Preseason Scouting

[Wood82]

I am fairly new to turkey hunting and so far unsuccessful.I have never done any scouting and have only hunted small parcels of private land using the run and gun approach. I have been able to locate and call in a few birds, but it just hasn't worked out. I have thousands of acres of public land within a 10-15 drive from my house. I would like to scout before the spring season, but i am a bit overwhelmed with the amount of acreage to cover and what to look for. Any advice on where or what to look for, or when i should start scouting would be appreciated. I am located in Michigan and our season starts mid April.

[Bowguy]

There's some recent info in this section. Help the new folks its called. Sorry brother it's in the general section

[Double B]

Listen at daybreak starting about a month before season.  Don't go in too deep.   Public land parking areas and trailheads are good listening posts, especially if you know the lay of the land.  Don't call to the birds or even get real close. You may be able to glass from afar if it's open.  Generally I just like to hear who's in the neighborhood and which way they are heading after flydown.  Good luck!

[Farmboy27]

Try looking at those thousands of acres as a lot of separate smaller areas. Concentrate on one and get to know the lay of it and the hunting potential in it before moving on. Kinda like farming. Looking at the whole farm in planting or harvest season can make you feel like you'll never get done. But you take it one field at a time and it's all good!

[Indianayounggun]

Also, cant be too early to start scouting. I walk new, different public spots every year during February looking for large concentrations of scratchings, tracks, etc. A decent sized flock of birds will leave amounts of sign you would not believe. They might not be in that exact spot come March/ April... but they wont be far. To the point of the others, as well, I get a lot of satisfaction out of being on top of a ridge at daylight 4-6 weeks before the start of the season and listening to them light up. Keeps me sane lol.

[slwayne]

Wood82, where you located in Michigan.  I live in Michigan and if you are close by would be willing to help you out.  All good advice given here so far.  The one thing I would say specifically to your mention of small parcels of private land that you have access to is that running and gunning small pieces of land may not be the best tactic.  If the parcel is small and you feel pretty confident that turkeys will visit at some point then you may be better off finding a good spot to set up and then wait them out.  This is where a blind or a comfortable chair like the Alpz chair or the gobbler longer can pay big dividends.  The more comfortable you are the longer you will be able to wait them out.

[g8rvet]

Early on hunting some private tracts, I had happy feet and would move like I was on a big public tract.  Bumped a couple, came back to where I had started and a bird was gobbling in the field I had left an hour earlier.  Also on that tract, I had not heard a single gobble all season and was getting discouraged and was moving on.  I went and looked one afternoon and found fresh strut marks! There was still a bird using that area.  I killed him on the last day I could hunt. 

Now, I scout my public areas, mostly with my ears.  I don't bother until about a month before, as in my part of the world, where they are in the fall and winter has little to do with where they are in the spring.

[Bowguy]

Let me say what works for me. Couple thousand acres isn't real big if you scout by listening. Drive the roads once they start gobbling n locate birds. Once the flocks break up keep tabs on em n you'll know where to listen again.
Locate a buncha birds, you can walk trails, roads or better yet drive. Locate gobbling birds n move on to the next. Consistent areas are where you'd start.
Now lots of guys "scout" areas by looking around.  By me that's not the best method. Birds have no idea if you're a walker, scouter or actually hunting so why would you want to be in the woods where the turkeys are to leave sign? Another thing is how would you know when it's made?
Often turkeys make sort of a circular route. Leave a farm field to the left, go into the neighbors fields, work towards the houses n reroost from the right. Seeing the sign could put you somewhere the birds aren't during legal hours if you have a noon cut off. Or put you on the wrong side, how bout sign you never saw 100 yards away. Hard to check all of a few thousand acres n how bout if they move in the day after you walk it?
The option would be walking it every day n all of it but to the birds that's pressure.
Best bet imo is driving than maybe walking areas to learn where the birds are. Preseason scouting can be visual but w binos from a distance. Dumb animals are easier to kill another imo.
This site has very knowledgeable guys so take in all advice but use your head n form ideas that work for you in your area.
Preseason scouting is only the very first step but an important one. Keep tabs on your birds

[Wood82]

Really good advice so far. Thanks everyone.

[Wood82]

Wood82, where you located in Michigan.  I live in Michigan and if you are close by would be willing to help you out.  All good advice given here so far.  The one thing I would say specifically to your mention of small parcels of private land that you have access to is that running and gunning small pieces of land may not be the best tactic.  If the parcel is small and you feel pretty confident that turkeys will visit at some point then you may be better off finding a good spot to set up and then wait them out.  This is where a blind or a comfortable chair like the Alpz chair or the gobbler longer can pay big dividends.  The more comfortable you are the longer you will be able to wait them out.

