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Old 04-07-2008 | 09:41 PM
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JW
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Wisconsin
Default RE: Can you pattern turkeys??

I pattern turkeys every year and in two states. Michigan always opens on a Monday - we scout till we drop both Saturday and Sunday and by Sunday night me and my fellow hunter each have 1 primary spot and secondary fall back if we screw that one up.

What we do is cover as much area as we can usually by car to mark on a map of the birds we hear gobble at first light. then we keep making the circuit trying to get a peak at the bird that gobbled. They use fields, wood edges, woods and cedar swamps. We always see and can find birds. Sometimes not the first day but the second surely. The birds we hear gobble don't move all that far. We shock gobble. I use a owl, crow and a gobble tube. We do no hen calling at iall n the morning but will do hen calling later in the day. By doing this we develop a pattern. We even try to roost but at best all we hear is fly-ups as they are rather tight lipped for some reason. The next day any ole gobble from the fly-up we are gone trying to find the next bird. We do try to triangualte so we do try to really pinpoint. I look for strut zones and try to be there rather than sneak up to the roost.
I have gotten slow so don't run and gun but my partner still does. We work very hard at this scoutign and so far my parter is 97% and I am at 93% or so of taking a fine bird the first day. We have never stayed longer than two days through rain. sleet, snow, cloudy or nice weather.

Seeing them in the turkey in he same general area yo can bet roost is not that far away. You need to know if they come back tot he field at first light. If they do make good mental notewhere they use this field - sneak in there from a good distance and just glass watching how they use this field - where they feed and when feeding is done where they enter the woods, and before long you will find commonly used travel routes. Use that to your advantage. Yes you can call a turkey to you but being where the turkey has come to feel comfortable and calling lightly even out the oddsa bit more in yhour favor.
I do the same thing in Wisc and hunt in a party of 4 - I place all my partners based on what I have learned. Last year we had last season - late May and 3 out of 4 connected on a mature Tom the first day! According to my journal at least one of us ges a nice tom the first day. In Michigan I have been doing this method 21 yrs - in Wisc it will be 11.

Good luck hope this helps

JW
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