How do you start your hunt?

[wisconsinteacher]

Do you set up where you have scouted them or do you go to a spot then move on a tom in the tree?  I hunt in farm country so I for the most part set up a blind in a field with decoys and sit tight for the first few hours of the day.  It has worked okay for the most part, but I am thinking about changing it up and moving in on a tom in a tree.  I do like using the blind method when hunting with kids because we can move in without making much noise.  So would I be better off doing what I am doing or should I try something different?  After we leave the blind, I walk the woods and leave the blind behind for the rest of the day.  Thanks.

[PANYHunter]

I like to locate a bird and move in on him in a tree.  If for some reason they aren't gobbling this is where scouting comes into play an I will sit down where I have scouted and am pretty sure they will be moving through.  Its always fun to try something new so I would say try out moving on a bird in the tree.  Just don't get too close and bust them out of the tree. 

[bowhunter84]

I like to locate a bird and move in on him in a tree.  If for some reason they aren't gobbling this is where scouting comes into play an I will sit down where I have scouted and am pretty sure they will be moving through.  Its always fun to try something new so I would say try out moving on a bird in the tree.  Just don't get too close and bust them out of the tree. 

[pullit]

On the fram I hunt, for some reason the birds do not gobble much. I get close to where I have seen them a bunch and that is where I start. If I do get lucky and one does gobble, I leave and head to him.

[Bagg-it Tag-it]

You said you hunt in farm country. So, not many trees or woods? My advice in a situation like that is too scout and find out their likely roosting spots or the places where they enter/leave the fields and set up and "deer hunt" them there. It is hard to run and gun in flat/open country.

[MC]

I prefer to do it much the way you already are doing it in open / farm country. Much less chance of spooking birds. In areas where I have a good bit of timber, I like to get as high as I can if the terrain is rolling hills, or get in places along a road or ROW where I can hear well and then move towards the bird.

If I don't hear a bird at first light, I get into an area I have scouted and found fresh sign and I "still hunt" my way through it. For me this involves sitting down in an area I know birds have been working and calling softly for 45 minutes to an hour. I'll call a little bit every 10-20 minutes. If nothing happens I will creep up 50-100 yards sit down and repeat. My goal in doing this is to hunt my way through an area with fresh sign at a pace that resembles how a turkey would work through the area.

I am usually prepared to spend an entire day working through an area and have killed birds that came in silent as well as gobbling their heads off at all hours of the day. Even though I have a number of different locations and area to cover, I find I have been more successful thuroughly hunting one area as opposed to running to all my options trying to strike a gobbling bird.

I can't tell you how many times I have started the day off not hearing a peep and then all of a sudden find myself in the thick of it with a gobbler setting the woods on fire that was within a few hundred yards of me all along.

[hobbes]

If I know a tom's location by either roosting him the night before or hearing him in the morning, I always move in and set up on him to try and kill him shortly after flydown.

[LX_Trkyhntr]

If I know a tom's location by either roosting him the night before or hearing him in the morning, I always move in and set up on him to try and kill him shortly after flydown.

That's what I do too.

If I am going in blindly, and haven't been able to scout a place i try to get one to gobble on the roost.  If nothing answers I start scouting/hunting, I will move slowly and cautiously.  When I find likely looking areas I will set up and call for a little bit to see if I can get something going.  If I have a lot of land that I can hunt, I will not spend a lot of time in each set up, but give it a few minutes, and then move on if I don't hear anything.  The less land that I have to hunt the more time I will spend in each setup.

[Struttin Spurs]

I like to locate a bird and move in on him in a tree.  If for some reason they aren't gobbling this is where scouting comes into play an I will sit down where I have scouted and am pretty sure they will be moving through.  Its always fun to try something new so I would say try out moving on a bird in the tree.  Just don't get too close and bust them out of the tree. 

This is what I do too.

[wisconsinteacher]

The area I hunt is made up of blocks of woods and fields.  The woods are 40s and the fields are 15-40 acres in size.  For the most part it seems like the birds roost close to the fields and then hit them at first light.  I guess that is why I have done what I do.  Next time I am hunting by myself, I am going to try putting the moves on one while he is in the tree.

[fallhnt]

get up,get outa bed,drag a comb across my head...

[Trevor2]

If you decide to move in on one keep in mind; in my experience, as I have busted many off roost, that they are typically closer than they seem.But IMO if they are roosting that close to the field you might move your blind mid day, closer to thier roost for the next morning but I would keep doing what your doing. But then again im an odd ball on this site as I like hunting fields more so than woods.

[tnturkeyman28]

I like to scout birds a few days before season. Then I go in  and set up early for a couple hours on a predetermined location. Hopefully within a couple hundred yards of a roost, if I have done my home work. I start off with a few soft tree calls. If no reply I make a short soft series of yelps and purrs every 20 minutes. If nothing happens after a couple hours I am a run an gun hunter. As for moving in on a roosted bird, I will do that if he gobbles early enough while it is still dark enough to move in. If trees are leaved out that helps.  Just my way. Good Hunting! God's Speed! Ronnie

x2  could not have said it better myself!!

[lohaus]

I'm probably in the same type of country with wood lots and fields.  I usually scout the night before and see where they are headed.  If I'm with my son or another new hunter I'll haul the blind out and set up.  If I'm by myself I may haul the blind out.  If I'm with my buddy then we ditch the blind and set up on the field edge and wait for flydown.  Sometimes I feel like the blind kind of takes away from my experience.  Then again, I've never came home po'd when I take a turkey using a blind.  If the birds fly down into the woods then I'll wait a while and circle around the wood lot to the other side.

[BLACKQUACK]

My hunting grounds are several public places in the southern half of Illinois.  I scout a month before the season at the locations my permits are for and pick out 3 or 4 or more spots, usually just inside the woods by a good looking field, to build small 'hide behinds' with small logs, limbs and any other natural stuff that might be available.  When opening day arrives, I go to the place I think would be best and sit, watch and listen for about the first hour as the woods comes to life.  If nothing is happening, I'll usually put out a decoy or two and go sit a little longer at the same place and begin calling occasionally. If after about another half hour and still no action, I'll go to one of my other setup places, put out a decoy and give that spot an hour or so.  I continue this routine till 1 PM, quitting time in Illinois.  I would prefer filling my tag at 11:59 rather than at 6:59, but whenever it happens it is good.        However, things changes; plans change; everyday is a different day, but they're all good days when you're turkey huntin.    :)uo