I'm located in the Traverse City area.

[GobbleNut]

The easiest way to find birds on large tracts of forested property is to hear them gobble.  Unfortunately, gobblers don't gobble all year long.  In most locales, they will begin gobbling before the spring season starts,...that could be a week or two before the season,...or maybe a month or more. 

They are also more prone to gobble at certain times of the day than they are others.  The most reliable time is right at the break of dawn in the morning.  In some regions, they will also gobble pretty well in the evenings between sunset and full darkness,...especially with the use of a good locator call of some type.  So, if you are going to be able to scout a week or two before the spring hunt, your absolute best bet is to be in the woods at first light and listening for gobbling,...either with or without a good loud locator. 

Personally, I prefer using a locator rather than just waiting for a bird to voluntarily gobble.  An appropriate locator call used at the right time will often drag a gobble out of a tom when he would otherwise wait a while before starting up.  Using the locator allows you to cover ground much more quickly. 

In large areas,...and especially areas with scattered flocks of birds,...running the road system using a locator at first light until sun-up, stopping every half mile or so and blowing the call, will let you cover lots of ground and most likely locate a number of gobblers, assuming you are in an area with a fairly good turkey population. 

Once again, however, you need to know when your turkeys are beginning to gobble in the spring.  Using the above technique when the birds have not started gobbling is generally a waste of time.  From now until your birds start gobbling, just cruise the woods when you have the chance looking for birds and sign,....and by all means, use good maps, preferably with land status, to learn the lay of the country you will be hunting. 

[Bowguy]

Gobblenut summed it up perfectly!

[Wood82]

The easiest way to find birds on large tracts of forested property is to hear them gobble.  Unfortunately, gobblers don't gobble all year long.  In most locales, they will begin gobbling before the spring season starts,...that could be a week or two before the season,...or maybe a month or more. 

They are also more prone to gobble at certain times of the day than they are others.  The most reliable time is right at the break of dawn in the morning.  In some regions, they will also gobble pretty well in the evenings between sunset and full darkness,...especially with the use of a good locator call of some type.  So, if you are going to be able to scout a week or two before the spring hunt, your absolute best bet is to be in the woods at first light and listening for gobbling,...either with or without a good loud locator. 

Personally, I prefer using a locator rather than just waiting for a bird to voluntarily gobble.  An appropriate locator call used at the right time will often drag a gobble out of a tom when he would otherwise wait a while before starting up.  Using the locator allows you to cover ground much more quickly. 

In large areas,...and especially areas with scattered flocks of birds,...running the road system using a locator at first light until sun-up, stopping every half mile or so and blowing the call, will let you cover lots of ground and most likely locate a number of gobblers, assuming you are in an area with a fairly good turkey population. 

Once again, however, you need to know when your turkeys are beginning to gobble in the spring.  Using the above technique when the birds have not started gobbling is generally a waste of time.  From now until your birds start gobbling, just cruise the woods when you have the chance looking for birds and sign,....and by all means, use good maps, preferably with land status, to learn the lay of the country you will be hunting.

Thanks. I do have an owl and crow call i can try out when the season gets closer. For now, when i cruise the woods while squirrel hunting, I will be looking for turkey sign as well. I do have a Plat book for the county i will be hunting.

[GobbleNut]

Thanks. I do have an owl and crow call i can try out when the season gets closer. For now, when i cruise the woods while squirrel hunting, I will be looking for turkey sign as well. I do have a Plat book for the county i will be hunting.

Important point with your locators:  Loudness is more important than realism,...the louder the better.

[Happy]

I do a little a little research using Google Earth and looking for things I like. Namely large tracts with few roads. Then I locate other features like ridges and saddles and try to get an idea on how turkeys would move around the terrain. After that it's time to put boots on the ground. I walk and I hit all my points of interest. I try to avoid thick laurel and other areas that aren't going to be to productive. Water is critical as well as recognizing which areas are going to green up first as we are just starting to green up when season opens on a normal year. This time of year is perfect for walking. I like to physically cover the ground and mark things in my head so I know where to listen when the birds start to gobble. It's three months till season and I don't worry about spooking birds. I don't take any calls and I know that the birds patterns will change as spring approaches. I just like to be in a location where I can be fairly close to a tom when daylight breaks during turkey season and have a decent idea of the terrain and how to use it.

Sent from my SM-G800R4 using Tapatalk