What to look for while scouting?
03-08-2006, 03:10 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 7
What to look for while scouting?
Spring season starts here in TN on Apr. 1. This is my first ever turkey hunt (first time Ive hunted period) and I am on my own. I have one friend who said he may go with me just for company but Im not putting money on it and he doesnt have a clue anyway. I plan on going scouting in the next couple weeks and I honestly dont know what to look for. Dropping? Tracks? Feathers? I dont know. Also, where should I start looking? Near water? On top of ridges? What kind of trees to turkeys roost in? I need some help. PLEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEE!!!!!
03-08-2006, 05:48 PM
#2
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Bennettsville, SC
Posts: 542
RE: What to look for while scouting?
Well you don't have too long before season opens.
Its good to look for all of those. Droppings, feathers, tracks, strut marks, and so on. Fresh scratchings are also a good sign. Dust bowls that are regularly used.
When I am out looking, I try to put it all together. If it rained recently, I look for tracks. If you find tracks, you know they have to be pretty fresh.
Nothing is etched in stone though. A turkey can put some miles on those little toes in a day.
As far as roosting. Here in South Carolina they roost in just about any kind of tree. Pines or hardwoods. They like creek bottoms that may be close to water. Makes it harder for preditors to sneak up on them.
Sign is good to look for, but the best thing is actually seeing turkeys. They are already grouping and strutting by now. Even gobbling in a lot of places. Get out at day break and listen. Check fields and clearings.
You better get your butt on the move.
I started off by myself too. My first turkey hunt was alone with no help at all. I started off at day light. 20 mins later, I was walking out of the woods with my first turkey. Called in a nice long beard 15 yards before I pulled the trigger. W/o a decoy. Been hooked ever since.
Its good to look for all of those. Droppings, feathers, tracks, strut marks, and so on. Fresh scratchings are also a good sign. Dust bowls that are regularly used.
When I am out looking, I try to put it all together. If it rained recently, I look for tracks. If you find tracks, you know they have to be pretty fresh.
Nothing is etched in stone though. A turkey can put some miles on those little toes in a day.
As far as roosting. Here in South Carolina they roost in just about any kind of tree. Pines or hardwoods. They like creek bottoms that may be close to water. Makes it harder for preditors to sneak up on them.
Sign is good to look for, but the best thing is actually seeing turkeys. They are already grouping and strutting by now. Even gobbling in a lot of places. Get out at day break and listen. Check fields and clearings.
You better get your butt on the move.
I started off by myself too. My first turkey hunt was alone with no help at all. I started off at day light. 20 mins later, I was walking out of the woods with my first turkey. Called in a nice long beard 15 yards before I pulled the trigger. W/o a decoy. Been hooked ever since.
03-08-2006, 07:28 PM
#3
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location:
Posts: 226
RE: What to look for while scouting?
Look for all of those things and bring a crow call and an owl hoot. When you find them try to figure out their routine and determine where to start your hunt. The thing that i have found that makes all the difference is to have PATIENCE!!! If at all possible try to find out where they roost and that will give you a great place to start on opening day!
03-08-2006, 07:33 PM
#4
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: SC
Posts: 385
RE: What to look for while scouting?
When I started out the one thing I searched until I found was a turkey strutting area.
Drive roads in the morning before work.
Carry binoculars with you everywhere.
Check fields in the evenings.Get permission.
Once you get in amoungst them and take a few that you have scouted you will get an idea what to look for.
I've found turkeys in new areas and states by talking to school bus drivers or mail carriers out in the country.
They have put me on strutting birds many times.
Good luck
Drive roads in the morning before work.
Carry binoculars with you everywhere.
Check fields in the evenings.Get permission.
Once you get in amoungst them and take a few that you have scouted you will get an idea what to look for.
I've found turkeys in new areas and states by talking to school bus drivers or mail carriers out in the country.
They have put me on strutting birds many times.
