Where oh where do the turkeys roam?

[tapiot]

I am new to turkey hunting. Hoping I can snag a partner by spring.
Meanwhile, I need to start looking around.

Possibly be hunting on private land, lots of cleared spots that are getting overgrown bordered by hardwood stands.
I've seen turkeys in similar type area that would wander out into the clear area...

How do I start scouting? Go out with a crow call and give a caw, see where I get a response at?
There is a considerable amount of acreage...would prefer to know where birds are at in time for season as well as set up
a small, portable blind that I could set up prior so things would get used to something new in the neighborhood.

Clueless at this point...digging into everything I can find...

Thanks!

[jblackburn]

The best would be to get out in the woods and scout, scout, scout!  Glass fields for birds as spring nears, be out at daylight to listen for gobbling and find out where they like to travel.  Set up game cams if you have them, they are a good tool.  Knowing the property and where the birds prefer to be is the best thing you can do.

The crow call (or owl/coyote/any other locator) can help you "shock" a gobble out of a tom as spring gets near, but until then they are basically just noise makers, although, there is a chance that a boss hen may cutt at the sound, but there is not much guarantee in that.

[tapiot]

Thanks! Will be out there as soon as I can...

[shadetree callers]

Agreed , nothing beats scouting. Start before daylight just as if yiu were hunting. By february and march, the birds are getting very vocal so yiu should be able to locate them just by taking the high ground and listening. Gobblers are usually roosted close to each other early in the year but as breeding nears, they will separate from each other. Try to not use any calls, even locator calls because the birds key in on this activity and it will not get the same results when you are actually hunting to kill. Time in the woods will get you ready for spring.

[crappieangler]

agree with the two posts. Scout as much as you can, especially as you near the season to get a pattern on strut zones, mid day spots, feeding areas.  Try to look for trees that have poop all over the ground, good indicator of a consistent roost tree and can be done mid day if you can't get out in the morning.  Also looking for feathers and tracks obviously. Roost trees will usually have a handful of feathers around.

[tapiot]

Next weekend is tied up but, being retired now, should be able to get on out...

[GobbleNut]

At the risk of giving contradictory advice, I have found in my nearly 50 years of spring gobbler hunting that the absolute best way to find gobblers to hunt is to use a good locator call at first light in the morning.  Locators can also work quite well during the last light of the evening, depending on the part of the country you are hunting.  True, you can overdo locator call use in some instances, but the positives far outweigh the negatives in deciding whether to use a locator call or not.

Proper locator call use is an art unto itself.  Knowing how, when, and where to use a locator, in my book, is darn near as important as knowing how to use a turkey call.  Give someone who knows how to use a locator call a couple of mornings in any turkey hunting location during the spring breeding season and if the birds are there, he will find them and know where they are roosting.

[tapiot]

Thank you! I hope to be outdoors starting next week under the pretense of coyote hunting...
New land to me..will keep eyes/ears open for awhile, then find someone to show me how it's really done about March!

Tim T.