I typically start about a month before. I do the usual scout where there feeding, roosting, flying down, strutting, etc. But if I am hunting a new area I'm not real sure about. I will actually wake up and dress in my camo as if I was hunting and head out to the turkey woods. I get out well before they start gobbling, set up in a blind ~except I never use any calls, even an owl hoot, and of course never any decoys~. I listen for their gobbles in the roost, watch where they fly down, and watch where they go after they fly down. Once the area is clear, then I move or go home. It is hard to wake up just to scout, but it will be all worth it when you down your big gobbler. Since this can change a little, I do this a couple times before the season starts. After the first season or two, it probably isn't as necessary since you will already know the area.