In talking about scouting do you thing turkeys have zones ..opinions

[Greg Massey]

I hear some many people say will during deer season i was seeing all kinds of turkeys. But now they have left the area. If you find a area that has a lot of turkeys using it during the winter do you think these birds will have a spring migration pattern. I think this has a lot to do with the kind of turkeys your hunting. Our eastern turkeys generally don't move that far from one area to another. I don't think if  they have had a big change in habit they will move out of a area. But i still feel they all have a winter pattern and spring pattern. I do think if you find or have those favorite areas year after year you will consistently kill turkeys. So i do feel scouting and again habit does play a lot in killing birds. What's your opinion on movement and patterns of turkeys..

[chcltlabz]

I'd go a step further and say they have early spring zones and late spring zones.  I have a few spots I hunt that I won't go near until late spring while places they were thick in early might be completely empty.

I have spots I go when the pressure gets heavy too that don't seem to have birds until everyone starts hunting them.

[wvmntnhick]

They've got fall/winter feeding grounds and they've got the spring brood grounds. They're going to move to where the hens have everything they need for nest cover, water, etc. If the winter grounds are good enough to cover those needs, it's quite possible they'll hang around. If not, they're moving on. Also, gobblers will move to an area they can strut and be seen from a greater distance. It helps with eye appeal. There's a reason we see them in the fields more often in spring than in other times of the year.

[Farmboy27]

They've got fall/winter feeding grounds and they've got the spring brood grounds. They're going to move to where the hens have everything they need for nest cover, water, etc. If the winter grounds are good enough to cover those needs, it's quite possible they'll hang around. If not, they're moving on. Also, gobblers will move to an area they can strut and be seen from a greater distance. It helps with eye appeal. There's a reason we see them in the fields more often in spring than in other times of the year.

[turkeyfoot]

There are strut zones for some but its not a rule for all birds.What is the number one rule and ehy people that have them in winter may not in spring is its all about the ladies and where they want to be as far as nesting and feeding. Take for example if you have a lease that is just beautiful mature hardwood and nothing else and there is property down the road that has fields with some cutover creek and hardwoods them birds will feed your property during deer season for nuts but hey can't nest in open hardwood so unless the property is real close they will be gone come spring time taking the Toms with them. Older hens know best nesting habitat and will find year after year as well as most desirable food sources

[fallhnt]

I know a public land spot where the birds get run off in the fall due to deer hunter pressure. They just head to the private land a few hundred yards away. It's all about food and roosting in the fall. And habitat in the spring (nesting).