have you ever just showed up and started hunting?

[Swather]

One memorable occasion was when a friend got permission to hunt property that belonged to a friend of his.  I had never been there before, and my friend drove us to the gate to listen.  I got out and made a couple of hoots as day began breaking, and I hurt some rustling noise in a large tree just inside the property and to my right at about 20 yards.  I thought it was a squirrel.  I stood around, listened, and softly whispered with my friend.  We heard birds gobbling off in the distance and discussed the likely way to access them.  We made a move inside the gate, and as we did a tom had all he could stand and took off and flew virtually right over our heads. 

He was roosted right by the road in what we would consider an unlikely spot, but it apparently suited him just find.  But busting him was of no consequence, the place had plenty of birds, and we got in their and took care of business that morning.

[tomstopper]

Many times

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[Crotalus]

You're supposed to scout ahead of time?

Lol, with being new to turkey hunting, limited time and several nearby public areas most of my trips are combo scouting/hunting trips.

Two years ago no encounters, last year a couple of encounters.  This year will be a bit of a step back, double hip replacement surgery will eliminate all preseason scouting opportunities. Won't even get clearance to get in the woods until the second week.

[Spitten and drummen]

Man I wander over new places every year and find birds to work. I always want to see whats over the next hill. Love seeing new places and finding different birds. I use to start scouting a month before season. With the fast pace of life , I spend that time getting all my gear ready. I constantly scout during season and it pays off pretty regular.

[Upfold99]

Drove 1100 miles 1 way after google earth and on x scouting, on public. Got out of the truck the 1st morning before daylight and heard 1 gobbling. I wish the 2nd part was a great story, but its not. However, I felt accomplished in having done that.

[randy6471]

 Yep many times. I prefer to spend time scouting prior to hunting, but sometimes it's not possible. When that happens, I just try to get there early and see how things play out. Sometimes it works out just fine.

[a_jabbo]

Hasn't happened to me a lot, but last year went to a spot with a buddy. Mid morning, walked across a field and as soon as we got to the top of a hill, heard two birds going nuts. Started calling to them, and one snuck in on us. Took maybe 20 minutes.

[catman529]

Yeah plenty of times


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[wvmntnhick]

That's how I prefer to do it these days. It keeps the landowners in their toes if you're not pre-scouting their posted property. Lol

I'm joking. But yes, I do tend to just show up. The tracts of land are so small here that the birds are either there, or they're not. If I'm back home on club property, just drive around until you find a chunk of ground that still has trees they've not cut yet and pray. It's getting g to the point that those birds are gonna get pretty clustered though. Running outta trees up there.


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[GobbleNut]

Although I regularly hunt places that I have never been to before, I never just go "eeny meeny miney mo", pick a random spot, go to it, and start hunting without using the tool that every one of us has available.  That is, Google Earth,...or some similar app.

I always narrow down a new area I plan to hunt by researching it thoroughly so I know everything I can about the place beforehand.  When I get to that new spot, I may never have set foot on it, but I use all the resources I can to familiarize myself with it before I get there.

Often, that research pays off, but admittedly, there have been places I have researched "to death" only to get there and find no turkeys.  Those times I find myself saying,..."dammit, I may as well have gone 'eeny meeny miney mo'"...  (smiley faces here)

PS...to you young'uns that don't know what "eeny meeny miney mo" means,...refer to one of us old timers!  (more smiley faces here)

[Haypatch]

Often ... 1st public land bird I ever killed was also the first time I had set foot on the property!

[High plains drifter]

3 years ago, I spotted tracks in the snow in central mt.They were fresh, and I went into this deep coulee,  and my dog flushed 30 birds! I shot one on the fly.However, my dog would not retrieve it, too big.

[ARjtk]

That is the name of the game for a traveling turkey hunter.

[ggrue]

I have basic understanding of the land from OnXmaps and they try to make one gobble.  They the biggest advantage is gettin a tag from the same site from year to year.

[shaman]

I've got a spot I call The Honey Hole. It's in a fencerow along an abandoned road that runs down middle of a knife-edge ridge.  The old road bed is sunken, so I can slip up into the spot without disturbing the turkeys on the other side.  I can settle in, put my back against the big oak and pull out a call. At the first moment of legal hunting, I can oftentimes let off a tree call and have several gobblers answer.  If they're in they're favorite roost, they may be only 50 yards away.

I've been going there regularly since 2006 and have managed to fill both tags from that spot many times over.