New to Turkey Hunting

[jsteil]

Hello,

Generally this time of year you would catch me out on the lake fishing. This year I made the decision to change things up and hunt for the first time ever.  My Brother in-law complains that no one ever wants to go hunting, so I thought it would be a great way for us to bond more and get away from the wife's.   Lets just say his wife didn't let him go out this year, so I'm learning by myself.

I scouted three areas this summer for fall turkey hunting.  The first area I was pulled over by my county conservation agent and he told me the area isn't managed at all.  Told me he has only seen two turkeys this year and pointed to the area on a map.    The second area I scouted one day when it was raining outside.  When I turned to pull into the parking lot there were 15 hens just standing there.  The third area is a large conservation area and I need to scout it more than I did.

I would like to focus on the second area I mentioned.  I showed up at 4 am the Saturday before opening day and listened all morning.  Did some crow calls, owl calls, turkey calls, and got nothing in return.   Went back Thursday and did the same thing and got the same results.

I'm thinking about going into the wooded area on the east side of the road.  Looking for suggestions.

This is the map of the area.



Red Area = Park boundry
Yellow Area = Where I have scouted
Green Area = Where I saw hens
Orange Area = Where I saw a tom
Blue Area = Where I think I found scratching

[silvestris]

Forget the callers for scouting fall and spring.  You should look for three things, sign,sign and sign.

[BigSlam51]

Check under the trees around those ponds for turkey turds.

[Bowguy]

The advice you've been given is good and the same. Find where the birds are and be there.

[crow]

Denny Gulvas has a very good video on fall turkey hunting, it would help to speed up your learning curve if your new and going by yourself

[GobbleNut]

If you are new to turkey hunting, the first thing to understand is that fall turkey hunting and spring turkey hunting are two "different animals".  I would suggest first taking a look at the fall turkey hunters forum here on OG.  You will find some discussion there that will probably be helpful. (note: beware,....a lot of turkey dog talk,...dogs are not legal in many places for turkey hunting)

It sounds to me like you are using advice you have read on spring hunting.  While it is true that some of that advice it applicable for fall hunting, there are specific tactics and calling methods that are quite different. 

[The Cohutta Strutter]

Can only add," never put all your eggs in one basket". Area 3 may be an option to check out as well. Good luck !

[jsteil]

One morning a couple weeks ago I went and walked around the big pond area and didn't find any signs.   Yesterday morning I went and scouted the area to the east.  The big forest area with a creek running through it.   I found plenty of signs (droppings, feathers, etc).  I didn't have a lot of time to stay out there. Sometime this week I will go out there for an extended period of time.

[EZ]

You're on the right track. Forget the owling and the crow calling for fall.
Get into the areas that you found sign before daylight and listen for yelps from the tree.
As it gets near flydown time, do some yelping and kee keeing of your own. I generally continue
moving (stealthily) until I find birds and then figure out if and how to break them.
Don't be afraid to put some emotion into your calling.

[mufishgrad]

What time of day are you scouting? The birds seem to be quiet on the ground but still make a racket at fly-down and up time. This could help you at least find where they're roosting.

[jsteil]

Just want to say thank you to everyone that replied.   Even just walking the area helped me plan for the Spring.

Today was the first day in the spring season I could get out.  I went to the second area I visited in the fall.  Got out 2 hours before sun rise.  I was the first truck to park in the area.  Walked in about half a mile before I made my first call.   Got two gobbles.   One to the left and one to the right.   At that point I setup a decoy and leaned up again a big tree with a tiny bush in front of me.  Took about 15 minutes of calling back and forth and I see the tom coming down the hill.  Unfortunately I learned a hard lesson.   Be completely still.  I moved my head just a little bit and that tom saw my movement and took off.   I'm going to head back out there tomorrow morning and this time I'm going to use my blind.

[guesswho]

Looks like goose tracks.

[Marc]

Looks like goose tracks.

I was just going to make the same reply...  I believe I (maybe) saw one turkey track, but the rest looked like waterfowl...

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=2ad62uH0&id=463131DCC7A4DC894EF6CC4ED503F30B3C7A1ABD&thid=OIP.2ad62uH0snU-ISJqPyGRrgHaFj&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2fm1.i.pbase.com%2fo4%2f36%2f495936%2f1%2f56067961.tracks_turkey.jpg&exph=600&expw=800&q=turkey+track+pictures&simid=607994533296867525&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0