Pre-Season Scouting
Scouting before the season is where it all starts. The best way to get a gobbler in the back of your truck is to find out what he does when you’re not around.
For me scouting ends up being year round, as I’m out in the fall chasing deer, elk, or waterfowl I am taking notes of what I see related to turkeys. If I see sign while walking into my stand, or hear some birds from my treestand it all goes into a mental bank of information that I can use to locate the birds come spring. However, when the excitement of the rut comes along turkeys are not always first on my mind. As the fall turns into winter and the deer seasons come to a close, I can really start to focus on these strategies to prepare myself for the upcoming spring.
January/February:
These two months are typically spend indoors or out doing snow related activities, but it can be a great time to be out in the turkey woods as well. I typically use these months to get an “inventory” of the flock, watching trail cameras, following tracks, locating roost trees, maybe even exploring a part of a property that I am not as familiar with etc. Compared to some of the months closer to the season its not really as involved, but more of a passive approach. I also use this time to start talking to landowners. In my experience, approaching a landowner to ask permission in the off season months seem to have a better result. They aren’t getting bombarded by other hunters at this time, and unless they are turkey hunters themselves, turkey season seems a long ways off and wont be quite as on guard to hunters knocking on their door.
March:
This is where things start to get more involved. In my area here in Colorado (back home in PA it was similar as well) the birds start talking early to mid March. When that happens I am typically out in the early morning, checking my properties for gobbles. What I am specifically looking for is number of birds, and any pattern to their roost locations. Here in Colorado with these nomadic Merriams that is a tougher task than you’d think. The Merriams I hunt seem to roost wherever they happen to be at dark, so getting a pattern and finding repeatable roost areas can be tough. In that case you need to focus on water and food sources, are there areas that have a higher concentration of food or water or cover than others. If so, that will generally be an area they spend more time in. From there, you can isolate that area and hunt each roost site the day you are there. For instance, if you know the general area they hang out in, you can try to locate them the night before, or walk in just as its breaking daylight and rush to close the distance when you hear the gobbles. However back in the heavily timbered woods of Pennsylvania with generally smaller tracts of land, the birds sometimes develop a pattern, or at the very least will re-use roost sites regularly. After the birds fly down, I like to hang around and get an idea of what they do and where they go. Is there a specific field they go to, or section of woods that they prefer. All of this information will help my set up in the right spots come season. By midday, if I have time, I will try to go back in and investigate the roost sites from the morning. What I am looking for here, is how regularly are the birds using this area? Is there a large amount of scat around the base of the tree, is there just fresh scat from this morning signaling they used this for the first time today? etc. This will be helpful to know a few thing: First, how close can I get to this tree in the dark without making too much noise or being spotted? Second, what is the best route to approach this tree? Can I use a less known access point to get away from the crowds or get on a side of the roost the birds can use if they feel pressured by other hunters? and third, would it be better to set up farther away in the morning on one of their preferred areas rather than hunt the roost? All of this information will help you ensure you have the right setup more times than not.
April - End of the Season
This month is a big one for a lot of hunters across the country as it contains the opening day for most seasons. This is where you can check up on those birds and patterns you discovered in March and its your last chance to gain recent and relevant information. Practice your calls and get your gear ready because season is coming, but the scouting and information gathering shouldn’t stop. Take notes each day you are in the field, log roost sites, directions, and an important thing to remember is that hunting pressure can change the birds patterns or behavior or if you are in a state like Pennsylvania that restricts Sunday hunting, use that as a weekly scouting day. As the season progresses, take note of the areas these birds are using and compare the differences to preseason. This will be good information to have for previous seasons as well as deciding on late season spots to hunt.