Good luck
03-08-2006, 08:33 PM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: cuyler new york USA
Posts: 290
RE: What to look for while scouting?
your seasons coming soon....if it were me and i had no clue where the birds were i'd be visiting green fields mid morning, my guess your birds are 'buggin' by now and i wouldnt worry about finding the toms right away, remember..it's breeding season, the toms will be close to where you find hens. I'd be checking water too, checking for tracks, taking note of the general direction. the early hours of the day they get some water relief from the moist grasses at their fly down area. When i have a whole day to walk i might find two or more roosting areas. You can tell those areas by the prunned feathers on the ground along with droppings. I try to find dustings also, they let me know turkeys are visiting the area almost daily.If you feel comfortable about the signs you've found, sit and listen. (when i sit and listen...i like to build my confidence in the location by picking the right tree, snapping small twigs from my field of aim, and imagining all the scenarios of a hunt...from the textbook hunt...to the gobbler busting me cause i moved my head or leg or arm). If you can visit the place regularly every day stop by, bring a coffee with ya and sit on the tailgate of your truck...and listen...as soon as your season starts, your bound to hear some gobbling.
03-08-2006, 09:45 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Bandera, Texas
Posts: 1,636
RE: What to look for while scouting?
Bet oak trees! THen again, I have seen them roost in dead trees in the middle of a field where they can see all directions leading to the tree.
Look for feathers, droppings, and dust sites!
Look for feathers, droppings, and dust sites!
03-09-2006, 08:33 AM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: W Suffield Ct
Posts: 204
RE: What to look for while scouting?
I'm a real stumble-bum in the woods sometimes and am perfectly capable of finding every single loud snapping twig on the ground. So as long as I know the woods I'm going to be hunting fairly well, I like to just listen from the road at the magic 1/2 hour before sun up to get a general idea where gobbles are coming from. If I can time it right, I also will do the same when theres an approaching t-storm, that will many times get them fired up also (and give away their location)
03-09-2006, 12:45 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 500
RE: What to look for while scouting?
Here is something else you can do when scouting, especially if you have the time to get out and walk. Spend time learning the lay of the land. Learn about the fences, the creeks, the impenatrable (sp?)thickets, the ridges, the valleys, the clearings and the food sources. Also learn the boundaries of the lands you have access to.
If you hear a distant gobbler, come hunting time, it is nice if you have a familiarity with the land so you can imagine where that bird is at--is he gobbling from a woods road, aclearing in the woods, a field?--and so you can mentally picture where he is likely to go/how he will come to you/how/where you should move to get set up on him. If you know about a fence or creek between you and the gobbler, you will know if he is likely to get hung up by it, for example, and adjust your approach and location accordingly.
Another thing I sometimes do when I'm scouting, especially by active green fields, is build natural vegetation blinds, especially if there is an exceptional place where a blind will be useful, like a point that sticks out into a field or a place near a likelyfield exit/entrance. I don't make elaborate blinds, just a couple of downed tree branches or such, in a loose pile, that will help me in concealment, if I choose to sit there come hunting time.
Be careful when scouting!! Sometimes I find myself looking at the ground toomuch, looking for those tracks, feathers or droppings, and I have looked up to see a turkey or turkeys scooting awayin the woods a couple hundred yards ahead of me. I've often thought that had I moved more slowly, and looked up, rather than down, more often, I'd have seen those birds and not spooked them, and been able to monitor their activity. I also use my ears in scouting, listening for both gobblers and hens. I always wear camo when scouting, too, and carry my face mask and locator calls.
Of course, lookat the trees, to envision their suitability as roost sites. For me, this involves assessing the branches--turkeys need a decent branch to support their weight, and the branch has to have a degree of "horizontalness"to it. Birds can't roost very well on 100% vertical branches. And I look for trees I feel are attractive for roosting. This generally means near (but not necessarily "at") a field edge, a tree in a place wherethe turkey can fly downto a clear landing zone. I then look for feathers and droppings, of course, to see if the tree is actually used as a roost tree.
