2022 Pre-Season Scouting

[Dhamilton1]

Going to try and do some pre-season scouting this year after coming up short last season. WV Spring Season starts April 18th. How soon should I start scouting? All my hunting is done on public land, if that matters.

[WV Flopper]

 I started scouting for 2022 spring season about the third week of season last year. I haven't stopped.

I am not joking. If you haven't started, well your a little behind and it doesn't matter if it's public or private, in-state or out of state.

[Stick]

Now is the answer.  Knowing the ground you're on is probably the most important part of hunting turkeys.  Being where they want to be helps too!   

[Will]

I am scouting all the time. Deer Season while in the woods I'm looking for turkey sign and potential food sources. I'm also looking at good hides and thinking about roost sites. When I am turkey hunting I am scouting for deer. I killed one of my best P&Y bucks from a rub line I found coming out of a bedding area while turkey hunting. I even walk the woods during the summer so I guess you can always learn the woods you hunt any time of year or season. To answer your question, you can scout any time and always learn. I do it constantly.     

[310 gauge]

Heck for the last six weeks they've been fanning and advertising their whereabouts off most of the county roads like all get outs! Seen anywhere from 7 to 70 at a time. And after a rain....Mercy!!! Come shooting time they'll be more purple paint and posted signs up to keep folks at bay than ever before. The rest of the farms are gonna have some real educated birds real fast like.

[WV Flopper]

 Teach me. Why do you think "Now is the answer"?

Typically, now, birds are in winter flocks, shortly they will start dispersal. Meaning, those 10 gobblers you see grouped together now may be scattered 40 miles apart 3 months from now, or more.

If you scout known spring season areas and expand from there you will have more success. Just before your spring season, throughout your season, and shortly after is the time to scout areas you can access to hunt.

Turkeys do travel, they do flock, and they do disperse. I do not stop scouting for turkeys.

[bwhana]

Teach me. Why do you think "Now is the answer"?

Typically, now, birds are in winter flocks, shortly they will start dispersal. Meaning, those 10 gobblers you see grouped together now may be scattered 40 miles apart 3 months from now, or more.

If you scout known spring season areas and expand from there you will have more success. Just before your spring season, throughout your season, and shortly after is the time to scout areas you can access to hunt.

Turkeys do travel, they do flock, and they do disperse. I do not stop scouting for turkeys.

Heard an AL quote a few weeks ago that hit home on this... they don't fall where they spring from.

John H., Omicron survivor

[Kylongspur88]

I'm not so much scouting birds right now as I'm scouting places to go. I'm 50/50 private public. The public spots I look  for are either hard to access or over looked. Lots of map time then boots on the ground. Once mid March hits I'll be listening for birds but not doing as much tromping around keeping my distance. This is also a good time to see who else is out scouting and make note of where there will likely be pressure on birds. If your in WV use those hills to your advantage. A hill climb on public ground right out of the truck will seperate the men from the boys

[Ranger]

Agreed WV Flopper, in South GA a lot of what you'd "learn" now about some flocks would be useless information in a matter of weeks. And when it changes it seems like it happens in days.  I hunt river swamp bottom turkeys btw, not even fields to see turkeys in where I live and hunt

[Stick]

Teach me. Why do you think "Now is the answer"?

Typically, now, birds are in winter flocks, shortly they will start dispersal. Meaning, those 10 gobblers you see grouped together now may be scattered 40 miles apart 3 months from now, or more.

If you scout known spring season areas and expand from there you will have more success. Just before your spring season, throughout your season, and shortly after is the time to scout areas you can access to hunt.

Turkeys do travel, they do flock, and they do disperse. I do not stop scouting for turkeys.

Because waiting till spring is kinda late.  Why not start now learning the lay of the land?  No time to start like the present. 

[Dhamilton1]

Thanks for the replies, I assumed "now is better than later" was the answer but still wanted to ask.

