New to Turkeys
 

I was doing some bowhunting earlier this week and had 5 toms stroll past about 2 hours before sunset in a stand of pines. Then about an hour and half later they came back by on the other side of me and went up to roost a little before sunset. First time I've ever seen turkeys while I've been hunting. Got me pretty excited. My question is, if they're there now will they still be there in the Spring. The land I'm on is 40 acres. About half is wheat fields now and the other half is timber. All of it is surrounded by CRP fields. There is a good sized stand of pines. I'm thinking about going out in the spring and trying my luck at turkey hunting!

RE: New to Turkeys
 

Maybe........ That's the short answer. Turkeys like open places to strut and be able to identify preditors in the spring. With the fields you have around you, they should be pretty close. It'll be worth a shot come spring anyway. Good luck and keep us posted.:)

RE: New to Turkeys
 

if you think that was exciting , wait til you get one ;):):D

RE: New to Turkeys
 

Will they still be in the wheat come april and may? The wheat will be fairly tall by then wont it?

RE: New to Turkeys
 

There's a good chance those turkeys will be close by to where you saw them when spring comes. I doubt they will be too far away. You will be able to tell when it gets closer to spring and they start gobbling......just go out at first light and get in a good position to listen and you will more than likely be able to hear some gobbling in the area if they are still there. One warning though.....once you get hooked on spring turkey hunting, there's no turning back!!:D;)

RE: New to Turkeys
 

Titleist,welcome aboard here!!In short to answer your ? if the wheat is up over there heads or extremely thick I highly doubt they'll be in it.Come spring the thought of feed is overtaken by an intense desire to breed so obviously the wheat really wouldn't have the effect on the gobblers like it did through the winter months.What would keep them in the fields in the spring is hens and a possible establishment of a good strutting area as GB eluded too.But as previously stated gobblers like those areas that tend to be somewhat open so they can be seen by the ladies.Look for the birds to be in these open areas possibly on the edge of these fields as often times the edges of these agricultural fields can be open to a treeline or possibly even surrounded by a road.The timber you speak of sounds like a good roost throughout the year and i would concentrate my efforts first there.If there roosting there chances are their already landing in an open area coming off the roost presenting you with a great opportunity to set-up close to this landing zone!
As the spring season closes in I would definatley make a point of doing some early season scouting seeing where these birds are roosting and if there using the fields or not.Set-up close to timber you speak of before daylight and put your ears on and just wait and listen.A week or two before season they'll be gobbling so obviously this gives you a great opportuinity to get this accomplished.Preseason homework will help put you in the birds if you put forth the effort in getting out and doing it and more often than not ends up not going unrewarded..Hope it helps Bob...

RE: New to Turkeys
 

Good advise from everyone above you will find some great knowledge here! ;)

Great to see you and welcome to the roost and the thrilling world of turkey hunting. Before the season begins another lil tip is scout the areas where you have been seeing them and looks for signs like turkey droppings, feathers and tracks. This can indicate what they are doing and where they are moving from and away too. You can then judge where the best set ups are for these areas come spring time. The Key is SCOUT........SCOUT.......SCOUT More you know the terrains and where these birds are going then better you will get knowing where to set up.

This will be my 5th year of turkey hunting and there is alot to learn on this elusive bird :)

RE: New to Turkeys
 

Will a scouting camera help me out any?

RE: New to Turkeys
 

i think a game cam would help to a certian extent. If you know the land really well and know where these birds are going you could set up a cam somewhere along those lines and it would help give you a insight of their daily routines. But the downside to that i belive is if you don't know the areas well and you see areas that have been occupied with turkey sightings it gives you a little open window for a limited time but when spring time comes Turkeys may have adapted their movements to where hens are roosting and where they go to to feed and other strutting zones.

What else can you add to this guys? im out of ideas.