Born 2:

I absolutely understand, and back East, I would always listen for birds during preseason scouting and then during the season.

However, I now live in Oregon. The closest hunting from my home is 2 hours away. The best hunting is 5-7 hours away (either south or east). Out here in the West, because of the vast expanse of open lands, many times it is just not possible to simply rely on listening for birds. You need to be able to use woodsman's skills to find birds, or else you may have one long uneventful hunt 600 miles from home.


Topo maps, satelite images and information from the locals is a great place to start. However, if you don't hear anything at all during the first morning of a 3 day hunt, you better know how to physically locate a roost area in the absence of gobbling...