Scouting
 

Hello All,
I am a deer hunter and i decided to get in the illinois lottery for spring turkey. This is my first year turkey hunting. Basically i need some advice on scouting. The document on huntingnet is very basic. I am looking for something more specific. I will be hunting public land for easterns.

Thanks,
Seth Habberfield

RE: Scouting
 

When scouting for turkeys i look for droppings and tracks, dusting areas and roost sites, and mainly drive around glassing for them.

RE: Scouting
 

I was new to turkey hunting last year and in the same situation as you, hunting public land. I first read whatever I could get my hands on about turkeys to get a good idea of their daily routines, interactions with each other, signs they leave behind, etc. Then I put on my boots and started looking for sign. I found out if I got out in the woods before light in the morning, the toms would start gobbling just before they were ready to fly down. I took a topo map with me and marked on the map whenever I found a roosting area, tracks, or even where I saw turkeys walking. I also marked open areas, trails, and roads since these would probably be travel lanes for turkeys. If you do this, it's sort of like putting a puzzle together and you begin to understand what's happening in the woods around you.

If your in a state that still has snow on the ground or you get any snow in the near future, that would be a great time to hike the woods looking for tracks. I did this last week and found plenty of sign and actually saw 8 gobblers together. There's nothing like seeing the real thing to keep you focused on learning all you can about this crazy bird!

I'm going out tomorrow morning to continue scouting. I have a goal of hitting a different area each time I go out so by the time the season starts, I know the area I am hunting almost as good as the turkey I'm after.

Sorry for going on, but I hope this helps a little.