Scouting in the West

[GobbleNut]

Well, we have covered scouting in the south, east, and north, so I figured we ought to talk about the west.  The main difference in scouting,...that is, finding birds to hunt,...is that you are usually hunting large expanses of public land with sometimes widely scattered turkey flocks.

Unless you are hunting private property with "conditioned" turkey flocks,...that is, birds that stay on properties because of reliable food sources due to farming or ranching practices,...anybody that comes out west to hunt needs to understand the concept of "thinking big". ...That is, if you think you can use the scouting tactic of choosing a spot that looks good,...and then sitting quietly at first light waiting to hear a gobbler,...you may be waiting a llooong time to hear one there. Simply put, that is the worst possible thing you can do when hunting out here. 

Out west, you have got to cover country and use locating tactics to find gobblers and get them to tell you where they are.  It is not unusual for turkey flocks to be MILES apart here.  The key elements are often the availability of water and roosting habitat.  If you have neither, there will not be turkeys around,...but even if you have both, that does not necessarily translate into turkeys being there.

Our turkeys are notorious for gobbling. They are easy to find,....IF you are looking for them where they are and IF you know how to use the proper locating tactics. 
...Enough on this for the moment...

[deerhunt1988]

coyote howler and a tank full of gas!

[kennedyh1990]

Is an elk bugle or coyote howler more effective?


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[Hobbes]

It's a shock gobble, so I don't know if it matters.  However, a coyote howl is simpler to deal with in my opinion and more natural if you are concerned with that.

[GobbleNut]

It's a shock gobble, so I don't know if it matters.  However, a coyote howl is simpler to deal with in my opinion and more natural if you are concerned with that.

Honestly, I think "loud and abrupt" is the key,...at least from what I have seen dealing with western turkeys.  Any loud and abrupt noise will often trigger that involuntary shock response from a gobbler.  I believe they are so genetically, instinctively, "programmed" to respond to challenges from other gobblers that any loud, abrupt noise will trigger them to gobble.  Their brain, when getting that initial loud impulse from their ears from any source, triggers that involuntary gobble response because the brain is processing it instantaneously as a challenge gobbler from another male.

Hence, I don't think the type of sound,...coyote howl, elk bugle, crow or owl call, etc.,...is all that important, just that it is loud and abrupt.

However, I think that instinctive impulse can also be overloaded by repeated triggering too often such that gobblers can learn to suppress it to some extent. My experience across the country, though, is that gobblers anywhere can be triggered to shock gobble under ideal circumstances.  Granted, it is sometimes hard to fall into those ideal circumstances in some places, but with western turkeys, it is very common.   

[kennedyh1990]

Thanks for the info. I was more unsure if it's common to hear bugles in the spring and if coyote howls would be more "natural".


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