Learn the terrain

[paboxcall]

If you don't know the ground, the gobbler will beat you every time.  As Mr. Spencer once wrote, "sit down wrong, you're beat."

Know the ground you are on as best you can.  Use to your advantage Google Earth, Google Maps, topos, aerials, smart phone apps, whatever, then get your boots on the ground pre and post season.

                   

[g8rvet]

This cost me more birds than I can count when I first started.  I hunted a lot in the swamps and had more than a few just on the other side of an (unknown to me) creek. 

[ilbucksndux]

Yes this has cost me several. 2 years ago I was in a new area it was a bottom with a small river running through it. I cut one,saw him out there about 60 yards  but he would walk up to one spot and stop every time. After he was gone I walked over there and he was on the other side of the river and from where I was sitting I couldnt tell.

[culpeper]

My reply really overlaps between this thread and the one about moving on a gobbler....knowing the terrain AND understanding/being aware of your timing in the season with respect to judging the distance is crucial.  Sound travels very differently in the early spring, a cool morning, a humid afternoon day and later in the season with dense understory growth.  I completely understand the desire to move and quickly, BUT, in doing so and if you do, you MUST have the knowledge of the terrain to better determine if he is moving, standing still or moving toward you, by simply dropping into ravines/hollows or walking a ridge line.  You will NEVER be able to get it right unless you know your terrain and even then, you must learn to "read" his calls in regards to if he is coming closer.  This really can only come from experience, but if you at least use good woodmanship skills, get yourself some good maps and know how to read them, you have a decent chance.

[GobbleNut]

Know the ground you are on as best you can.  Use to your advantage Google Earth, Google Maps, topos, aerials,...

The value of these aids cannot be overstated.  Even if you can't spend time on your hunting grounds in person, the knowledge that can be gained from these sources will put you far ahead of the game before you even set foot on the area you are hunting. 

It is also interesting to me that, having hunted quite a few places around the country, it has always amazed me at how often I will go somewhere that the "host" has no maps of the areas to be hunted.  Last year, I even hunted a place where the property owner didn't even know where his property lines were!  Fercryinoutloud!

[Rzrbac]

This is probably the best advice I've read since I've joined this site.  Combine that with a good knowledge base of turkey behavior and you're gonna be slaying gobblers.

[Cut N Run]

I have noticed that similarities in terrain from one place to another can produce turkeys. Saddles in ridges, an open flat below the crest of a ridge, creek bottom splits, and higher open ground seem to produce regularly for me.

Always know where the highest ground in the area is, so you can get a better vantage point to listen and start from if nothing else.  If you can make note of areas you consistently hear gobblers roost or strut, it can increase your success tremendously by helping you position in high percentage areas to start with. 

I found one of my favorite spots to hunt simply by paying attention to where I regularly heard gobblers sounding off or saw them strutting.  They would answer my calls as they skirted around me on their way to strut at a field edge just below the spine of a ridge.  Different birds use the same spot every year.  They have favorite spots for a reason and if you can crack that code, your odds go way up.

[blake_08]

I agree knowing the terrain like the back of your hand would be a huge advantage but that's not always possible. If you have 500,000 acres of continuous public land and you scout a particular area ahead of season, find the birds, and learn the land, that's not guaranteeing you'll have that spot on opening morning. If there's a truck sitting there, you have to go somewhere you may be unfamiliar with. That's where woodsmanship skills come in to play. Being observant and paying attention. Learning the terrain isn't always possible. You could strike a gobbler anywhere on the half million acres and you can't possibly know all the terrain. There's gonna be times we just won't win against the gobbler and that's fine with me! But there will be times when paying attention to details and realism in your setup/calling will kill him, with a little bit of luck of course.

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[MK M GOBL]

One thing here in farm/cattle country and some smaller acreages is fences, we are mostly barbwire but run in to 3-5 strands and this will/can hold up birds. I might be on my 210 acres but the borders of the other farms are definitely a piece in the game. Have found some places old fence is down, a small dip that deer/birds use. I always keep a mental note of where these are. Birds will cross fences just have to play them right.

MK M GOBL

[TauntoHawk]

If you don't know the ground, the gobbler will beat you every time.  As Mr. Spencer once wrote, "sit down wrong, you're beat."

Know the ground you are on as best you can.  Use to your advantage Google Earth, Google Maps, topos, aerials, smart phone apps, whatever, then get your boots on the ground pre and post season.

                   

Really this is huge, how a gobbler will react to terrain and know whats infront of you is huge.. I think using and understanding terrain in turkey hunting was a bigger key to increased success than better calling skills

There was a little window where I could call up a bird get him interested but my poor set ups left me hanging and it doesn't take much.

Small ditches, a large blow down, rock wall, briar patch all these can alter a birds path and wont show on a topo so there's nothing like walking the property.

[sasquatch1]

Everyone has a map on their phone. Hear a gobble, take compass bearing, open map and see what's between you and him. Simple. You can almost pin point exactly where he's at and the map shows you exactly where your at.


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[silvestris]

Many don't know how to read a topographical map.  There is a wealth of crucial information there, although some information may be dated.  What is out of date can usually be corrected by going to Google Earth for a satelite view.

Tom Kelly's book, "A Fork in the Road" contains a detailed primer on reading topo maps and is worth the price of admission.  I have used topo maps since I started hunting turkeys in 1973, and I would not know how to do without them.

[howl]

I use maps a lot to find areas to hunt. I can pretty much tell you where gobblers will be and when just looking at maps, etc., but hang memorizing topography. Gotta leave some mystery and sport to the enterprise!