I' m going turkey hunting for the 1st.time in wisc.4th.weekend of the season.
On public land with my 12yr.old son & his friend.
So far it doesn' t sound to good ha guys. But I' ve been doing my homework.
I have watched some good video' s & turkey t.v. shows read as much info
as I can. I' m a good deer bowhunter and I think I' ve got a pretty good start
to be a good turkey hunter.
I found some topo maps & arial photo' s of the land we will hunt.
The area looks to have some good hardwoods (acorns) and open farm fields.
Here' s some questions I still have.

1) Should I use my locator call until I get a response and do a quick setup and
try to call him in ? or
2) Since I' m going to have two kids with me.Should I find a good looking spot
with some turkey sign. Set up a blind for the three of us put my decoys out
wait em out and call less and not as aggresive calling?
3) How can I scout fast to eliminate nonproductive areas without walking for
miles and losing the kids interist?
4) Can we set up in the same spot for afternoon hunts that we do for morning
hunts or should we relocate closer to roosting areas if I can find them?
5) Should we consentrate afternoons efforts walking listening for roosting birds
that we can set up on the next morning?

As you can tell I' m pretty fired up on spring turkey hunting. I know I' m
starting off somewhat behind the eight ball and the likelyhood of getting a
gobbler the 1st.year for use isn' t good.
But any help I can get so we can at least see some birds will probably get
me some turkey hunting buddies for a long time.
Thanks jvjbadger

Starting at the food source is a good start for scouting. Keep the kids intrested by showing them sign and asking them to look for it as well ,, exsplain some of the differences between the hens and gobblers.
Locators are a good tool at first light, this will help the kids to view locators as part of the turkey sport.
Setup' s , use both sit for a while and if things are slow and the kids statrt to fidget, its time to walk a little ...BT

couldn' t have said it better myself Bosstom

(3) concentrate on where the turkeys would feed. they feed on acorns(check flats, ridges, anywhere there' s acorns in your area. they feed on insects and green grasses(check clear cuts and fields)(look for scratchins in the leaves, droppins, tracks)

(4)if you can find the roostin areas, then those are good places to hunt late in the day. say from 5:00 till fly-up time. (they' ll fly up on the roost between sundown and dark).

(5) early afternoon is a good time to hunt. to keep the young-uns from gettin bored, you could set up in a feedin area, and call sparingly for about 30-45 minutes then move to another spot and do the same.
between sundown and dark, take your owl call and get close to where you think they might be roostin. owl hoot, and listen for gobbles. if you hear a gobble, then you know where to go the next mornin. good luck to ya' ll.
bogobble

I hunt in Wis. (Buffalo Co.) Fast scouting? Weekend prior to or the 2 days of no hunting prior to I would be in the area of interest an d listen for gobbling Toms early in the morning. They WILL roost consistantly in the same local day after day.
Set up a blind the day prior to the huntin the early afternoon in the area of the roosting area. Make sure you have an easy access to that spot so you are quiet going in. By the 4th season I would use only one hen decoy, and if that doesnt spark their interest when they see it then try a spring jealousy set up, I made my own.

The toms at this time of season are going to be looking hard for the last unbreed hens, a loner, or a lesser tom mounting a hen should send the big toms labedo system into overdrive. This time of year they might run in,Fast, so be ready, and dont over call! Let them know where you are at and let them come to you . Keep the kids occupied by looking at other things or let them sleep, you got to be in there early, hour before shooting. Do some clucks on your call, see what happens. Good luck.....