I saw a group of 10 big toms on 8/30/15 strolling through a 40 acre by a creek bottom at 330pm.  It was 90 plus degrees.  I have never yet seen this until this year.  I'm sure they were on their way to get somewhere cooler.  I just hope dove opener here in Missouri on 9/1 didn't chase them off.  They could be in the next county by now for all I know. oh well, I'll do some scouting after I dove hunt!

[trkehunr93]

Find the food and you'll find the turkeys!  Here in VA it's still warm and the fields are still full of grasshoppers and such but beech nuts and acorns are dropping, I'm not find much scratching but they don't have to look real far to find food with all the leaves still on the trees.  Like someone else said before, turkeys tend to be creatures of habit so where you've seen them before they are likely to come into that area again.

[Mowoodsman]

I've been out scouting a couple times so far and there's just too much on the trees still and no crops have been cut yet.  I do have my honey holes not too far from my house.  This will be 16th year hunting turkeys.  I've only bagged 3 fall birds before.  I'm up for the challenge!  Hopefully, the weather will make up it's mind soon so it will lock the birds into going out further to forage.  One roost tree is so far back in some dense undergrowth that it took me 45 minutes to go about 80 yards.  I blame this on the surge in predators here in west central Missouri as well.  I'll keep up my end of the deal by continuing to thin out as many coyotes as I can.