Scouting for turkeys

Scouting for turkeys can be the single most important step you can take to ensure that you are successful.  Scouting should start about two weeks before the hunting season starts.    Unlike other flocking birds that fly to their mating and nesting areas, turkeys walk.  Turkeys will migrate from winter  to summer areas a few weeks before hunting season.  In many places, the winter and summer areas overlap.

There are four areas that you want to look for to maximize your hunting.  The four areas are roosts, strut zones, scratching, and dusting areas.   The best setup is a transition between any of these areas.  Turkeys will move from their roost at night to water after flying down.  That is, if there are no hens looking for their attention. 

Roosting areas are trees that are on the down wind side of hills.  The branches are horizontal so it is easier for the birds to sleep on them.  When looking for areas like this, you are looking for feathers and turkey droppings.  Turkeys tend to have feathers fall off as they land.  Turkeys tend to use the same roosting area year after year.  A turkey may have many areas that they roost in.  This may vary by the weather and the activity of hens.

Scratching areas are feeding areas.  Hens will go to feeding areas more then Toms.  The Tom is more focused on mating than feeding.  The Toms will only feed enough to meet their short term needs.   Toms will travel through feeding areas but will not spend much time there.  Tom’s are looking for hens.

Toms spend a lot of their days hanging around strutting areas.  This is an area where they will display for the hens.  The biggest birds will be in the strutting area.  They are will fight any Tom that will challenge their right to mate with the hens.  Even if the biggest Tom is killed, other Toms will take up the locations.

Hens will start moving from jenny flocks and start looking for good nesting areas. The hens will start making their nests before the new growth starts.  Generally, nesting habitats consist of low, horizontal cover such as low brush, standing raspberry canes, or anything else that obstructs visibility between ground level and about 2 feet.

Driving dirt roads looking for turkey tracks and where they have been dusting is a good scouting technique.  Hens will dust every day and Toms once every other day.  Where two dirt roods meet will be a good spot to ambush a Tom that is moving between areas.

The key to success in spring turkey hunting is scouting just before the season.  Turkeys will keep this mating pattern until the poults (baby turkeys) start showing up.  After about a month turkey will start to flock up and start moving to summer patterns.

Good luck,

Sean