hey guys, i just need some quick feedback on a possbiel turkey scouting/hunting process. basically, im going to hunt an extremely large tract of public land in west MD. first, i will get a topo map of the greenridge national forest and, from there, i will look for rivers, valleys, and... what else? what type of geogrophy should i associate w/ turkey territory? ok, so now i have located a few different areas that look promising on map, i then go to those sites and look for feathers, strutting zones, droppings, turkeys, etc. Then once i find a few spots, i guess i just pick the spot with the most sign? or what...i understand scouting, but it just seems hard to locate where turkeys thrive when there is 44,000 acres or whatever to cover. you know what i mean, how do i knowwhich streams look appealing to them, what fields they like etc. i actually wish i had an experienced dad or brother to go along with me to show me, but i dont so i will learn thru u guys and my own experience. thanks alot fellas.

topo maps and arial pics can help..i like to look for ridges, points, flats, benches etc. i never really associated turkeys with water..they arent ducks? water will actually screw you sometimes..when you got a gobbler on the other side of the creek a good bit of the time he wont cross it. but i have found good roosting sites in creek bottoms. generally in really windy areas they try to get out of the wind.

public land i like to get away from the road a goood ways. a half hour walk back to my spot is the norm..then ill go farther from there. depends how much pressure the birds get. i dont even start scouting till a couple weeks before the season. mainly because i know where my turkeys are..and because right now they are flocked up and on a winter pattern hitting the food sources that are available. come spring you might find areas with turkeys today wont have any. but it cant hurt to start now and get familiar with the land which is important and if you find them now come spring you shoulllllld be close..

a month or so before the season ill go in and look for scratchings and roosting sights...then if im hunting new areas ill go in before dawn and listen to them off the roost to pinpoint the roost and try to figure out where they go after fly down..

Green ridge can be some tough hunting due to some of the elevation changes there, whew steep...lol There are birds there though. go to the state forest office and you can pick up a map there of the area including the roads throughout. Also check out the WMA,s MD has to offer. Do a search on line and you will be surprised what info is out there. good luck, keep us posted on how you do.