Another tree I find gets used a lot is a tree on the edge or growing over the edge of a sharp hillside. I imagine the turkeys like these trees because it is a short hop up into the tree (more of a flight over than up)and an easy drop down in the morning.
Lastly, I try to devise a "pattern", both for the turkeys and for myself, if I have the time in scouting. By this I mean I try to develop a plan for my day's hunt, which means I try to move around to the places I feel (or know) the turkeys will be at during various times of the day. In other words, over the course of a day I might start outnear a roost site, then move toa strut zone, then a dusting area, then an afternoon cool spot, then an eveningroost/flyup area.If I know the turkeys always frequent a watering tank at 2:00 in the afternoon, I'll be waiting there at 1:00, etc.
If you hear a distant gobbler, come hunting time, it is nice if you have a familiarity with the land so you can imagine where that bird is at--is he gobbling from a woods road, aclearing in the woods, a field?--and so you can mentally picture where he is likely to go/how he will come to you/how/where you should move to get set up on him. If you know about a fence or creek between you and the gobbler, you will know if he is likely to get hung up by it, for example, and adjust your approach and location accordingly.
Another thing I sometimes do when I'm scouting, especially by active green fields, is build natural vegetation blinds, especially if there is an exceptional place where a blind will be useful, like a point that sticks out into a field or a place near a likelyfield exit/entrance. I don't make elaborate blinds, just a couple of downed tree branches or such, in a loose pile, that will help me in concealment, if I choose to sit there come hunting time.
Be careful when scouting!! Sometimes I find myself looking at the ground toomuch, looking for those tracks, feathers or droppings, and I have looked up to see a turkey or turkeys scooting awayin the woods a couple hundred yards ahead of me. I've often thought that had I moved more slowly, and looked up, rather than down, more often, I'd have seen those birds and not spooked them, and been able to monitor their activity. I also use my ears in scouting, listening for both gobblers and hens. I always wear camo when scouting, too, and carry my face mask and locator calls.
Of course, lookat the trees, to envision their suitability as roost sites. For me, this involves assessing the branches--turkeys need a decent branch to support their weight, and the branch has to have a degree of "horizontalness"to it. Birds can't roost very well on 100% vertical branches. And I look for trees I feel are attractive for roosting. This generally means near (but not necessarily "at") a field edge, a tree in a place wherethe turkey can fly downto a clear landing zone. I then look for feathers and droppings, of course, to see if the tree is actually used as a roost tree.
Another tree I find gets used a lot is a tree on the edge or growing over the edge of a sharp hillside. I imagine the turkeys like these trees because it is a short hop up into the tree (more of a flight over than up)and an easy drop down in the morning.
Lastly, I try to devise a "pattern", both for the turkeys and for myself, if I have the time in scouting. By this I mean I try to develop a plan for my day's hunt, which means I try to move around to the places I feel (or know) the turkeys will be at during various times of the day. In other words, over the course of a day I might start outnear a roost site, then move toa strut zone, then a dusting area, then an afternoon cool spot, then an eveningroost/flyup area.If I know the turkeys always frequent a watering tank at 2:00 in the afternoon, I'll be waiting there at 1:00, etc.
03-09-2006, 12:46 PM
#9
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: arkansas
Posts: 276
RE: What to look for while scouting?
Yes, you do need to look for tracks, feathers and droppings. You can look around water sources for tracks but chances are, you wont find a turkey struting there. Tracks are just a good indication that turkeys are in your area. You need to find strut zones and and roosting areas. If you are in a dusty are you can see the strut marks..look for figure 8 patterns or circular patterns in areas..some may be straight lines. Under trees you may find droppings and feathers and this will indicate a roosting area. Those are two prime spots to be. Usually, you will find the toms first strut zone around his roost, and then he will follow his pattern throughtout the day and return in the evening doing the same thing. As far as trees, they will roost in whatever they have to roost in. I think they prefer oaks with not many limbs or limbs that are open so they can see around them. But i've seen them roost in many trees. Good luck, private message me for me tips and i will be glad to help..
