Scouting For Turkey's Old Way / New Way

[Greg Massey]

Do you still scout for turkeys the old fashion way with boots on the ground and spending time checking out spots? Why I ask, I was talking with a couple of guys / hunters the other day who are so computer and cell phone savvy and we were talking about scouting before season, they looked at us and said you still scout for turkeys, we usually just pull up to spot on opening morning and pull out our cell phones with our mapping apps and if we hear one gobbler we decide by the terrain and what ridge or mountain top he's on if he's worth pursuing... Times have changed that's for sure ......... We will always have an old way of hunting and now we have a new way of hunting I guess we will all just have to adapt to some of the changes good or bad ... I do like my cell phone as I get older for the safety factor, it's a part of me just like my pocket knife ...  Spring Season is coming ...

[ScottTaulbee]

A bit of both for me Greg, I scout before season with boots on the ground and listening for them, checking traditional areas. But typically the first day of season all that is thrown out the window by the hundreds of folks that show up on our public lands now and then that's when my phone comes out and I scour the countryside within 100 miles of home trying to find a place that doesn't look like a NWTF convention lol.


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[Greg Massey]

A bit of both for me Greg, I scout before season with boots on the ground and listening for them, checking traditional areas. But typically the first day of season all that is thrown out the window by the hundreds of folks that show up on our public lands now and then that's when my phone comes out and I scour the countryside within 100 miles of home trying to find a place that doesn't look like a NWTF convention lol.


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Amen .. Good post

[aclawrence]

I like to scout with my ears and listen for birds. I agree with Scott about the opening day pressure throwing a wrench in everything. I think I'm going to try to scout this year close to season for groups of birds that are the farthest away from roads and gates as possible. Unfortunately these crazy turkeys where I'm at historically hangout right beside the roads where everybody sees and hears them. I'm amazed every year they're not all killed. I guess that's a testament to the survival instincts of a wild turkey.


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[hunter85]

I do both in a sense. As I hunt several different wma in my area. So I will use my mapping apps to figure out areas and past experiences to pick out a few different areas that I want to put boots on the ground at. I then put boots on the ground and check sign, if I'm happy with it I will go back before daylight to a central location of the areas I like and let the woods wake up and listen then make way points on where I believe they are gobbling at on the tree and in what direction they head once they hit the ground and back out trying my best not to interrupt their normal behavior. As I feel this is a big mistake a lot of people make when scouting cause if you goof the bird before season you are already out of the game. But by doing this with hunting public land if you find a bird there is a good chance so has someone else. It gives me multiple options come opening day and so forth.

[3bailey3]

I like to get out and walk and listen, don't use my phone much unless I am on a new place.

[Tom007]

Started last week. Boots on ground, walk, listen look for scratches. I do not call till opening day. Just my way.....

[soILstrutter]

On new properties, initial scouting is done from aerial photos and topo maps to try to narrow down locations worth investigating. Then boots on the ground to confirm or dispel information that I had assumed from maps. As I hunt several different private properties, I become familiar with the terrain and features. From there, it is really only boots on the ground/ears at dawn scouting to locate where the birds actually are on a year to year basis.

[Paulmyr]

Same as I always have. I look at a map to find interesting areas. I go to the areas and find out how interesting they really are.

The only thing different these days is the map has ariel photos. Helps to get the overall lay of the land but I still need boots on the ground to verify. There have been a number of times when I show up to clear cut that not supposed to be there according to the outdated mapping software. I've also been caught in nasty tangley understory on my way to few gobblers taking the route afforded my by said software. If I can help it, boots on the ground before season.

[jhoward11]

Little of both here, but there is nothing like walking the woods. You see and hear so many different things that a phone or map couldn't give you. So, I can see some benefits to both. Good luck

[Tail Feathers]

Maps can be real handy but nothing beats real scouting with boots on the ground. I usually go to my home opener with birds 1-4 pre scouted and I've heard them wake up within the past 48 hours.

[TrackeySauresRex]

   Both... However, boots on the ground mostly. On a good piece I had access a few years back was a good hour and a half drive. All the years I had spent hunting there I noticed some road kill along the way. I logged some of that into my memory bank. That turned into looking at maps for different close by locations and possible access points. Then the walking starts. I've did a lot of scouting over the last few seasons. This season in March, I'll investigate some of my old spots that I had some success in and go from there. My eyes will be peeled along the way for additional  opportunities. I'll always try to have some additional plans in place in case things don't work out. (^Like a convention.lol)

[Happy]

I prefer boots on the ground. Not that I typically need to find turkeys. I like to get an inventory of what turkeys are where and hunt accordingly. I tend to spread my hunting out and not have a hand in taking too many gobblers from one area. If pre season scouting only reveals a gobbler or two in the area, then I don't hunt it that year. Always hunt with the future in mind

[Gooserbat]

Both. 

[GobbleNut]

Always hunt with the future in mind...

...Words of wisdom all of us should follow...   

A lot of my hunting preparation is done via "map scouting" initially.  If a location is close enough...that is, within a few hours drive...I will try to physically scout it prior to hunting it (and do that as close to the start of my hunt as I can), but I annually choose places to hunt where that is not feasible.  In those cases, the more detailed mapping information I can get, the better.  I want to be as absolutely familiar with the places I can't physically scout as I can possibly be.  In addition, I want to be able to have that mapping information available to me at any time during my hunt for reference...either as a phone-loaded app, and/or the old-fashioned paper variety. 

Regardless of whether I can physically scout a place or not, I want to be as familiar as I can with the following:
Hunt area boundaries...I want to know exactly how much area I have to hunt and where I can go,
Land status around the hunt area...public vs private, composition of the private holdings surrounding the hunt area,
Access in and around hunt area...road and trail systems not only within the hunt area but around it, as well.
Topography and topographical features that may be important...and especially as a consideration as to how to approach hunting an area (3D and directional-viewing capabilities in mapping information can be very helpful)
Vegetative types and features conducive to holding turkeys (like the existence of agriculture/farms in or nearby the hunt area),
Water sources and roosting habitat evaluations and whether those are important as a consideration based on where I am hunting,
Elevation considerations that might impact turkey distribution, if applicable,