hi guys i am pretty new to turkey hunting and have just lost my honey hole for turkeys and am now stuck to public land to turkey hunt on but i am haveing a hard time figureing out where they are i hear no gobbles usually and cant seem to find a decent spot so if you veterans have some advice on what kind of trees or habitat they prefer it would help.by the way the land i am hunting on is very thick with some strip pits and almost vertical hills/slops if it helps thanks in advance.

I'm no expert on Easterns but they will want water close by the roost and open areas to strut in, the turkeys I hunt Mariam's don't use thick areas for anything they prefer semi open, lightly treed areas and open areas. You can get high on a hill or ridge to locate turkeys at dusk or dark, or walk the woods 3/4 of the way to the top of hills looking for feathers and roost trees. Check creek areas for tracks, by far the easiest and fastest way to find em is by using a locater call at night.

Good luck

Check with your DNR to see if they have data on turkeys checked in by each county. That will give you an idea if the potential in your area.
Also check if there's any pasture or ag land bordering the area you hunt and scout the edges for sign.

Walk the fire / access roads and check for tracks and droppings.

Public land birds in heavily pressured places, like MO, are often pretty tight lipped. Small calls and scratching will work better than over calling. MO birds have heard just about every call you could think of throwing at them.

Good luck.