Am I Screwed?

[simmonds]

This will be my first year for turkey.  I live on a 300 acre farm in western Oregon and for years past have seen and heard turkeys right out my back door and a few other locations on the property.  This past year though I havent seen them at all yet.  I have seen them about a half mile away, a couple properties over almost every day, right down to the road, even crossing it!  They are there like clockwork, every morning as I am leaving, turn off the property and onto the highway and sure enough, not even a mile down the road, there they are again...always teasing me, couple Toms struttin' and everything.

Spring turkey opens mid month April and I am getting really excited.  The property owners I see the birds on is impossible to get permission to hunt on.  Californian transplants totally against hunting.  At the far southwest corner of my property, it is probably only a half mile, maybe quite a bit less from where I am seeing these turkeys everyday.

I guess my questions are: Why do you suppose I am not seeing turkeys on my property and near my house anymore? Is there a way to entice them back in my area? What would you do and what strategies would you use to go about finding these guys near or on my own property?  Any other tips or ideas...or am I just screwed?

Thanks for the help,
Chris

[gob09]

Turkey move around quite a bit and also think about the other farms around you are they ag or cattle farms what is there for them to eat all these and many others can be the reason your birds moved if there traveling through your property you may want to put out some suplemental feed corn ect.if state law allows that it may help others on here know much more about turkey than I do good luck this spring

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[Tail Feathers]

Unless something like a huge fire changed it all, they'll likely be back.  They tend to winter in different areas than they spend spring...at least around here.
Keep your eye out for them, they should be back soon.  Good luck!

[mudhen]

Not really sure what being from Cali has to do with being against hunting 

I've run into many Oregonians that despise hunting, and a few that charge $750+ per day to hunt their precious hybrid tamies in Linn County    That's what I really want, a mounted 30 lb farm pet 

Now as to your issue, I would suppose they are feeding them, something good probably.

Check your laws about feeding, and do whatever you can to pull the birds back.

There are lots of 'invisible' foods out there, or so I'm told...some even rhyme with millet....

And even without feeding, just hang out, listen for one walking down the road, fire up a box call, and maybe a Terrible Two will come running.  We have pulled many birds down driveways and onto our spots....

Good luck!

mudhen

[bangflop]

They are staying closer to a food source.  Everyone is right, you likely need to supplemental feed.  That said, they will split up soon and a couple will likely come back your way.

[Mike Honcho]

You should be fine other than what your granola neighbors are probably doing...feeding.

2-3 of the places I hunt the birds don't overwinter there...as you say a temptingly short distance away sometimes.

They break up into smaller groups in the spring breeding season and some always come back to the areas I hunt. 

Good luck!

[R AJ]

Hopefully your birds will be back for nesting areas, another gotta have for spring turkey optimization.

Planting a couple of acres of preferred turkey food might help as well.
Down here in Alabama a patch or two of chufa can hold turkeys a long time.
It may be a clover , alfalfa ,corn,  or such for you.

Our problem is generally when  adjoining landowners putting out tons of corn for both deer and turkey to keep them on their property. In Alabama all feed must be removed or eaten at least 10 days before hunting. So, if someone wants to come down say April 10-15 to hunt they can have someone feed until April 1, cover and be legal. I wish it was so that they had to have everything gone 10 days before season starts period.

[Gooserbat]

Honestly I would burn 60-100 acers now a few weeks before season.  Give a burn area a few weeks to green up and turkeys love it.

[simmonds]

Thanks for the help everyone! Good to hear they break up into smaller groups later in the spring, hopefully they'll be back. A little later in the year, between seasons, there are always a few hens on the property with a half dozen or more chicks following about.

One thing I noticed is in the late evening, the birds have worked their way back up the road closer to my property and take off up a private road that heads up near my property line. Maybe I'll head to that far corner of the property just before sunrise and try a hoot owl call, see if I can hear their roost location. I have a trail cam in that location, only been there a couple days...maybe I should throw a sack of scratch or corn in front of the cam sight.

Whether I get a bird or not this year, I am looking forward to the hunt.

[Ded Goblr]

You should be fine other than what your granola neighbors are probably doing...feeding.
2-3 of the places I hunt the birds don't overwinter there...as you say a temptingly short distance away sometimes.

They break up into smaller groups in the spring breeding season and some always come back to the areas I hunt. 

Good luck!

That would be my bet as well..