[Tom007]

I hunt mostly private, but I do have some remote public spots. I have a list of parcels I have been hunting since 1984. I do all my scouting from March 15th (snow cover dependent) through my opener in April. I know these parcels so well, I only visit them pre-season to listen. I never call or use locators. I don't even let them know I'm there. I have noticed over the years that they do roost mostly in the same patches, but they do use different roost trees from time to time. I have several tree (set-up) sites that I use year after year. They are always well trimmed, some have flat rocks set up against the trees. In the few open ares that I use decoys, I put a stick marker exactly where I want to set up my Jake and hen. I do this because I do not use a flashlight ever when I walk in to set up. These marker sticks are visible in the dark. Scouting lets me plan my attack for opening day. I usually start with the most vocal, solo birds and leave the henned up gents till later on. Yes, the solo guys tend to be 2 year olds, not saying that I don't run into a solo 3-4 year old. Sometimes the old men want to roost alone. One important tip I have learned I want to share is that I find most my birds on the southern (sunny) sides of the ridges in early spring. This is where the new sprouts pop up, and I find my early scratching here. Moral of the story, do your homework. Yes, pre-season calling practice is important, but all the other scouting, planning and over all strategy preparation is equally, if not more important than calling. Learning your terrain layout will help you know where to set-up on a gobbler. You want to make sure there are no obstacles between you and him that may cause him to hang up (stream, fence etc.) This is my pre-season regiment, I want to wish everyone a safe, fun, and successful season....

[GobbleNut]

As usual, everybody is correct in their response to the question...even though it sometimes seems contradictory.  Everything we discuss is often relative to the specific place that each of us hunts.  The basic elements are generally the same, but the application of all the various tactics and approaches can vary a bunch based on where you hunt. 

As for the question at hand as to when and where to start scouting?  The basic two-word response you will see a lot in these debates is "it depends".  Assuming you already have some idea of where turkeys live in your part of the world, my two fundamental comments on this subject would be 1) when looking for turkeys to hunt, it is always better to be out somewhere that you think turkeys live, regardless of the time of year, than it is to be sitting on the couch; 2) for spring gobbler hunting, you are much better off trying to find your gobblers a couple of weeks prior to, and during, the season when they have reliably started gobbling in response to the spring breeding urge, than you are any other time of the year.

Again, these are general comments.  Applying my own experiences where I live and hunt, I have places that I can walk in the first morning of the season and know there are going to be gobblers there and know pretty much where they are going to be.  I also have places that I need to confirm prior to the season if there are gobblers there because sometimes they are...and sometimes they aren't.  Regardless of those two circumstances, that confirmation is based on hearing turkeys gobbling more than any other factor...and the very best time to hear them gobbling is after they have gotten into "breeding mode" in the spring (and furthermore, the very best time to hear that gobbling is at first light in the morning).

Having said all of the above, there are a lot of "if's, but's, and and's" that complicate matters.  Each of us must sort those out for ourselves based on our particular circumstances.  Bottom line is, scout when you can but if your time is somehow limited, focus on those times when those gobblers will be reliably telling you EXACTLY where they are at (as noted above).   

[Tom007]

As usual, everybody is correct in their response to the question...even though it sometimes seems contradictory.  Everything we discuss is often relative to the specific place that each of us hunts.  The basic elements are generally the same, but the application of all the various tactics and approaches can vary a bunch based on where you hunt. 

As for the question at hand as to when and where to start scouting?  The basic two-word response you will see a lot in these debates is "it depends".  Assuming you already have some idea of where turkeys live in your part of the world, my two fundamental comments on this subject would be 1) when looking for turkeys to hunt, it is always better to be out somewhere that you think turkeys live, regardless of the time of year, than it is to be sitting on the couch; 2) for spring gobbler hunting, you are much better off trying to find your gobblers a couple of weeks prior to, and during, the season when they have reliably started gobbling in response to the spring breeding urge, than you are any other time of the year.

Again, these are general comments.  Applying my own experiences where I live and hunt, I have places that I can walk in the first morning of the season and know there are going to be gobblers there and know pretty much where they are going to be.  I also have places that I need to confirm prior to the season if there are gobblers there because sometimes they are...and sometimes they aren't.  Regardless of those two circumstances, that confirmation is based on hearing turkeys gobbling more than any other factor...and the very best time to hear them gobbling is after they have gotten into "breeding mode" in the spring (and furthermore, the very best time to hear that gobbling is at first light in the morning).

Having said all of the above, there are a lot of "if's, but's, and and's" that complicate matters.  Each of us must sort those out for ourselves based on our particular circumstances.  Bottom line is, scout when you can but if your time is somehow limited, focus on those times when those gobblers will be reliably telling you EXACTLY where they are at (as noted above).   

Well said, good advice...

[Greg Massey]

I will also add don't forget to talk with your rural mail carrier, this person can help you a lot in telling you were they have been seeing turkeys. These people are on the same county roads everyday except one.